Tento-No-Yado Abashiri Kanko Hotel

A really good hotel if you're looking to get away from the bustle of town and spend time surrounded by lovely nature.

The morning view was what made me glad we'd stayed at Abashiri Kanko Hotel. From the eighth floor, the window looked out over Lake Abashiri and rolling hills, with dense forest all around. A few birds took off as I pulled the curtains back, and in the sunshine it was magnificent. We'd chosen the hotel mostly because we were arriving at night and wanted somewhere near Memanbetsu Airport, about a 20-minute drive away. Getting there in the pouring rain wasn't pleasant: the roads were dim, hemmed in by looming trees, and the hotel glowed green at the top of a steep road. Its blocky architecture had that typical innaka-hotel look. A gruff but kind man told us parking was limited and asked us to leave him our car key in case he had to move the car. There was one staff member visible in the lobby. Apart from the first two people we met, we didn't see anyone else around the hotel. It felt a bit like The Shining, with the old decor and a long, silent carpeted hallway leading to our room. The room itself was okay. We'd booked a Japanese-style room, but the futons weren't laid out. I eventually realized we were meant to set them up ourselves. We were tired, and there wasn't much nearby. I drove to the closest convenience store, maybe 15 minutes away, and we had cup noodles in the room for dinner.

I liked relaxing in the onsen in the morning, and the view from there was gorgeous. The room window had a great view too. For breakfast on the 2F, you can have as much seafood rice as you want, and I loved the porridge. There are comic books and massage chairs to enjoy, and ping pong is free on the 2F. My skills even got better 🏓.

The public bath, at least the men's side, was quite nice and open to guests for most of the day, with just a few hours closed for cleaning. The hotel is right in front of Abashiri Lake, though there wasn't anything happening at the lake when we visited in late June. Our Japanese-style rooms fit two futons and felt old, like they hadn't been revamped. The bathrooms were small and not well equipped, and one room's air conditioner remote was hard to use. Breakfast was decent, but the menu stayed the same throughout our three days. The staff were a mixed bag.