Few Days Condominium Jozankei

The onsen was a big part of why we enjoyed our two nights at Apartment 106 of Few Days Condominium in December 2024. The small baths are on the roof, on the seventh floor, with a lovely forest view. There are separate baths for men and women, showers with shampoo and body wash, a cold bath, a hot bath indoors, and another hot bath outside. They were so hot we added snow to cool them down. They close for cleaning around 9 or 10 a.m. Jozankei was a good base for exploring, but in the winter holiday period, local onsens restrict access for visitors who aren’t staying there, and many restaurants are closed. I’ve included a summary of local onsen information from the tourist information centre in the photos. This is a private apartment rather than a hotel, so there’s no reception or place to leave bags before the 3 p.m. check-in. You get the key box code and nighttime front door code by Booking.com message, and the owner replies quickly. There’s an entrance by the parking lot on the first floor, another at the front on the fifth floor, and an elevator between floors. We first booked for two people, then added a third through Booking.com customer service. Inside are two single beds and a sofa that folds out into a third. The beds are firm, warm, and comfortable, with spare blankets in the closet. Slippers and yukata are supplied. The private bathroom has a bath and shower, shampoo, body wash, hand soap, hairdryer, towels, and a Japanese washlet toilet with bidet. We didn’t use the shower because we went to the onsen both days, but its temperature is set from a panel beside the bathroom and it heats quickly. There’s a coin washer and dryer by the onsen on the seventh floor. I think it costs 100yen for 30 minutes, and you may need your own detergent. We didn’t do laundry, but used the room’s drying rack for our onsen towels. The kitchen has a large fridge and freezer, gas stove with a fish drawer, pots and pans, cooking utensils, vegetable peeler, fish bone tweezers, cutlery, microwave, mugs, glasses, bowls, plates, rice cooker, cutting board and knives, two kinds of kettle, and a large sink with dish soap, sponges, and drying towels. There’s no supermarket close by, so we brought groceries from Sapporo. For temperature control there’s the usual Japanese wall unit, though it isn’t very powerful on its own, plus a standing fan and three heaters: gas, electric, and fuel. We really loved our stay. It was a perfect place to enjoy Jozankei.

Clean, cozy, easy to get around, and full of useful travel and how-to tips. That information made us feel safe and well looked after. Thanks, Neil and team, for being so welcoming.

The bed was dusty, the room wasn’t soundproof, and the air conditioner was broken.

The place had a warm but slightly bleak feel, like I’d arrived right at the edge of autumn. Since I had a rental car, the location worked out fine, and there was a large supermarket about 20-30 minutes away. It was peaceful, and I really liked the free open-air bath and natural-spring public bath. I stayed four nights and five days. I didn’t need room cleaning, but it seemed only natural that shower towels would be replaced without me having to ask. They could simply have left them on the chairs in the hallway. With nobody at the front desk, that was especially disappointing. The Wi-Fi is very slow. Get an unlimited data plan, it’s less frustrating.