Shikotsuko Tsuruga Besso Ao no Za

We chose this hotel for its location near the lake, which worked perfectly with our full day of booked activities. The room was impressively large, especially for Japan, and we enjoyed the private onsen. The food had an interesting Nordic and Japanese mix, which suited me, though everyone has different tastes. Service met expectations. English wasn’t strong for all staff, so if you make a request, it’s best to confirm it more than once with the person handling it. I found that staff didn’t communicate with each other very much. That may come down to the language barrier and could be less of an issue for Japanese speakers. Overall, I thought the hotel was pretty good.

The rooms are spacious and very well maintained, and having a private in-room Onsen was perfect. After visiting all the major cities in Japan, the lake, woods, and mountains outside our balcony made this a peaceful nature retreat before flying back to Germany. The staff were polite, discreet, and accommodating when we communicated what we needed. Each night we added the dinner-inclusive service, with private dining and local dishes prepared by the chef. They could also accommodate requests related to allergies and preferences, such as vegetarian food, no meat, or grilled fish only. We were lucky to catch fall with light snow, fresh air, and plenty of sunshine. I appreciated the excellent service and time spent in nature.

The hotel’s facilities were good, and the staff were nice and attentive, but I was very disappointed with how things were handled. We paid around JPY170,000 per night, and it didn’t meet the standard I expected. We booked two nights through Relux and mentioned my partner’s food allergies and that the second day would be their birthday. The hotel emailed about the allergies, and I thanked them for taking care over those details. They didn’t mention the birthday, which I thought was okay. Staff confirmed the allergy information when we arrived, then checked again at the start of dinner on the first day. Even after those three acknowledgments, they served my partner an allergen at dinner on the second day, their birthday. There was nothing for the birthday either, just the food they were allergic to. We stayed at five hotels in Japan over two weeks, and some less expensive ones surprised us with birthday services even though those weren’t actually our birthdays. We also wanted to try the dyeing activity, but staff said the dyes were either too old or not ready. They had four pots, so I wasn’t sure why they couldn’t have dyes at different stages to avoid that timing issue. I do want to thank one male staff member who was very kind, apologized about the dyes, and let us see and photograph the dyeing room. He even helped us find all the historical and art pieces scattered around the dining area outside dining hours, when that area was otherwise closed.

There was a wonderful zen feeling as soon as we walked in, and the service was personal and impeccable. The location is convenient, just across a small road and car park from the Lake Shikotsu Visitor’s Center and main activity hub. Our room was spacious and luxurious, with a private onsen and jacuzzi. We booked half board, and breakfast and dinner were outstanding. We were also continually treated to complimentary drinks, fruit, snacks, and food.