Hotel Sun Hatoya in Ito

A large tourist hotel retaining the atmosphere of the 1950s to 1960s, when group trips to hot spring resorts were popular.
It enjoys considerable name recognition in the Tokai region, partly due to its commercials.
This time, I joined a group tour specifically lured by the chance to stay here.

◆Room
View of the sea, slightly toward the road side. It was on the 12th floor.
Three power outlets. No free Wi-Fi.
A Japanese-style room with tatami mats and a veranda, featuring futons. The TV was about 24 inches. It had a private bathroom with a separate toilet and bath, not a unit bath.
The key was old-style, with only one per room. For a group of four, we had to move based on who had the key, which was quite inconvenient.
I didn't notice any unpleasant odors.
After the banquet, I soaked in the hot spring, crawled into the futon, and fell asleep instantly. When I vaguely woke up, only four hours had passed.

◆Hot Springs
The second and third floors alternate daily.
Sea Turtle and the open-air bath are on the second floor; Shark and the semi-open-air bath are on the third floor.
One kid said, "I thought it was a tank connected to the sea," but it isn't connected lol.
Many fish were plump and well-fed, but the sea turtle especially was huge—bigger than any I've seen at aquariums, which was surprising.
The temperature seemed to vary by location and time, but both baths had areas with water warm enough for long soaks. I couldn't find a panel listing the spring properties, but it felt like the type that improves blood circulation? It reminded me more of Atami than Izu.
There were plenty of washing areas and changing baskets, and the baths themselves were huge, so it felt very spacious.

◆Meals
Dinner was a group banquet menu. It featured the familiar solid fuel-cooked dishes and grilled items common at inns, along with sashimi, fried foods, and simmered dishes – mostly delicious seafood.

Breakfast was buffet-style, probably the same as for regular guests?
The left side had Western food, the right side Japanese. My photo shows just part of it.
The Western food tasted like typical business hotel fare, so I'd recommend the Japanese side where you can make things like whitebait rice bowls.

◆Facilities
A theater-style hall spacious enough for 300 people
Karaoke, game center, dance hall, pool, fishing pond
The game center had cabinets from 20 years ago.
The souvenir shop sold Hatoya merchandise alongside local specialties.
The lobby has a gachapon machine with miniature Hatoya goods (¥300 per play).

⚠️ Elevators are dangerous. The doors lack sensors, close extremely fast, and show no mercy. You must hold the open button down or risk getting pinched while boarding/exiting.

◆Staff
Staff varied in age and nationality. Older staff seemed relatively common? Followed by Southeast Asian staff.
Since we were a group, we didn't interact much personally, but their efficiency and coordination handling a banquet for 300 people was impressive.

◆Drawbacks
・Only one key per room. Especially inconvenient for group stays.
・No Wi-Fi. 4G connection felt slow at times (friend's comment), possibly due to congestion.
・The hot springs are far from the rooms. While the water quality prevents you from getting chilled afterward and you can stroll around in your yukata, it's difficult to use the baths multiple times while resting in your room.
・The elevators are old-fashioned. I saw someone get caught in one three times during my stay.

The facilities seem geared toward groups and families, so it might be less convenient for solo travelers. However, if the conditions suit you, I think it's a nostalgic hotel where you can fully enjoy the ocean.

The rooms are lovely and the ocean view is beautiful. There are a lot of food options for all tastes at dinner and a very fun magic show while you eat. A great experience for us as visitors from overseas
A will also give a mention to Ramayaji, who was very helpful and welcoming at the front desk. He helped us feel very comfortable and answered all of the questions we asked with kindness - a very good employee
Would recommend the place to any visitors!

A couple will stay at the "Oceanfront Corner Room Plan" on Thursday, March 27, 2025. A long time ago, I stayed here for one night when my workplace rented it out for 1,000 people, and this is the first time I've stayed here since then. Currently, you can stay overnight on Saturdays and during busy periods (when schools are on long holidays), and the day spa seems to be operated in the same way, so it's a must to check the opening hours in advance. 1- It's spring break, so there are a lot of families. The heated pool and table tennis (!) seem to be popular. 2- There are two underwater hot springs, and men and women switch in the early morning, so if you stay overnight, you can use both. There are some super hot baths, but this one isn't, so even children can stay in it for a long time. The sea turtles are bigger than I expected, and it looks like two people can fit in them. There are also a lot of fish swimming around. There is also an open-air bath. 3- There were people on a company trip, which is rare these days. It's a nostalgic world of banquets in the large hall. 4- There were four tourist buses, and I also saw a group of tourists from Southeast Asia. However, perhaps because we were on different floors and dining areas, we didn't see anyone outside the hallway, and we didn't see anyone in the large public bath either. Perhaps they came from a hot country and didn't want to take a hot bath. 5- The dinner buffet was no different from other inns, and 70% of the seats were filled. There was a Japanese dance stage at the spring break special dinner show, and it was my first time seeing real Japanese dance. Apparently they usually do project mapping. 6- The facilities are old, but the rooms and baths are well cleaned. 7- These days, even TV dramas use CG, and the internet is full of virtual worlds with AI processing. But here, the fish in the undersea hot spring, the pigeons flying onto the stage, and the Japanese dance in the show are all real and unprocessed. There aren't many hotels that go to such lengths to maintain an aquarium attached to the baths, or pump up hot spring water from a source 1km below the sea.

So retro! My husband had great memories at this hotel when he was a boy, especially of the aquarium in the bath area. So we decided to take our son.

It’s so retro and they even use the original song during the evening dinner show.

The food was okay. I like that they even had self service nabe. I’ve never experienced that before in a hotel buffet service.

They set up your futon during dinner. So you don’t need to set it yourself.

The bath area is super nice they rotate the male and female areas so you can see both views within two days. One bath area has a giant turtle, the other has eels. Both have so many fishes.

The indoor pool is heated. It’s comfortable especially for kids who love to swim. You can comfortably swim even in winter.

The room was nice and clean. The ocean view was a plus. I do find the heating annoying. It makes loud noises due to the old wooden interior. If I stand directly below the air system the sound stops. Or if I push the wall a little, but will make noises again after 5 minutes. Because of this I barely had any sleep. It’s winter, my husband is sensitive to the cold so we can’t just turn it off.

All in all we enjoyed our stay. But wish I could have had more sleep.

The location needs quite a walk from nearest foods and town center, nevertheless rooms are great, peninsula view is amazing! Certain things can be improved though, like dining hall for meals, esp breakfast. Use of carpets can risk smell for the long term as well

Very interesting in a good way.

The onsen is nice and they have a fish tank that you can look at. Also you can go outside and look onto the sea.

The food is pretty good for a buffet and I felt that it wasn’t too salty and the selection was pretty good.

This place is more for families. They have a show you can watch while eating, but don’t expect something special. It is for kids and my children enjoyed it : )

I would like to come again in the summer. They have a pool but would love to have go into the outdoor pool.