Check-in was very smooth. In fact, they allowed us to check in earlier - about 1 to 2 hours earlier, I think. The room was already ready, so they allocated it to us when we arrived. The room itself was rather small but functional and clean, so we don’t really have any complaints other than it being a bit small. I guess this is Japanese standards. The pricing is fairly more expensive than the inns across the road, perhaps because of the location and also because it is very new. The property itself has a very nice onsen. The female onsen had a lot of apples floating in it, which was a very nice touch to showcase Aomori apples. The front desk staff are very nice and very friendly. They also have staff who can speak Chinese. Not that I am Chinese, but I can speak some Chinese better than Japanese, which I can’t speak at all. Nevertheless, the staff could converse in English, or at least some basic English. There’s free yoga and some classes, but we didn’t utilise them as it’s not really useful for tourists who would rather spend time outside the hotel. This seems more suited for locals who want a short getaway, but still a very lovely touch. Breakfast is paid separately and does not come with the room, so there is no comment on that. The property provides Nespresso capsules in the room, and there is also a better Nespresso machine near the check-in counter. I also love that they provide water for free without having to pay extra. The lounge is available for everybody and overlooks the bridge. They provide some free snacks and drinks depending on the timing - different items in the morning and in the evening. That being said, there is no alcohol being served. Also, the coffee there is very bad. I don’t understand why they don’t put the Nespresso machine in the lounge since they have one at the lobby. Overall, everything was quite perfect for this hotel. In fact, the location was the most perfect part. Once you exit the train station, you enter an elevator that goes up to the hotel. Since it was winter, I was afraid I would need to drag my bags for a long time, but it’s right outside the exit after you tap your card and turn left. If I remember correctly, the elevator is right there and there is no need to go outside at all. However, there are only two elevators servicing the entire building, so there might be some waiting time. I would advise leaving earlier if you have a train to catch. The only reason this is not a full-star review is because I requested about a one-hour late checkout due to our train time, and they told us we needed to pay - if I remember correctly, ¥2,000 per hour. I felt they were very rigid about the 11 am checkout time. To be honest, even if they had given it to us, we probably wouldn’t have used it anyway, as we later decided to change our train time to leave Aomori, since there isn’t much to do here. Still, the rejection and inflexibility made us feel very uneasy and unwelcome. I think they could have handled this better by being less rigid and more human. So that’s minus points from us. After all, this is part of hospitality, and it doesn’t hurt.
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