Ryokan Sensyoen

They offered a small discount on our meal if we stayed overnight and ate at the attached soba restaurant. The meal was delicious and quite filling. Our room was bigger than expected, and we were lucky enough to have the onsen to ourselves. The rotenburo is only big enough for three people if they’re all child-size, but it was open during winter, so I got to enjoy it while watching the snow fall.

We went for a day visit. The night price was 1,300 yen per person and included one large towel and one small one. There were lockers for valuables, a hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and more. The onsen has one big hot pool, a jet spa, a cold pool, a sauna, and a small outdoor area with a tiny sit-down pool. There isn’t a large outdoor hot spring. A lovely receptionist greeted us and spoke a few words of English. Inside beside the onsen, there are seats and a vending machine where you can admire the small, beautiful garden.

It might be easier to get here by car. There’s an open-air car park in front of the ryokan, and a shuttle bus runs to Asahikawa station. The place was quiet, quaint, and clean, and our room was clean too. It had shampoo, conditioner, and body soap, while disposable toothbrushes and razors were available for self-service at the front desk. I thoroughly enjoyed the onsen and sauna in winter. There’s a soba restaurant in the ryokan with pretty good tempura soba and soba beer. The front desk can arrange breakfast for 2,200 yen per person, served in the restaurant. The hotel also offers free coffee in the morning. I enjoyed my stay here!

The food was really good, and we were lucky enough to see snow throughout our stay. The view was lovely too. The front desk had bus schedules that helped us plan, and the staff spoke English, which stood out compared with much of the rest of the country. Five stars.