Fodor's Expert Review Hotel Oosado

Perched on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Japan, this resort offers ocean views, an open-air hot-spring pool, and comfortable Japanese- or Western-style rooms. What you're really here for, though, is the food: meals consist of fresh sashimi, grilled sazae (a local shellfish), wagyu beef, and vegetable tempura from Sado farms. It's all washed down with some Niigata sake, of course. The hotel is a 50-minute bus ride from Ryotsu; ask in advance about the hotel's shuttle bus.