[Hatoya Hotel]
The Hatoya Hotel is located in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and is well-known for its commercial. If you are going to Ito, you must go to Hatoya. I stayed there a few years ago and still have very fond memories of it.
The hotel was founded in 1947. The founder of the hotel, Seiji Haraguchi, who was a businessman at the time, bought the 14-room "Hatoya Ryokan" and rebuilt it into a hotel, which was the beginning of the Hatoya Hotel. The original owner of the inn was a magician who became famous for his pigeon magic, hence the name "Hatoya." In 1975, the third generation of the Hatoya Hotel established a sister hotel, the Sun Hatoya.
First of all, a nostalgic font sign of "Hatoya" welcomes you from the exterior. Upon entering the lobby, you will find a spacious area with chandeliers, red carpets, and everywhere you look, there is something sparkling and nothing that feels "now" about it. It is not halfway retro, but rather a perfect example of the Showa period. The corridor leading to the annex is spacy, and the futuristic design envisioned by Showa-era people spreads out before your eyes, giving you a strange feeling of being in a dream, as if you were in a new, nostalgic world. Although the interior of the hotel is showing its age, the guest rooms are clean tatami mat rooms with a view of the city of Ito and the sea from the spacious and deep porch, and even have a bath with natural hot spring water. Pigeon motifs are scattered everywhere, so be sure to look for them when you visit.
Dinner was a buffet dinner. We entered a room with a sign saying "theater venue" that can accommodate about 600 people, and the first thing that surprised us was the scale of the venue. The high ceilings, large windows covering the entire wall, tables and chairs lined up in rows, and even a second-floor atrium when you look up, make it look like a concert hall. The variety of dishes ranges from standard dishes to seasonal and local dishes, and the variety of seafood such as sushi, shellfish such as turban shells, and boiled fish is especially exciting. Breakfast is also served at the same venue, with a view of Sagami Bay from the window and a wide selection of both Japanese and Western dishes. Dining at the Hatoya Hotel was truly entertaining, including the liveliness.
The ultimate highlight was the undersea hot springs at the sister hotel, the Sun Hatoya. The dinner show with pigeons flying around, so memorable in the commercials, is now held at the Sun Hatoya, not at the Hatoya Hotel. The dinner show with pigeons flying around, so memorable in the commercials, is now held not at the Hatoya Hotel but at the Sun Hatoya. It was an unknown experience in many ways, and it is a miracle that this facility still remains in this condition, and I was glad to have been able to come and stay even once.
The Hatoya Hotel has various facilities such as a game corner, swimming pool, bar, and Hatoya's original goods store, but my only regret was that I could not use the Ramen Corner because it was closed. Both Hatoya Hotel and Sun Hatoya have a lot to offer, so if you have a chance, please visit them. I am sure it will be an unforgettable experience.
Hatoya Hotel
https://www.hatoyahotel.com/home/
Sun Hatoya
https://www.sunhatoya.co.jp/home/
References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8F%E3%83%88%E3%83%A4
https://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/55481/3/
