Ooedo-Onsen Monogatari Hotel Awara

Booked a night here to spend time with my Japanese grandmother, my mother and my sister. I booked on Jalan.net, and Oedo was the best priced hotel in Awara for the Mikuni Matsuri weekend (7500yen per person). Before booking here, I would advise others that this is not really a traditional Ryokan, as they do not bring food to your room or come in to make your bed while you take an evening bath. If you are looking for that kind of experience, I would advise a higher priced hotel that offers those services, as the only food option here is a buffet style dinner and breakfast, and your futon is made for you already when you step into the room. But for the value, Oedo is excellent and highly recommended. Tip#1: The hotel offers free shuttle service from the JR and Fukutetsu rail stations, but with limited pick-ups. Check the hotel for the times, and be sure to take advantage of it as taxis are expensive. We arrived at the Fukutetsu station "Awara Yu No Machi", and they had a pickup at 4PM only. Tip#2: When you check in, you can fill out a form to receive a free beer coupon that can only be used during dinner. It can only be used during the restaurant's evening operating hours. Following check-in, you get to choose your own yukata (pajama). We wore these yukatas shamelessly the whole time we were there, to the dinner and breakfast buffet and to the show. A lot of people changed back into street clothes for dinner, but not us, we are American lazy lol. We went to the buffet for dinner around 6:15pm so that we would have enough time to eat before the free show. Apparently, many people thought the same thing too, and we had to wait 10 min to be seated. The buffet was amazing! They had a chocolate fondue fountain, fresh sushi and sashimi, tempura, and teppanyaki grilled steak. They featured locally made soba, my favorite. The buffet was definitely the way to go for our American-sized appetites! Afterwards, we went to the second floor to see the show. Knowing that this was a free show, I initially didn't want to commit to staying there so we parked ourselves close to the exit. But it was completely unnecessary as the show was highly entertaining! The show featured modern takes on traditional Japanese dance that was enjoyable to my 80 year old grandmother who hates any music made later than the 70's (which the show featured), my mom who loves music made later than the 70's, and to my sister who doesn't understand a lick of Japanese. Also, my sister said it was probably one of the most entertaining shows she has ever watched, and this is coming from a girl who fell asleep during Cirque du Soleil. There was one segment that was a bit difficult to understand as it was a comedy skit based on the character from The Ring, but overall it was really enjoyable. And it lasted a good hour, which gave me enough time to take a bath again before bed. Tip#2: During the show, the actors pick on people and I guess you are supposed to tip? It seemed like they had planted people in the audience giving tips of 20,000yen but since we were coming from dinner, we didn't have any money. Tip#3: In the hotel room, there is a paper for writing a review. If you write a review and bring the form to the reception at check-out, you get a coupon for 10% off in their store. The onsen was very nice and clean, albeit a bit crowded during the time we went. There are a variety of lotions, shampoos, conditioners, face washes, soaps, and other beauty products available for you to use, so there is no need to bring your own. A lot of their products retail in their store for a pretty expensive price, so it was fun to test the expensive collagen and anti-aging creams which I shamelessly used on my whole body (no crepey neck and arms for me!). We took one last bath right after breakfast and before checkout, and it was totally empty then. So if you wanted to take selfies in the bath, I would recommend going then. We had a great time, and my grandmother is already planning to go back next year together.