Overview
Katsuura Hilltop Hotel & Residence is a high-rise condominium hotel on a hill in Katsuura, Chiba. The building has 14 floors, with the 9th to 13th floors operated as a condominium hotel by Kamogawa Grand Hotel. You can enjoy a spacious room with a living area and dining kitchen, views of Katsuura’s natural scenery, and a stay style that feels more flexible than a standard hotel.
This is not a traditional ryokan, but it gives you a relaxed coastal onsen stay with ocean-view rooms, a free-flowing hot spring bath, Restaurant Ai on the 1st floor, and a summer outdoor pool. By train, you can reach Katsuura in about 90 minutes, then walk about 20 minutes from Katsuura Station. The hotel does not offer a shuttle service.
Accommodation
All rooms are ocean view, so you can look out toward the Katsuura coastline from your room. Each room follows a condominium-style layout, with a spacious living room and a mini kitchen for simple cooking. All rooms are non-smoking, and smoking is limited to designated areas.
You can choose from twin rooms, standard four-person rooms, comfort four-person rooms, and upgraded Superior Rooms. The twin rooms use a 1LDK-style layout, while the larger four-person rooms give you more space for family or group stays.
The Superior Rooms are the hotel’s top room category. Each one has 80㎡ of space, ocean views, carefully selected furniture and interiors, and a massage chair. This room type is a strong choice when you want more room to relax, read, cook, or spend a slow evening indoors after the onsen.
Your room includes a bath, warm-water washing toilet, TV with digital and BS channels, washing machine, dryer, and free Wi-Fi. Amenities include face towels, bath towels, yukata, slippers for indoor and outdoor use, toothbrush, rinse-in shampoo, body soap, and hair dryer. Razors, cleansing products, face wash, lotion, and cream are available free of charge at the front desk.
The kitchen includes a one-burner electric stove, refrigerator, microwave, electric kettle, tea set, cutting board, knife, pot, frying pan, cooking utensils, plates, bowls, mugs, cutlery, glasses, chopsticks, strainer, mixing bowl, dish soap, and sponge. You can cook simple meals in your room, but you need to bring or buy laundry detergent, ice, seasonings, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil. Rice cookers, hot plates, tabletop IH cookers, IH pots, toasters, and humidifiers are available as rental items, with some charged per night.
Dining
Restaurant Ai is on the 1st floor. You can enjoy dishes that highlight Minami-Boso and Katsuura seafood, along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 9:30 and requires a reservation by 20:00 the day before. Dinner is served from 18:00 to 21:00, with meal reservations required by 18:00 and last drink order at 20:30.
For dinner, the chef-recommended Mini Kaiseki Gozen features a large sashimi boat and grilled turban shell as the main items. The set also includes appetizers, anago Yanagawa-style hot pot, fried dishes, chawanmushi, rice, soup, and pickles.
You can also choose the seasonal sashimi boat set, beef stew hamburg steak with whole shrimp fry, or a children’s plate with omurice, shrimp fry, chicken steak, salad, fries, soup, and dessert. Meal contents may change depending on ingredient availability.
Breakfast focuses on Katsuura’s local food culture. The “Uma-Aji” breakfast set is built around Minami-Boso’s horse mackerel food culture, which has been recognized as a “100-Year Food” by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. The set includes aji namero, aji yuan-yaki, sanga shumai, chicken dumpling soup, small side dishes, rice, and pickles. A children’s Western-style breakfast with pancakes, sausage, potatoes, ham, salad, juice, and dessert is also available.
You can also try the hotel chef’s original Katsuura-style tantanmen, made with thin strips of pork. It is the hotel’s take on Katsuura’s local soul food.
Onsen and Wellness
Sotobo no Yu is the hotel’s free-flowing hot spring bath on the 1st floor. The water has a light brown color and contains sodium chloride and bicarbonate components. The spring is listed as a sodium-chloride hot spring: hypotonic, weakly alkaline, and low-temperature.
The area has been known as a place for rest and recuperation since the Keicho period, from 1596 to 1614.
The hot spring bath is open every day from 15:30 to 23:00 and from 7:00 to 9:30. The jacuzzi and sauna are open every day from 15:30 to 22:00. Hours may change during Golden Week, summer holidays, year-end and New Year holidays, long holiday periods, or maintenance.
The hot spring entrance uses a tag-key system, and you receive guidance at check-in. You cannot bring food or drinks into the bathing area, and all photography, video recording, and audio recording are banned in the bath and changing areas.
Guests with Tattoos
If you have tattoos, you cannot use the public baths. However, you can book a private bath for a fee. The front desk will help you reserve one, depending on availability.
Facilities
Sotobo no Yu: A free-flowing hot spring bath on the 1st floor, with jacuzzi and sauna.
Restaurant Ai: A 1st-floor restaurant for breakfast and dinner, with advance reservations required.
Outdoor Pool: A summer-only outdoor pool, usually open from late July to mid-September. Use is free for overnight stays, and normal pool hours are 8:00 to 18:00. For 2026, the hotel lists the outdoor pool period as July 18 to September 23.
Front Desk Items: Razors, cleansing products, face wash, lotion, and cream are available free of charge. Laundry detergent, ice, seasonings, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil are available for a fee.
Vending Machines: You can buy canned juice and beer on site.
Rental Items: Rice cookers, hot plates, tabletop IH cookers, IH pots, toasters, and humidifiers are available in limited numbers. Some items are free, and some carry a nightly charge.
Free Wi-Fi: You can use Wi-Fi in rooms and public spaces free of charge.
Parking: Outdoor parking is available for about 50 cars, free of charge, on a first-come, first-served basis. You receive a parking pass at the front desk and display it inside your car during your stay.
Activities
You can use Katsuura Hilltop Hotel & Residence as a base for food, ocean, and sightseeing. Nearby, you can explore Katsuura Morning Market, known for more than 400 years of history, and enjoy local seafood such as bonito, kinmedai, and horse mackerel.
Katsuura is also known for Katsuura tantanmen, a spicy local noodle dish with red chili oil, onion sweetness, and minced meat flavor. At the hotel restaurant, you can try the chef’s original Katsuura-style tantanmen without leaving the property.
For sightseeing, you can visit Katsuura Undersea Park, the Natural History Museum and Institute Chiba Coastal Branch, JAXA Katsuura Space Communications Station, and Katsuura Lighthouse. For outdoor time, the area offers fishing, surfing, diving, cruising, sea fishing, golf, swimming beaches in summer, and farm experiences in the wider Minami-Boso area.
Additional Features
- All rooms are ocean view
- Spacious interiors with private kitchen and laundry
- Free Wi-Fi
- Flexible check-in and check-out (15:00 / 11:00)
- Non-smoking throughout
- Rental appliances and kitchen tools
- Nearby attractions and events in southern Chiba
