Hirosaki Castle

If you've stayed at an APA hotel before then you know what to expect (ie. small room, big TV), so I'll just skip to what stood out to me during this trip. **Positives: *Front desk was exceptionally helpful during check-in, streamlining the process. *Electrical outlets on either side of the bed kept me from running a power cable across the bed diagonally or sleeping at an angle, or something goofy like that. *The AC was highly effective, which is always welcome. When it's July, I'd rather have it get a bit chilly than be stuck somewhere where it's too warm. *I plugged my Switch in the TV and played it with no issues. *The bathroom was comfortable, the shower was nice. *A self-serve mini-conbini in the lobby, like at the Ayase location in Tokyo! Fun. I didn't use it, but had a stayed longer, I may have. **Neutral: *I only stayed here a single night so I didn't look into the laundry or vending machine offerings. **Negatives: *This was a REALLY narrow room; I basically sidled in-between the desk and the bed. It made doing Fitness Boxing 3 pretty awkward, but I managed.

As someone who generally stays at APA hotels and the occasional capsule hotel, I'd consider this room to be "super-nice." It was a like an APA room but slightly more spacious and where most everything in the room was 'slightly nicer.' **Upsides: *The sliding door that separated the bedroom from the entryway went a long ways toward dampening sounds from the hallway, to the extent where I didn't hear anything when I had the door closed. *The bathroom was level with the entryway floor; it had the toilet and shower I've used at newer capsule hotels, but this time I didn't have to share them with anyone. *I didn't use the laundry room, but apparently the washing machine was free and the dryer cost 100yen per 20 minutes. Assuming the drying isn't "the slowest dryer I've yet to use in Japan" then this should come out to being a fine price for laundry. *The TV didn't prevent my from plugging in my Switch and playing some games. **Neutral: *Front desk was on the 4th floor, which I didn't see the sign saying until I'd taken a lap around the building, wondering where to go. *The two vending machines sold 'stuff I might buy,' but alas no hot coffee (which seems to require me to go to conbini for my after-meal cans of hot coffee, in Aomori in the summer). *There's apparently a public bath here, but I didn't use it. **Negatives: My view from the window was 'mostly of a wall,' although there was some cityscape from a certain angle.

It’s located rather remote. It’s a hot spring hotel than your usual hotel. You may have to settle your meals in the hotel as travelling out is just too far away. However it’s a different experience to immerse in the country side though….