Lake Saroma Tsuruga Resort

Walking around the lake was a wonderful experience. The room and onsen were neat and clean, and breakfast tasted really good. I’d definitely recommend staying here if you’re visiting this area.

Breakfast was frustrating too. We picked the 8:30 slot from the two options, 7:30 and 8:30, but only learned on arrival that the restaurant shuts at 9. At exactly 9, a staff member came over and told us to leave because it was closing. The room had a bad smell as soon as we walked in. I mentioned it to the staff member who showed us around, and she handed me fabric freshener and ran the sink tap for a while before leaving. It didn’t help. By nighttime the odor was even stronger, and I suspect there’s an ongoing plumbing problem. It was awful, and we couldn’t sleep properly. She should have offered us another room instead of relying on a quick fix that suited her.

Breakfast was the highlight, probably the best I’ve had in Japan in many years. The staff were also very welcoming, and the room view was absolutely lovely. The layout, though, was a letdown. The toilet and shower space is really cramped, and having the sink beside the bed makes mornings noisy and a bit messy. There was only one thin pillow, which may not work well for larger-bodied guests. The town is quiet and almost empty, with the nearest convenience store 8 km away, so you’ll need a car. There’s a small gift shop at the hotel with a few things. They also have fatbikes, mamachari bikes, and regular mountain bikes, but rentals cost 1,100 yen per day, which isn’t ideal if you only want one for an hour or two. It’s an acceptable place to stay, mainly for that breakfast.

The only thing to plan for is lunch. Before checking in, make sure you’ve eaten, since we couldn’t find any food within 15 km between 1:30 and 3:30 pm, while restaurants were still closed until 5. The room was clean, the bed comfortable, and both dinner and breakfast were amazingly good.