Tamano Velodrome

Great location for a one night stay, directly across from station, good size room

Lovely room in a lovely boutique hotel. Clean, spacious, well appointed, and a great shower. 2-minute walk from the train station and a short walk to the historic quarter. Just be aware that they changed the checkout time to 10. (Some of their materials still say 11 and we had factored that into our plans.)

The staff at the ryokan were excellent, super kind and helpful. However, also a bit disorganized. We were asked three times to fill out the registration card after we had already checked in. Most disturbingly, a staff member entered our room after 9 PM without knocking and, for some reason, demanded to see our key. When we then complained at the front desk, we got a very Japanese too-embarrassed answer rather than addressing our complaint. The dinners were superbly presented, but uneven in quality. The sashimi course on the first night was barely edible, and we love sashimi. But most of the rest of the meals were excellent. And a suggestion, take a room on the second floor. The walls are paper thin, of course, but so is the ceiling it seems, and we were kept awake by the movement of the guests above us. The ryokan is in a stellar location, and we enjoyed our stay, but there is room for improvement, for sure.