Overview
At Moon and Sun Inn Kitagawa Onsen Hotel, you stay directly beside the coast in Higashi-Izu, with uninterrupted sea views from every room. You can watch the sun rise over the horizon, look across the water toward Izu Oshima on clear days, and listen to the waves from the comfort of your tatami room.
The hotel’s most memorable view appears around the full moon, when moonlight creates a bright path across the water. Known as the Moon Road, this natural sight has earned recognition as one of Japan’s celebrated moon views. You may see it from your room, the upper-floor baths, or the rooftop open-air bath when the weather and moon cycle align.
Fresh seafood and hot spring bathing sit at the heart of your stay. You can enjoy fish landed at nearby Kitagawa Port, soak in several baths overlooking the ocean, and walk down to the wave-side Kurone Iwa Rock Bath. The atmosphere remains friendly and relaxed, making it easy to focus on the sea, the food, and time in the hot springs.
Accommodation
Every room faces the sea, so you can enjoy the changing colours of the water throughout the day. The rooms follow a traditional Japanese design with tatami flooring, low seating, and futon bedding. Each room also includes a private bathroom and a toilet with a washlet.
The Main Building Japanese Rooms offer 12.5 tatami mats and generous floor space. These rooms work well when you want extra room to sit together, enjoy tea, or relax beside the windows while looking across the ocean.
The Annex Japanese Rooms offer ten tatami mats and the same direct sea view. Reaching the annex requires an elevator change on the fourth floor and some stair use, so the Main Building is the easier choice when you prefer fewer changes in level.
Two Japanese rooms with private open-air baths sit on the tenth floor. Each room measures ten tatami mats and offers a wide ocean view. The open-air baths have different designs, and each one gives two people enough space to soak comfortably. You can watch the morning light appear over the sea without leaving your room.
Your room includes air conditioning, a television, an empty refrigerator, towels, a yukata, toiletries, and free Wi-Fi. Only a small number of rooms are designated non-smoking, and deodorising treatment can be arranged when a non-smoking room is unavailable.
Dining
Your dinner highlights seafood landed at Kitagawa Port and other ingredients from the Izu Peninsula. Fresh fish may arrive as sashimi, simmered dishes, grilled preparations, or crisp deep-fried courses. You eat both dinner and breakfast in the dedicated dining area.
Depending on the plan you book, your evening meal may include a whole simmered kinmedai, grilled abalone, or a boat-shaped sashimi platter filled with local fish. One of the more generous seafood plans combines spiny lobster prepared as bouillabaisse, grilled abalone, a whole simmered kinmedai, and an eight-item local fish platter with spiny lobster.
Menus change according to the season and the day’s catch, so the exact fish and side dishes may differ during your visit. Selected breakfast plans feature dried horse mackerel, a food closely connected with the Izu coast.
Dinner begins at either 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., while breakfast begins at either 8:00 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. You can arrange your dining time after arrival. Share food allergies at least three days before your stay. Ingredients can be removed from the planned menu, but the kitchen cannot always change stocks, seasonings, or preparation methods, and it cannot guarantee complete separation for severe allergies.
Onsen and Wellness
The baths use water from the Kitagawa Kaihatsu hot spring source, which flows throughout the year. The water is classified as a sodium-calcium chloride spring and is mildly alkaline, hypotonic, and naturally hot. The bathing system adds water, circulates it, and releases it to maintain a comfortable temperature and a regular supply of fresh hot spring water.
The rooftop open-air bath, Kucho Yuen or “Sky Bath,” sits 35 metres above ground. During the day, you can watch clouds and boats move across the horizon. At night, you may see the moon and stars above the water, while an early visit can give you a clear view of the sun rising from the sea.
The Sky Bath opens from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and again from 5:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Men and women use it at different times, with the schedule changing according to the date. Bad weather and strong winds may close the rooftop area.
On the eleventh floor, the indoor Observation Public Baths give you broad ocean views without exposure to the weather. Separate bathing areas are available for men and women from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and from 5:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
You can also visit Kaicho, the public bath on the second floor. This indoor bath follows a rotating schedule for men and women and operates during the same morning and evening periods.
For greater privacy, you can reserve one of two private baths. You can choose between a rock bath and a cypress bath, with each session lasting 50 minutes. A session currently costs ¥2,000 and can be reserved before your stay or after arrival.
A short walk in your yukata brings you to Kurone Iwa Rock Bath, a town-run outdoor hot spring built almost level with the sea. You soak close enough to hear the waves and feel the ocean air while looking across the horizon. You can enter free during your stay. The current opening hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with last admission at 5:45 p.m.
Guests with Tattoos
You cannot use Kitagawa Onsen Hotel’s shared public baths if you have tattoos. This restriction applies to the rooftop Sky Bath, the Observation Public Baths, and Kaicho.
You can still enjoy the hot spring privately by reserving the rock bath or cypress bath for a 50-minute session. You can also book one of the two tenth-floor rooms with its own open-air bath. Kurone Iwa Rock Bath is a separate town-run facility and is tattoo-friendly.
Facilities
You have access to a lounge, shop, banquet rooms, dining rooms, table tennis, a paid game corner, an ice machine, and drink vending machines on the second and eleventh floors. Massage can also be arranged for an additional charge. Elevators serve both the Main Building and Annex, although you still need to use stairs along part of the route to the Annex.
Free Wi-Fi is available in every room. Free parking is provided for up to 20 vehicles on a first-come basis, with another parking area used when the space in front of the building becomes full.
The building is not fully barrier-free. You can request a Main Building room with less walking, while assistance with movement through the property can also be arranged. Pets cannot stay at the hotel.
Activities
One of the best ways to experience Kitagawa is to plan your stay around the full moon. On a clear night, the moonlight stretches across the sea to form the Moon Road. Local tradition says that making a wish while looking at the moonlit path for ten seconds may help it come true.
You can walk to Moon Road Terrace at Nekosai Plaza, visit the “Bringing Happiness” monument, or continue along the waterfront to Kurone Iwa Rock Bath. Full-moon dates may also bring local events connected with Kitagawa’s fishing culture, music, food, and gratitude for the moon.
In the village, you can look for Kitagawa Aji Sushi, a local dish made with horse mackerel caught off the coast. Each small piece combines fish, vinegared rice, and seasonings in a style linked with local festivals and celebrations.
You can also try Moon Road Craft Beer, made with deep-sea water from Higashi-Izu. Seasonal editions may appear at selected times of year, including an autumn pale ale inspired by the golden grasslands of the Izu Peninsula.
For a longer day out, you can travel along the eastern Izu coast to Atagawa, Izu Kogen, Jogasaki Coast, or the attractions around Mount Omuro. You can then return for dinner, an evening bath, and the sound of the waves outside your room.
Additional Features
You can check in from 3:00 p.m. and check out by 10:00 a.m. A complimentary transfer is available from Izu-Atagawa Station or Izu-Hokkawa Station from around 2:30 p.m., with the last collection normally around 5:30 p.m. You need to reserve the transfer in advance.
You can reach the property in around seven minutes on foot from Izu-Hokkawa Station. Izu-Atagawa Station is approximately ten minutes away by taxi and provides a more convenient arrival point when travelling on a limited express train.
