Umino Hotel Hajime

“Old world charm and hospitality, perfect visit”

What a beautiful hotel. It has preserved its charm over the years. The room was quite spacious, with two beds, a futon style bed, a low table with tons of bean bags and low chairs to sit. We chose the room with the in-room onsen, so we had a lot of space in the bathing area as well. The sink also h… more

What a beautiful hotel. It has preserved its charm over the years. The room was quite spacious, with two beds, a futon style bed, a low table with tons of bean bags and low chairs to sit. We chose the room with the in-room onsen, so we had a lot of space in the bathing area as well. The sink also had tons of counter space and a shelf to store amenities, while the closet space was HUGE. The hotel is a short taxi ride (<5 mins) from Beppu Station, or a 7-8 minute walk if you're not dragging tons of luggage. Since we arrived via Beppu Port, it was a 9-10 minute taxi ride. The hotel's back faces the open water, and the views are unparalleled. You can easily go down and take a walk (and on the way, find a Family Mart too). The entire parallel main street has TONS of restaurants and food options, so take advantage. Beppu also supports UberEats app perfectly fine. The hotel itself does an elaborate dinner, breakfast, and tea experience so definitely book that if you want the whole experience. Exploring Beppu is easy from this location. Beppu's Tower is visible from the hotel and walkable, as are the bus stops if you wish to do the hot springs/Hells. Be mindful that Beppu's buses are not fixed rate like Kyoto buses, for instance, so have the right amount of cash ready to pay based on distance or number of stops (or money on your IC card). The hotel amenities also include vending machines, and smoking rooms on the 4th and 5th floors (aside from the ashtray on the street). I want to especially thank the staff for their warm welcome. We arrived quite early in the morning by ferry, and since check-in was much later in the afternoon, we had nowhere to go. The hotel was fully booked, so getting a different room for the day wasn't an option either. But they could see how tired we were and graciously offered us an empty tea room with floor cushions to rest in, and I am so grateful for that. They were also very helpful in helping us book a taxi to the station during our departure because the GO app (while in Beppu) doesn't allow one to pick a big van or Premium, we had a few cancellations because of our luggage, and the hotel was kind in helping us book a taxi. Definitely will visit again!

less