Ryotei Hanayura Ryokan

The staff were wonderfully hospitable, and the setting was quiet, but I can’t say the stay justified the cost. We paid nearly 120,000 yen, about 770 USD, for a spacious Japanese-style room with a private onsen. The room felt a little worn, and the private bath was quite small. At that price, I expected extras such as a shuttle from the station or rides to nearby sights. Snow and ice made walking difficult on the day I visited. The ground was slippery and the road uneven, and we had to carry all our luggage while trying to catch a small bus that filled up quickly and didn’t come often enough. The public onsen was empty when I went, but the water was so hot I could only stay for 10 minutes. I went back to my room, where I could adjust the temperature.

The kaiseki dinner was the best I’ve ever had, and breakfast was wonderful too. I also enjoyed wandering the nearby street for shops and food. The onsen has four different pools, which made it especially relaxing. The place does look a bit dated, but it’s a traditional Japanese ryokan, so that felt authentic and fine to me. There’s no luggage service to the room, though everything else was perfect. Great value, absolutely worth it. 10/10, highly recommend!

The public hot springs have three indoor baths and two outside, each at a different temperature, so you can choose what feels best. Our traditional Japanese-style room was really big and had its own hot spring bath. The dinner course was superb, with lots of authentic dishes, and breakfast was perfect too.

The private onsen was the worst part of the stay. The tub had a thick coating of grime, felt slippery, and had nowhere to sit. I know natural hot springs can have sediment, but the private onsen I used at another place in Lake Toya was perfectly clean. This level of neglect was hard to excuse. The whole hotel felt extremely outdated, and not worth what I paid. The mattress and bamboo mat were visibly stained and seemed unhygienic, while the bathroom had a persistent bad smell. In the room, the facilities were worn and poorly maintained. We had to carry our own luggage and lay out our own futon. The public bath closed at 9:00 PM, along with the entire lobby, and checkout was as early as 10:00 AM. After closing, the place felt deserted and eerily quiet, like a ghost story. There was no gym or anything resembling proper facilities. I paid about $500 per person per night, and it was absolutely not worth it. Nearby onsen hotels cost half as much and offer much better quality. Don’t waste your money here.