Just a short train ride from Nagoya lies the small city of Inuyama, whose compact size belies its wealth of varied attractions. One of the newest of these attractions is HOTEL μ STYLE INUYAMA experience, which opened in July 2021.

Located just steps away from the west exit at Meitetsu Inuyama Station, this facility affords visitors a stay in state-of-the-art comfort coupled with convenient access to the city's famed castle – a national treasure – as well as the shops, food stalls, and museums that line the streets along the fortification's approach.

An Inuyama motif is apparent right from the moment you step inside the hotel.

Items in the spacious lobby include a smaller-scale replica of one of the city's yama – festival floats – as well as a display featuring the cormorant fishing that Inuyama is known for, and a gift area where purchasers can find pieces of Inuyama-yaki ceramicware and locally baked cakes.

Even the guidance signage throughout the hotel features pretty pieces of Inuyama-yaki ceramic.

The hotel offers a range of room types for different-size groups and budgets.

Here, too, the "Inuyama" theme is apparent: original artwork depicting scenes and views throughout the city adorns each guest room, and even some of the furniture recalls the red lacquer used on many of the yama floats.

The big, floor-to-ceiling windows add to a sense of ample space, and because the hotel is so close to the rail station, many rooms on one side of the facility look out upon the tracks, making for views of working trains that railway enthusiasts are sure to enjoy!

On the ground level is the restaurant “Farmers Garden Café Omelette”. It’s connected by a corridor to a guest lounge and an outdoor terrace, and staying guests are welcome to enjoy beverages from the restaurant in either of these relaxing settings. The terrace also leads to a peaceful Japanese-style garden for quiet strolls.

Also on the ground level are two large communal baths – one for women and one for men – that each also include an outdoor rotenburo bathing area and a sauna.

A well-loved character in Japanese folklore is a young hero named Momotaro. Local legend holds that Momotaro, whose name means "peach boy," originated in the Inuyama area, and the hotel plays up this connection by lightly imbuing water in the outdoor bath with the fragrance of peaches for guests to enjoy.

Checking in is easy. Multilingual interactive kiosks guide guests through the process of looking up a reservation, selecting a room and method of payment, and receiving their room key.

Stays include breakfast, so the kiosks dispense a meal voucher along with the payment receipt and a slip containing helpful info about using the hotel and its facilities with security.

Breakfast features a salad made to your order using what you choose from a wide selection of ingredients, toppings, and dressings.

There's also a buffet-style selection featuring rice, cereal, additive-free breads, and other Japanese and Western-style breakfast items – over 30 different ones in all.

In Inuyama, the traditional practice of cormorant fishing – river fishing that uses trained cormorants to catch fish – has a history that stretches back some 1,300 years. On request, as part of living up to its name of "Inuyama experience," the hotel can arrange to have working cormorant masters come to the hotel to explain their specialized apparel and fishing gear, and the techniques they use to control their cormorants and retrieve the caught fish from the birds.

The hotel also offers guided tours that take visitors to the castle and other historic sites in the area, as well as hands-on activities that let you experience Japanese culture up close. We'll take a detailed look at some of these in another article!