Verified review
10/10 Exceptional
Shigeo
Aug 9, 2026
Ichinobo is a fantastic hotel with hot spring onsen facilities. We chose a room with a private open-air, full-sized immersion bath and it was well worth the extra price. The ocean and garden view from our private bath was magnificent and the bath area was designed for complete privacy so we could use the lounge reclining seats with complete freedom.
We were concerned about the buffet-style dining because we expected a cafeteria-style setup with mediocre food, but it was completely different. There were many stations where various foods were prepared rapidly on request. The quality of the ingredients was very high, with the best fish, like toro, local delicacies, like beef tongue or rock oysters. The variety was wide as were the types (Japanese, French). The alcoholic beverages were included and noteworthy were the high quality and selection of the offerings which ranged from ginjo sake to French and Spanish reserve wines. The bar was open from 9.30 am to 8.30 pm and at night there was live music to enjoy with after-dinner drinks.
Matsushima has many sights to see and everything is relatively close. Still, it was very nice to have the free shuttle buses for transport to and from the train station and to the dock area for the boat rides to see the famous pine tree covered islands.
My partner and I had a wonderful time and recommend the Ichinobu highly.
