Hotel Crown Palais Shuhuku, part of the prominent HMI Hotel Group is located between both the JR Odate Station (Accessible by the Chou Line from Akita Terminal) and Higashi Odate Station. If you are dropping off from JR Odate Station, you can easily take a taxi off from the station to the hotel and it cost around 1000 Yen. Otherwise, you can take the Hanawa Line from JR Odate Station to Higashi Odate station and the hotel is just a short walk away.
Unlike Tokyo, Odate City does not boast a legion of sky high buildings. Nonetheless, if it’s a view that you are looking for that overlooks the city, Hotel Crown Palais Shuhoku is definitely the choice for you. It´s actually the tallest building in Odate City and you can catch the big ´dai´ the Japanese character for big engraved upon the hill from the restaurant on the 11 th floor.
Hotel Crown Palais Shuhoku has 85 rooms spread out over twelve floors that includes Single Rooms, Deluxe Single, Executive Single, Twin, Deluxe Twin and of course, the Suite Room. For the Single Rooms, the Executive Single is the one that I would recommend, it’s the biggest from the Single Rooms category and it boasts a Massage Chair which the others lack. Between the Twin rooms, the deluxe twin is the one that has a bigger space and honestly, it´s almost the size of a living room of my friend's house in Tokyo.
The rooms all come with scarlet red sofas laced with golden stripes, a dressing table for the ladies to put on their make-up and a refrigerator to keep your food and drinks chilled. Hairdryers and flask for the boiling of water are provided as well. Televisions in the room boast a repertoire of channels in both Japanese and English. Instructions in English on how to use the channel remote are placed in the room, which I thought was really useful since I didn´t understand the Japanese words on the remote.
Breakfast in the hotel is complimentary and they cater to both Japanese and Foreign tourists, buffet style and in all, there is around 40 varieties of dishes to choose from which includes pan fried salmon, grilled sausages and fresh salad.
In addition, there´s a banquet room on the second floor and a lovely chapel on the 12 th floor (top floor) so if you are looking to hold a wedding in Japan (but one that is not in the big city), you can consider Hotel Crown Palais Shuhoku. After all, not a lot of people can say they had their wedding in the Japanese countryside.
The best thing I like about the hotel though was the hospitality shown by the staff members, despite their limited proficiency in English. They were patient with me and advised me on the sights to which I can catch around Odate City. Hotel guests include both families and business travelers and it does make the atmosphere rather relaxed and enjoyable, especially with the cushioned sofas for people to take a break from a long day trip in Odate City.
Nonetheless, with a central location together with affordable rooms, I would recommend travelers to stay at Hotel Crown Palais Shuhoku (and yes, you don’t need to get married to be here). From the hotel, the Zero Odate Art Project and Keijo Park is just five minutes walk.
