Everything old is new, and cool, again at this hotel in Japan’s hot spring town comeback king

As a new generation of travelers discovers Atami, it’s the New Akao’s time to shine again .

Atami is a great town to go to if you don’t want to do anything.

That’s not a sarcastic, backhanded compliment, either.

The coastal town in Shizuoka Prefecture is famous for its seaside hot spring inns and hotels , and the quintessential Atami getaway involves lots of looking out at the ocean, soaking in hot spring baths, and looking out at the ocean while soaking in hot spring baths.

Atami had its heyday in the late Showa Era years of the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, but once the bubble economy popped, the stream of travelers largely dried up.

By the time the economy had picked up again, the town had acquired a bad rap as an unfashionably outdated place to visit, Recently, though, there’s been a boom in interest in the Showa retro aesthetic, and Atami is once again a top travel destination, as our Japanese-language reporter Natsuno Futon saw first-hand on her recent visit.

The rotary area just outside Atami Station, as well as the covered shopping street that extends from it, were filled with travelers looking for tasty things to eat and souvenirs to buy (such as plushies of Atami’s balding middle-aged man fairy mascot ).

But like we said, one of the best things to do in Atami is “nothing,” and Natsuno was headed to one of the best places in town to do just that.

Several hotel shuttle buses make stops at the Atami Station rotary, and the one that Natsuno and her family were waiting for was the one for guests of the Hotel New Akao .

The New Akao is the Atami hotel, a major landmark that’s been known to travel fans in Japan for decades.

The ride to the hotel from the station takes about 10 minutes, so it’s not far, but it feels like a trip to another world as the bus enters this tunnel along the way .

Once you come out the other end, the road continues rising and winding… … and then the iconic, old-school New Akao (ニューアカオ) sign comes into view .

As you can see, the hotel stands very close to the water, which gives it some fantastic views… …but the interior is no slouch either, and as soon as you step into the lobby, you’re whisked back to the old-school luxury of the Showa era .

There’s no modern minimalism here.