4-Star Hotels in Aomori Prefecture, Japan

This is our second time staying at this hotel in two years. The location is excellent, right above the train station. The facilities are new, clean, and upscale. They also offer laundry service, which is a paid amenity. On the 6th floor, there's a hot spring, as well as private hot spring baths, and various beauty treatments. There's also a lounge where you can enjoy views of Aomori Bay and drink your fill of complimentary apple juice.

I booked a Japanese-style tatami room. I originally planned to visit Mount Hakkoda and Sukayu Onsen, but unfortunately, it was snowing heavily, making it impossible to get around without a car. So, I ended up just watching TV and building snowmen at the hotel the whole time. The hotel itself has good views and dining options. There's a small convenience store at the hotel (selling simple food like instant noodles and peanuts, ski equipment, etc., but no daily necessities). The bathing facilities are communal, though there's also a shower in the room, but no toiletries like shower gel. I recommend using the public bathhouse to experience a Japanese inn's bathhouse, which has indoor and outdoor pools, plus free ice cream. There's a shuttle bus from the hotel to Aomori Station at 9:00 AM, and another from Aomori Station to the hotel at 3:30 PM (pre-booking required). A taxi from Shin-Aomori Station to the hotel costs 15,000 JPY. During the snow season, you can't get an Uber at all, so you're reliant on the hotel shuttle. This hotel is suitable for skiers. For sightseeing, I recommend visiting during the non-snowy season. (P.S. The snow-covered mountains in Aomori are truly magnificent, and the snowy scenery is beautiful.)

We were two people. The room we stayed at was not big. If you have two suitcases it will be hard to open up both of them at the same time. We didn’t have suitcases, and therefore the space was not a problem for us. The staff were very friendly, polite and helpful. I lost my gloves at a bus, and they helped me to get them back. You also got apple juice as a welcome drink at the front desk (very nice apple juice!). We used baggage storage after checking out, which was no problem. The room was very clean. When we were there they had an eco plan, which was that the room got cleaned only once at our 4 night stay, but could get towels whenever we wanted. We though it was good from the environment perspective (but we decided to not have any cleaning at all). Overall I though our stay at this hotel was very good.

Whenever I visit Japan, I tend to book a Daiwa Roynet Hotel. Over the past few years, I've traveled to many cities from south to north, and there's almost always a Daiwa Roynet. This particular one is a bit of a walk from Aomori Station, about 7-8 minutes, but it's conveniently located on the main street. We booked a Deluxe Double Room and stayed for 3 nights. The room size was perfect; there was plenty of space near the entrance to open up our large suitcases. It was a corner room, so we even had a window with a sea view. On our second night, we were lucky enough to catch the warm-up fireworks display for the Nebuta Festival right from our hotel room, which was an incredible experience. Another highlight was the massage chair in the room – that was a huge bonus for us! It was easily the most-used amenity during our 4-day stay. Highly recommend! We'll definitely book this hotel again on our next trip to Aomori.

The hotel is about a 10-minute walk from Aomori Station and isn't on the main commercial street, but it's just around the corner from it. It's very close to Hirota Shrine, almost directly across the street. As soon as you enter the hotel, you're greeted by the scent of apples. There are apple models on display on the first floor, and the elevators are decorated with various apple illustrations and names. The breakfast selection is quite limited. While there are a few local specialties, the overall variety of dishes is too small. The scallop meat was very tiny and shredded, not whole pieces, putting it on par with the breakfast offerings at budget chain hotels.

Service was good. There was a staff who is stationed at the entrance, checking with guest who arrived by car. They will ask for your name, provided clear instructions of where to park. Unfortunately, I have accidentally left the lights in the car switched on. A few moments later when I was doing my check-in, the front desk staff quickly informed me about it. The facilities are good. Food is really good, very different from the other Hoshino resorts in Aomori that I have stayed. At KAI Tsugaru, it is Kaiseki instead of the usual buffet style. The staff took pains to explain and share the reason for each dish that was served. There are only 41 traditionally-furnished and generously-sized rooms offering both Western and Japanese-style designs which gives a very unique and dedicated experience as compared to other hotels which has many rooms.

The hotel is about 600 meters from Aomori Station. It's a bit inconvenient if you're dragging luggage, but it's very close to the product館 (local specialty center). The room rate isn't expensive, though the bathroom facilities are a bit old, and the hot and cold water taps on the sink are separate. The breakfast is decent, but I feel it's not as extensive as it was a year ago. The worst part was the electric kettle in the room. It didn't automatically turn off when the water boiled, so it boiled all my mineral water dry, which was a waste.

The room was spacious, and the bathroom was large and clean. The hotel is conveniently located with a bus stop and train station right downstairs, making travel easy. The hotel pub was excellent – good drinks and great value, so good we went two nights in a row.

This hotel is right next to the ski resort. The snow quality is excellent, and on a clear day, you can even see Hokkaido across the Sea of Japan from the summit. It seems that over half of the guests are international visitors. I didn't encounter a single foreign guest who was loud or bothersome. The staff all appear to speak both English and Chinese. While the variety at the buffet might be a bit limited, they do ensure it's always replenished. The food is tasty. Disposable slippers are provided, but they're very thin, so you feel the cold directly. I saw many people who had brought their own flip-flops.

Location is far from city centre, but the view is nice. It takes more time especially during winter. Staff can’t really speak English, but tried their best to assist. As we stayed during the new year period, many shops were not open. Cleaning was daily and everything was changed. There is also a daily performance at 8.30pm.