Kishu Shirahamaonsen Musashi — Hotel in Shirahama

Let's begin with the positives: Our room was fine. The view was crap, but the room itself was clean and the futons were comfortable. The areas of the hotel that have been recently refurbished were similarly nice. The lobby, hallways, restaurant, and sitting areas were modern and tasteful. Most of the hotel is undergoing a major renovation right now, so hopefully this atmosphere will spread to the rest of the place. The fact that it's located across the street from a major bus stop makes getting there really convenient, and it's a 3 minute walk to the famous white sand beach. It gets a two star rating from me because without the issues listed below, Musashi would be an enjoyable hotel.||||However...||||There were some very problematic issues that we encountered at Musashi.||||Some of the staff is Japanese, and they were all very kind and helpful. The young waiter in the lobby cafe was exceptionally nice and clearly took pride in his job. Even the old ladies cleaning the rooms in the morning were chatty and welcoming. Some of the front desk staff was helpful as well. The rest of the staff were not easy to talk to, as neither English nor Japanese was their first language. They seemed very uncertain when we asked questions about even simple things, and they maintained a deer in headlights look throughout conversations. It was very, very odd. When your staff can't answer how to make a reservation for dinner in the hotel restaurant, you have a problem. These workers were clearly hired for their language ability to help non-Japanese Asian guests, but they were very unable to assist anyone else.||||While the food at the buffet dinner was decent, the restaurant was very poorly managed. Many of the dishes were cold, and it seemed that the staff had a hard time getting the food out at a decent pace. The huge crowds of tour groups fighting over the food was no help either. The hotel markets itself heavily to tour groups, and they need to find a way to stagger their dining times to relieve congestion at the buffet. It was madness, with people elbowing and pushing to get to the food. ||||Finally, the public bath. It's all salt water, so some people might find that off-putting, but I quite liked it actually. Several pools are available, and it's not the worst hotel bath layout I've seen. The problem here was not the bath itself, but the guests. Some of the non-Japanese guests who make up a good portion of this hotel's clientele simply do not know how to use a public bath in Japan due to lack of experience. I witnessed men soaping up and bathing in the soaking pool, scrubbing their armpits with towels that they were dipping in the shared water, dunking their hair in the pool, and entering the water without first bathing. Not to mention children running about, a guy washing his glasses in the pool, and groups of men shouting and yelling. Best of all, I watched as a man walked in, sat down at the shower stall next to me, URINATED ON THE FLOOR, and then stepped into the bath without washing or even turning on the water, all while holding a shouted conversation with the guy next to him (I'm not sure if he was peeing as well, but he certainly didn't shower). Frankly, it was disgusting and against any sense of common decency. All four members of my group witnessed this sort of rude behavior in both genders' baths. There are signs posted in English regarding not putting towels in the bathwater, but I think they need to consider expanding these posters into other languages and going into further detail.||||I didn't even go into the soaking pool after that and it kind of killed the rest of the stay for my party. We booked this place based on the positive reviews that mentioned the baths, so it was rather disappointing. I spoke with the front desk about what I witnessed the first evening, and again when I checked out. They apologized and said they do their best to educate the non-Japanese guests on how to behave in the bath, but I guess they need to try harder. It would have been nice to get our dinner bill refunded upon checkout or at least a discount, but I understand that that sort of thing isn't usually done here and I didn't want to push the limits. Looking back , I should have pushed it further. I think a free dinner in exchange for being forced to watch a man pee in front of me would have been fair.||||Musashi makes a huge effort on it's website to attract foreign guests with discounts and packaged deals. However, they should realize that this new clientele cheapens the overall experience for other guests and ruins an otherwise nice hotel. There is NO WAY I would ever stay here again or put a single toe into that...

Let's begin with the positives: Our room was fine. The view was crap, but the room itself was clean and the futons were comfortable. The areas of the hotel that have been recently refurbished were similarly nice. The lobby, hallways, restaurant, and sitting areas were modern and tasteful. Most of the hotel is undergoing a major renovation right now, so hopefully this atmosphere will spread to the rest of the place. The fact that it's located across the street from a major bus stop makes getting there really convenient, and it's a 3 minute walk to the famous white sand beach. It gets a two star rating from me because without the issues listed below, Musashi would be an enjoyable hotel.||||However...||||There were some very problematic issues that we encountered at Musashi.||||Some of the staff is Japanese, and they were all very kind and helpful. The young waiter in the lobby cafe was exceptionally nice and clearly took pride in his job. Even the old ladies cleaning the rooms in the morning were chatty and welcoming. Some of the front desk staff was helpful as well. The rest of the staff were not easy to talk to, as neither English nor Japanese was their first language. They seemed very uncertain when we asked questions about even simple things, and they maintained a deer in headlights look throughout conversations. It was very, very odd. When your staff can't answer how to make a reservation for dinner in the hotel restaurant, you have a problem. These workers were clearly hired for their language ability to help non-Japanese Asian guests, but they were very unable to assist anyone else.||||While the food at the buffet dinner was decent, the restaurant was very poorly managed. Many of the dishes were cold, and it seemed that the staff had a hard time getting the food out at a decent pace. The huge crowds of tour groups fighting over the food was no help either. The hotel markets itself heavily to tour groups, and they need to find a way to stagger their dining times to relieve congestion at the buffet. It was madness, with people elbowing and pushing to get to the food. ||||Finally, the public bath. It's all salt water, so some people might find that off-putting, but I quite liked it actually. Several pools are available, and it's not the worst hotel bath layout I've seen. The problem here was not the bath itself, but the guests. Some of the non-Japanese guests who make up a good portion of this hotel's clientele simply do not know how to use a public bath in Japan due to lack of experience. I witnessed men soaping up and bathing in the soaking pool, scrubbing their armpits with towels that they were dipping in the shared water, dunking their hair in the pool, and entering the water without first bathing. Not to mention children running about, a guy washing his glasses in the pool, and groups of men shouting and yelling. Best of all, I watched as a man walked in, sat down at the shower stall next to me, URINATED ON THE FLOOR, and then stepped into the bath without washing or even turning on the water, all while holding a shouted conversation with the guy next to him (I'm not sure if he was peeing as well, but he certainly didn't shower). Frankly, it was disgusting and against any sense of common decency. All four members of my group witnessed this sort of rude behavior in both genders' baths. There are signs posted in English regarding not putting towels in the bathwater, but I think they need to consider expanding these posters into other languages and going into further detail.||||I didn't even go into the soaking pool after that and it kind of killed the rest of the stay for my party. We booked this place based on the positive reviews that mentioned the baths, so it was rather disappointing. I spoke with the front desk about what I witnessed the first evening, and again when I checked out. They apologized and said they do their best to educate the non-Japanese guests on how to behave in the bath, but I guess they need to try harder. It would have been nice to get our dinner bill refunded upon checkout or at least a discount, but I understand that that sort of thing isn't usually done here and I didn't want to push the limits. Looking back , I should have pushed it further. I think a free dinner in exchange for being forced to watch a man pee in front of me would have been fair.||||Musashi makes a huge effort on it's website to attract foreign guests with discounts and packaged deals. However, they should realize that this new clientele cheapens the overall experience for other guests and ruins an otherwise nice hotel. There is NO WAY I would ever stay here again or put a single toe into that...

the reviews on this onsen are mixed, with several exceptionally poor. i'm wondering whether those harsh reviewers knew what they were getting into? this is not the four seasons or mandarin oriental - it's a traditional, local small town onsen. if you're into that, you'll enjoy this place; if you're expecting more, you will be grouchy the entire time. as for me, it did take me a few trips to a local onsen property like this to learn how it all worked and what to expect, and this one proved to be a special few days for my wife and daughter and myself. it's in a small town with the major attraction of adventure world, which is the reason we came. upon entering, you feel like you're going into the 1970s - everything is a bit aged but with character and fairly clean. the staff are exceptionally polite and helpful. the rooms do have a bit of the stuffy and dusty feel, but they are quite clean, traditional. our room did not have a good view but we didn't care. we were there to rest after adventure world and take in an onsen. we were comfortable in the room when we were there, and it had a nice traditional japanese bed laid out in the evenings. if you're over 6' tall, watch your head - the door tops are short. as for the onsen, again - nothing spectacular but fairly clean and comfortable. as for the breakfast and dinner buffets, i had low expectations but actually enjoyed both. it's a buffet so yes, it's not always piping hot but the food variety is good, the quality is decent and it's so nice to not have to stroll aimlessly outside in a small town you don't know looking for a restaurant. yes it's a short walk from the beach, which is super nice touch. i'll never go back, simply because there is no reason, but if you're going to adventure world and you're into traditional onsens, this is a...