Kesennuma Plaza Hotel

Awesome Onsen, Great View, Meh Room

This hotel is pretty well-known in the area and is easy to spot on a drive along the coast thanks to its stand-alone 5 story elevator connecting the area in front of the hotel to the ocean level sidewalk and parking area. Back in 2011, people in this area fled to this building to avoid the tsunami. We lucked into a last-minute booking between Christmas and New Years in December of 2021. The room wasn't much to look at and the breakfast was pretty traditional Japanese fare, meaning there wasn't a whole lot I could eat, but the whole family absolutely loved our stay there nonetheless. The onsen was utterly fantastic, with a large indoor pool, smaller outdoor pool and a sauna in between. My memory of the steam rising from the outdoor pool as my daugther and I looked up at the stars will stay with me for years to come. Watching the sunrise over the bay was also breathtaking. If you can afford it or get it at a discounted rate, this place is definitely worth it for the onsen and the view. The room itself wasn't much to look at and was a basic Japanese-style room with a large tatami area for futons to be laid out on and a small sitting area near the windows. Our room even had a small amount of pre-existing damage to one of the walls, which might be why we got it cheap. We look forward to coming back, hopefully to a less damaged room.