Sumino-yu Hotel (7-minute walk from Nagoya Station) | Review of My Stay

Review of My Stay at a Hotel with a Public Bath, Located a 7-Minute Walk from Nagoya Station

Recently, I stayed at Sumi-no-Yu Hotel, which includes a public bath and is about a 7-minute walk from the JR Nagoya Station Shinkansen Exit.

Location of Sumi-no-Yu Hotel

Address of Sumi-no-Yu Hotel

2-11-8 Kamejima, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi

Map of Sumi-no-Yu Hotel (Google Maps)

Map of Sumi-no-Yu Hotel (Google Street View)

The exterior of Sumi-no-Yu Hotel at night. The lights make it bright even after dark.

The exterior of Sumi-no-Yu Hotel early the next morning. The surrounding streets are clean, and the hotel is located in a quiet residential area with houses and apartments.

The entrance to the second floor of the public bath Sumi-no-Yu & Hotel (night view). The entrance to both the bath and the hotel is the same, located on the second floor, so you go up the stairs.

A sign for Sumi-no-Yu's "Natural Kiso Hinoki Bath."

Business hours of Sento Sumi-no-Yu. It appears that the bath is open in separate morning and evening sessions.

Public Bath Hours
Morning: 06:30-09:30
Evening: 16:00-23:00

Hotel Check-in: 16:00

Please read before use

We strictly refuse entry to anyone who runs, shouts, or otherwise disturbs others. If such behavior is discovered during bathing, you will be asked to leave, and no refunds or compensation will be provided.
Entry to the changing room without a bath ticket is also prohibited.

Sumi-no-Yu

It was my fault for not checking the check-in time carefully when booking through Rakuten Travel, but while traveling from Tokyo to Nagoya by Shinkansen, I checked my reservation again and realized that the check-in deadline was 22:30.
My train was scheduled to arrive at Nagoya Station at 22:21, so it seemed likely I would not make it in time. I called the hotel from the train to explain that I would arrive right at 22:30 or around 22:35. The staff kindly told me that as long as I checked in by 23:00, it would be fine.
In the end, I arrived at the hotel around 22:34, and the front desk staff welcomed me warmly.

"We can bring your luggage to your room, so if you'd like, please go ahead and take a bath first."

They even let me postpone the check-in procedure so I could enter the bath before it closed at 23:00.
As someone who loves hot springs and public baths, I was very grateful and happily accepted.

Bath towel, yukata, and amenities (white hand towel, shampoo, conditioner, body soap) provided to hotel guests. Later, I confirmed with the staff that the white hand towel was free to take home, so I gratefully did so.

The changing room has lockers with keys where you can store your clothes.
There are no built-in shampoo or body soap dispensers in the bath, so guests use the disposable shampoo, conditioner, and body soap provided by the hotel.
Wash bowls and stools are not placed at each washing station, so you take them from the entrance area.

I washed my hair and body mainly using the shower at the washing station.

The outdoor bath with Kishu Binchotan charcoal felt incredibly relaxing--I could have stayed for hours. But since the bath closed at 23:00, I could only stay for a short time. Still, thanks to the staff who encouraged me to bathe first, I was able to enjoy it longer than expected. (I also took my time in the morning bath the next day.)

There was a paid hair dryer in the changing room that cost 10 yen, but someone else was using it, so I gave up.
Since my hair is short, I figured it would dry naturally, so I left without drying it.

After the bath, the staff guided me to my room.

The hallway on the first floor where the guest rooms are located. It's not just a hallway--there are tables and chairs where you can relax. The layout feels like a hot spring facility, which made me excited.

A long table and chairs in the shared space on the first floor. After my bath, I sat here and read a novel on the Amazon Kindle app on my smartphone for about an hour--it was blissful.

The interior of the "Compact Single Room." The room is small, but perfectly fine if you only need a place to sleep.

The view of the room entrance door.
There is one hanger on the door, which I used to hang my suit.
The door can be locked, so I felt secure.

The TV and TV stand in the Compact Single Room. I don't usually watch TV, so I didn't turn it on.
The TV stand is small, so it's difficult to use it as a desk for a laptop. I worked the next morning by sitting on the bed and placing my laptop on my lap. (I could have used the long table in the shared space.)

The room does not have a toilet, sink, or bath.
There are shared toilets and sinks on the same floor, and they were new, clean, and pleasant to use.

As for bathing, as long as you pay attention to the bath hours, you can use the public bath on the second floor without any issues.
When I went to the bath around 7:00 a.m. after doing a bit of work, there were already about five people in the men's bath.
It's such a pleasant bath that I imagine many people stop by before going to work. I'm one of them.
Starting the day by warming up in a large bath and outdoor bath made me feel refreshed.
A good bath makes for a good morning and a good day.

I spent the entire day feeling great.

If you're looking for a hotel with a large public bath near Nagoya Station, I highly recommend Sumi-no-Yu Hotel, which combines a public bath and hotel facilities!

The price for the Compact Single Room at Sumi-no-Yu Hotel was 4,500 yen (tax included) on Rakuten Travel.
Considering that you can use the public bath freely during bathing hours, it's a great deal.

If you don't stay at the hotel, the bath-only admission fee is 420 yen for adults--also very affordable.
If I can't stay at the hotel next time because it's fully booked, I'd still like to visit just for the bath.