Kyushu 2023 - Beppu Nogamihonya Ryokan and Dinner

 

Time to check in to our hotel now. I booked one of the cheapest hotel for our entire trip here in Beppu. Costing only 65sgd for a room for 2 person with toilet attached. Bathroom not provided, bed not provided, meals not provided. You have to take your bath at the onsen of the hotel. Above is the view of the hotel from the outside street level. Although it looks huge, it was rather hard to find, hidden inside one of the size alley.

When we checked in, a paper with all the house rules were were provided for us. Much appreciated!

Nothing much to see on the ground floor. Most of the facilities were on the 2nd floor and above.

They even have a manga corner!

There are also rooms for single. I found that Japan is very single friendly. During my solo trip there in Nagoya, I was able to book single room stay for most of my stay there. (I splurge on the other half and stayed in a cool hotel).

After checking in, freshening up and resting, we headed out once more to look for our dinner. We went to the shopping alley again, and again it was rather quiet. After walking up and down, and even chatting with a friend Japanese retiree and his friend who were also looking for food, we ended up at a chicken restaurant as shown in the photo here. 

The whole meal, there were just the two of us inside, facing the two old owner running the place. Language was a problem, plus the owner didn't looked too friendly either. We ordered some fried chicken and drinks. They serve us some service on the house. Everything felt rather awkward and sad. I'm pretty sure this place has seen better times than now.

The chicken we ordered. Due to the lack of foot traffic, the chicken wasn't very fresh either..... All in all, a sad meal. We could have gone to the more touristy places with English menu, but we wanted to try somewhere more traditional. But perhaps traditional was out of fashion now. The whole of Beppu really needs some makeover vibe, but without removing the charming retro element of the place. Maybe I can visit back in future to see how things fare....