Name: The Italia Ken
Address: 951-8061 Niigata, Niigata, Chuo-ku Nishibori 7-1574, Japan, Niigata, Niigata, Niigata, 951-8061, Japan
Rating: 8

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The Italia Ken

Niigata

In the Summer of 1874, there was a young Italian Pietro Miorele who came to Niigata with a French circus group upon the opening of the port. Miorele was badly injured in an accident and was left behind by the group, but he got hired by a local Niigata circus group after he recovered. The prefectural governor at the time Kusumoto Masataka was impressed with his story and provided some funds for Miorele to open a beef hotpot restaurant. The shop became prosperous, and Miorele was also called "Miola" by the locals. He was a popular person, later got married and living a happy life.

However, the restaurant was destroyed in the big fire of 1880, and Miola wanted to return to Italy as a result. With the encouragement of the neighbours, at the present place of Nishibori, he built the first full-fledged Western restaurant in Japan then. The taste of an elegant Western cuisine in a Western-style building called "Italian restaurant" was such a great idea that it was praised as "Rokkenikon of Niigata" and became a vastly popular restaurant. Miola continued to contribute as a centre of new food culture to Niigata and returned home to a united Italy after more than 30 years in Japan. He died in his home city Turin on November 1920. 

There were various constructions and re-developments carried out throughout the years, and by 1976 the hotel started operations. After more than 100 years, the restaurant and the hotel continue to live "the taste of an Italian restaurant" as created by Miola. 

After parking in the underground car park (the ¥1500 parking fee had been waived for hotel guests) and a simple registration we checked in to Room 910, a Twin Deluxe Room of 34 sq. metres, with a 2-seat sofa and coffee table. The room is spacious and clean, maybe a bit dated but still offering good comfort and convenience. 

We didn’t choose to eat dinner in the hotel but had breakfast at the Marco Polo Restaurant. It was a buffet breakfast with typical Japanese and Western food. A special thing was that there were hand-rolls made by the chef on order, with a choice of three ingredients. 

The package rate (room plus breakfast for two) was ¥25,000. But I didn’t need to pay because I used my Relux points to redeem it.

Rich in history

When planning a trip to Niigata, I was met with minimal reviews about this hotel, so I decided to share my impression. The hotel has recently been renovated, the setting is minimalist, but there is everything needed - in the room the bed (large, very comfortable), a little strange 2 pillows - one (small) ordinary, although very dense, and the second - with something slippery inside. The bedding, like 3 towels, are changed daily.

Nice city of Niigata

We had a family trip and my sister had arranged everything, so I arrived there not knowing what to expect. I thought the name of the hotel was quite funny (why Italia in Niigata?) when we arrived at the hotel but there was a leaflet in the lobby explaining the history of the hotel, which originates from a restaurant managed by an Italian who was left in Japan long time ago. So that background gave a nice feeling about the hotel, though the hotel looked bit old fashioned (but maintained well). 

The room was quite spacious for a Japanese business hotel, which tends to have tiny rooms. It was very cold outside but it was very warm inside, and it had a nice shower with good pressure of water. 

There were two options for breakfast: Japanese style and western style. I chose Japanese style which offered many items on a big plate, and it was very good. 

It is not a five-star hotel and the room is not very modern but I felt it was a special place with interesting history, and our stay was comfortable.

The Italia Ken

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