We stay for three days at the hotel in Kujukuri because of heavy rain and human error

We have had a marvellous 3 days staying at the hotel. As promised, the weather on Saturday was a brute….non stop heavy rain with winds of 90 km that would be scary if we had to step outside. We kept ourselves busy and happy with multiple Onsen visits, relaxing, eating incredible food, reading and just enjoying where we were. Sometimes good things can come from making a mistake and not having a clue what day it is. When we look back on it, we now chuckle. When we tried to check in, the fellow (Assistant Manager) tried to be tactful with us and kindly told us that he had no record of a booking for us. When I showed him my phone with the confirmation of our booking, his eyes widened and he started to laugh…”you are a day early”! In all his time working at the hotel he has never had to deal with something like this. In no time we added an additional day. In hindsight, this mistake was the best thing we could have done.

For us, a good hotel is one that is quick to offer secure parking inside the building.

Kamenoi Hotel Kujukuri is an older hotel. As we have found in Japan, these grand older hotels are a bargain. Obviously we like the price, but we also appreciate the charm and quirkiness it may have.

Our timing in staying here is good for us. The company is in the beginning stages of a massive renovation which will increase the price.

The hotel has added separate units in front closer to the beach that allows pets. They also have a dog run. This sweet fellow was having a holiday too. Barry first noticed the dog when the family checked in. The dog was in her knapsack with just his head peeking…their connection was immediate.

We enjoyed meeting this dog and the young woman. It was nice connecting with her on something we all love.

The dining room is on the 2nd floor with wall to wall windows to make the view impressive No matter where you sit, the ocean is front and centre. Our room is on the 6th floor, three balconies from the left

A neighbourhood cat….it wanted to visit but couldn’t get past the stress of it all

Our first dinner at the hotel. The buffet is huge and filled with really good food. A few of the highlights…tuna sashimi, sushi, boiled local peanuts, marinated tofu with a topping, dumplings, etc.

Salmon sashimi and a tasty white sashimi (sorry, don’t know what it is) below. The peanut tofu was delicious and the futomaki with pureed raw tuna on top…yum.

This is a shot of the neighbourhood, with rice fields dominating the landscape, on the land side of the hotel. This is Friday before the carnage of the storm on Saturday.

Barry loved these. I think it was as much fun extracting the food as it was eating it.

So, this is Saturday morning when we woke up. We are in a solid cement building but the roar of the wind and the pounding rain made us feel relieved to be inside and not riding. For us, this scene is better for looking than being in it. Meanwhile, the stalwart fishermen were catching shell fish and were out there much of the day.

I know that these fellows grow up with this kind of weather, but we couldn’t believe that they could fight the elements for so long and be successful in digging for shellfish in these conditions.

We couldn’t help but watch these guys working in such conditions either the force of the winds and the sea against them.

And now for some more food photos..salmon sashimi.

These crackers are so good! Locally grown peanuts with a Carmel lined sauce and cheese. You can’t eat just one.

Thinly sliced boiled pork with cucumbers. Barry tried it and it was a bit weird but ok.

Three types of futomaki sushi with tuna, mackerel or catch of the day in a miso mix. Delicious!

The tuna sashimi and raw shrimp was amazing.But watch out for that wasabi!!!

The idea is to top the rice that is cooked in tea with this special salmon. We both loved the combination of the two dishes.

Three types of pizza including teriyaki chicken with mayonnaise

We watched a baseball game from our room

Three of the five newly built villas that allow dogs

A few of the desserts that we sampled….peanut pudding, melon jelly and a few other sweet delights. They also had a soft ice cream machine for breakfast and dinner. Life is great!

The round building houses the hotel’s superb hot spring baths (Onsen)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesWe are really enjoying reading about your travels in Japan. It is such a different and somewhat exotic place from mid Vancouver Island. The food, however, would not suit us at all. Neither of us likes raw fish, or even much fish or seafood. We have scratched touring in Japan from consideration, but still enjoy reading about your travels there.
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