Solo Male Trip, Atami & Odawara 1-Night, 2-Day Hot Spring Travel Report (May 2021)

May 2021: a free-spirited solo male travelogue! After Atami Onsen, I explored Odawara on a 1-night 2-day trip—here’s the real thrill of going alone.

That the post-bath lounge was stacked with manga—and I nearly spent the whole night reading—is an eternal secret.

“Atami and Odawara 1-Night 2-Day Hot Spring Travelogue (May 2021)”

Journey 1. Moving to Atami

I was planning to eat “seafood” or “simmered alfonsino” for lunch at an eatery in Atami, so I meant to take the 11:00 Shinkansen from Tokyo Station and arrive around noon—but I ended up more than an hour late!

Nobody gets mad when you’re late—that’s the upside of solo travel—but I get mad at myself!

I almost bought an ekiben on the Shinkansen platform without thinking, but somehow held out. If I ate there, I wouldn’t have room for lunch in Atami! I ended up arriving past 1:00 PM.

I arrived at Atami Station completely starving, and the McDonald’s right in front of me looked way too tempting—but luckily traffic was jammed, so I couldn’t go. Solo travel is full of traps! Eating at McDonald’s would have been fine, but it would have halved the point of coming to Atami.

With a stomach this empty, even these guys look like food! …No they don’t

Journey 2. Lunch is Alfonsino at a Famous Restaurant

Walking along the shopping street in front of Atami Station, a famous eatery featured on Atami guide sites comes into view.

Since I was completely empty (I’d overslept), I walked in without really checking the place (I was late), and they recommended the course—so I picked one with “simmered alfonsino.” I ordered a beer and waited about 10 minutes; the simmered dish that arrived was jet black.

Honestly, the simmered dish tasted fairly salty, so I was glad I’d ordered beer—but it wasn’t very good, so I won’t name the shop.

The course was supposed to come with sherbet for dessert, and I was looking forward to rinsing that salty taste with something sweet and cold—but the dessert was iced coffee!

Haaah?! Σ(￣□￣;)

The dessert is iced coffee!?

The dessert is iced coffee!?

The dessert is iced coffee!?

Doesn’t a salty mouth just turn into a bitter one? Be careful!

Journey 3. Sightseeing in Atami

Atami has a beach called “Atami Sun Beach.” In May, wanting to see the calm sand without swimmers, I left the eatery and walked toward the coast—then realized something along the way.

Atami Station is halfway up a mountain, Sun Beach is on the coastline!

Of course! It’s a slope, right?! Going down means climbing back up on the return.

At Atami Sun Beach, couples were scattered here and there, so I thoughtfully took a photo—of the couples!

It’s “Omiya” and “Kanichi”! And subtly backlit. In the story of “Omiya and Kanichi,” Kanichi kicks Omiya for his own sake—but as an ally of women everywhere, I want to kick Kanichi’s back.

It’s “The Back I Want to Kick.”

Classic beach play means the “brinkmanship game”—and almost without fail, I don’t stop until I get wet.

Journey 4. TEA Time at a Stylish Cafe

After playing in the waves at Sun Beach, I figured I’d head back to the inn—but of course the way back is uphill! Against the refreshing sea breeze, I climbed a mountain-grade slope that came out of nowhere, drenched in sweat, wandering steep little paths for 30 minutes with no idea where the inn was—until my smartphone battery finally died…

Σ（￣□￣;）

If the map (my phone) was gone too, worst case I’d be sleeping outdoors on an Atami hillside! Realizing that (not really going to happen (lol)), I looked around and spotted a cafe.

Blue Nine Cafe

They said it becomes a “BAR” at night, so I thought about coming back after a soak—but right now I’m gloriously lost on Atami’s steep little paths! I have no confidence I can find my way back (T_T).

Journey 5. Arriving at the Inn

Tonight’s inn is “Oedo Onsen Monogatari Atami,” which I’d reserved. It’s a great-value plan with a “funamori alfonsino” platter, plus all-you-can-eat buffets for dinner and breakfast—I just want to get there fast and wash off this sweat from the hillside climb in a hot spring!

I want to wash it away!

I want to wash it away!

I want to wash it away!

Praying like that and staring at my phone map, I finally arrived—”Oedo Onsen Monogatari Atami” was above me!

Σ（￣□￣;）

Now what? “Oedo Onsen Monogatari Atami” towers far overhead, but there’s no way I’m climbing that stone wall. I checked Google Maps on the phone I’d charged at the cafe and sized up the situation!

I’m torn between going up then down, or down then up!

Thinking I’d go down then up (the blue route), I walked about 5m and noticed a normal “back door.” I’ll go in that way. (Still need to check in, though).

Check-in was at the 5th-floor front desk; I took the elevator up and checked in without a hitch. Out of frustration, I went back outside once to photograph the front entrance—something I probably could have done at checkout on the way out. Hotel staff might have thought, “What is this guy doing?”

Journey 6. Taking a Bath Before Dinner

As expected, I can’t photograph the large public bath, so I shot the post-bath lounge instead! There was a forest of manga—once you wander in, you can’t get out!

Manga is the best!

Gazing at bare-faced ladies in yukata, fresh from the bath and coming out cheerfully, while I read manga intently—it was truly Shangri-La. If I fell asleep like that, I’d miss dinner, so I forced myself back to my room!

Journey 7. Dinner is a Luxurious Buffet

When I got to the dinner venue (restaurant), families, couples, and women’s travel groups had already filled the tables—but I also spotted a solo male guest like me!

A comrade!

I shouted it in my heart, but didn’t actually approach. If anything, the table of two soft-looking ladies in picturesque post-bath yukata had an irresistible scent♡ Looking nervously—isn’t that solo male guest from earlier already sitting right next to them?

He wasn’t a comrade, he was a formidable rival!

There was a funamori alfonsino sashimi platter—and that I thought about bringing the whole boat over as-is is a secret. Destination: the table of that two-woman group! …That would only annoy the people it was brought to.

The all-you-can-eat sushi is delightful too, but with “sushi,” “soba,” “curry,” and “mixed rice,” I worried I couldn’t finish it all. Here, bringing the whole box to the ladies’ table…

Alright already, enough of that!

8 pieces of sushi, simmered dishes, chicken wings, 8 slices of sashimi, steak, tempura, mapo tofu, simmered alfonsino, chawanmushi, tofu, egg tofu, white soup (lol), fruit for dessert—appetite exploded right over romance! If I get in the bath after this, I’ll sink from sheer weight (I ate too much)!

Journey 8. Relaxing in the Room

In a cozy 7.5-tatami Japanese-style room, sitting in the chair by the window, I enjoy the ocean view of Atami.

It was a building view!

On a solo trip you don’t have to worry about anyone else, so I drink while watching a movie (anime) on a tablet in the room, and when I get sleepy, I lie down. Let’s sleep properly in a futon!

Journey 9. Breakfast is Also a Buffet

At the breakfast venue (restaurant), I sat at the same table as last night, the two-woman group sat at theirs, and the solo male guest sat next to them again—I thought they were assigned seats! Breakfast is buffet-style too.

No “greenery”! Man food!

Thinking this food might be what built my “selfish dosukoi body,” I reflect a little—then enjoy it thoroughly!

Journey 10. Moving from Atami to Odawara

Atami to Odawara takes 22 minutes on the local line (Tokaido Line). Even on a local, seats are fairly easy to find, so I let my guard down thinking “If I just sit quietly, 22 minutes is nothing”—then hit a stretch with no smartphone signal (T_T).

You weren’t sitting quietly! You were using the internet.

The paper lantern at Odawara Station is amazing. Leaving the station, I walk toward Odawara Castle.

Journey 11. Odawara Castle is Truly “Mountain Climbing”

Since it’s “Odawara Castle,” a famous Hojo stronghold from the Sengoku period, I figured it was a top-tier impregnable fortress. Looking at the scenery around the moat, I felt oddly at peace amid the graceful view—but one thought hit me: it’s huge, and the main gate is far! Still, walking the flat path along the moat felt good; even in the early-summer heat of May, it wasn’t hard—until I passed through the main gate and realized…

Could it be uphill all the way?

I’m no gutsy hiker—mountain climbing isn’t on my itinerary—but I’d let my guard down. This is a famous Sengoku castle; of course putting the keep on top of a hill makes it harder to attack. Still, having come this far I couldn’t turn back, so I climbed in the early-summer heat of May, reached the keep, and realized!

It’s blatantly a slope!

Thinking “the long-awaited keep” if I just finish this last slope, I pushed myself up, entered the castle tower—and as expected, realized!

After climbing the stairs of a 5-story building with no elevator, there’s an observation deck on the top floor of the keep. Are you telling me to climb five more floors of stairs from here?!

Sagami Bay from the keep’s observation deck is wonderful. Imagining Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s vast army pressing into this bay during the Conquest of Hojo was a moment of sending my thoughts back through history.

Journey 12. A Hot Spring on the Way Back!

I was sweaty from the Odawara Castle climb, but figuring there was no helping it, I headed toward the station thinking I’d eat and head home—when it appeared right in front of me, as if aimed at me!

A super sento appears. Odawara Ohoribata “Manyo no Yu”—as if designed to snare people who sweated it out at Odawara Castle and desperately need a shower, then reel them in. Showing up right before my eyes at this moment is far too perfect!

Morning hot springs in Atami, afternoon at an Odawara super sento—this Atami–Odawara solo male trip is done! Thank you very much!

Bonus: “Atami and Odawara 1-Night 2-Day Hot Spring Travelogue” Travel Expenses

Here are the costs for this Atami/Odawara 1-night 2-day hot spring trip.

Item	Expense
“Transportation” Shinkansen Non-reserved Seat (Outbound) Tokyo → Atami	3,740 JPY
Course meal at famous Atami shopping street shop (Sashimi, simmered alfonsino, 1 go of Japanese sake, 1 glass of beer)	4,500 JPY
Atami shopping street street food (Grilled abalone skewer, 1 bottle of beer)	1,500 JPY
Coffee at a stylish Atami cafe	500 JPY
Oedo Onsen Monogatari Atami (Accommodation fee)	10,000 JPY
Bathing fee, 3 glasses of lemon sour, canned beer, canned chu-hi	2,000 JPY
“Transportation” Local Line (Transfer) Atami → Odawara	418 JPY
Odawara Castle Tower admission fee	510 JPY
Odawara “Manyo no Yu” admission fee + meal cost	6,550 JPY
Odawara cafe (Cake + coffee)	1,150 JPY
“Transportation” Shinkansen Non-reserved Seat (Return) Odawara → Tokyo	3,280 JPY
Total	34,148 JPY

The cost of a solo male 1-night 2-day hot spring trip to Atami and Odawara came to 34,148 JPY! Price-wise, I’m satisfied.

Enjoy a great time on your solo trip!

More on traveling Atami: “Easy to Access, Relaxing, and Great Hot Springs! Atami Sightseeing”

Atami 1-Night 2-Day Hot Spring Travelogue (November 2022)

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