Japanese open-air hot springs facing the snow-covered mountains, the ultimate one-boat, two-food experience

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🤗 01 Hakodate Yukawa Hot Spring

Hakodate, one of the first ports in Japan to be opened to foreign trade, is definitely a half-half city. Its exotic streets are beautiful and romantic, its fun and warm activities, its fresh seafood that smells like the sea... Anyone who visits this small city in the southernmost part of Hokkaido will fall in love with it.

In this small city, in the centuries-old hot spring resort of Yunokawa, Hokkaido, a hotel that blends traditional Japanese interest with modern fashion has been born - Watchtower NOGUCHI Hakodate. The hotel's Japanese-style modern space, designed in accordance with Japan's unique aesthetic sense, blends the city's hybrid atmosphere and brings a touch of new color to this coast.

In addition to the design-oriented environment and the open-air sea-viewing hot spring on the roof of the building, the “Watchtower” also offers the culmination of the best of southern Hokkaido's cuisine: fatty tuna from the Tsugaru Strait, where the warm and cold currents meet, sweet and refreshing Hakodate sea urchins, black cows from the Onuma National Park, and ice cream made from Hokkaido's cow's milk.... ...Overlooking Hakodate Harbor, one of the world's top three night views, and with the finest ingredients, this is the ultimate experience of “one session at a time”.

Wangro NOGUCHI Hakodate 1-17-22 Yukawa-cho, Hakodate Market, Hokkaido +81-138-59-3556 Price (including breakfast and dinner) ¥20,000 per person www.bourou-hakodate.com

🤗 02 Pensioner's Cow Hot Springs

Perhaps you don't know about this stunning secret of Hokkaido, Doto: Hokkaido's only World Natural Heritage Site, Japan's largest wetland, and a variety of national parks are all lavishly clustered within the boundaries of Doto. And naturally, the hot springs here come with a touch of the wild. A few ryokans are hidden in the woods at the foot of Mt.

For hot spring lovers, the most fun is the free outdoor hot spring “Matsukiyu”. It's a 5-minute drive from the ryokan, and you can add river water to regulate the temperature of the hot spring by the side of a clear stream, making it a fun place to visit. However, it is important to note that this is a mixed bath, so female visitors should wrap a towel around themselves before entering.

In addition to the hot springs, this is the best place for observing island lords (a type of owl) and for photography. The island owl is the world's largest owl, inhabiting Hokkaido, Kuril Islands and other places, and is on the verge of extinction in Japan, where it has been designated a nationally protected animal. There are also some unique and creative ranches in the cheese farm town of Nakashibetsu. For example, there is a private art gallery, the Arakawa Print Gallery, built on the Sasaki farm. The old grain silo is used as a gallery to exhibit the works of local printmakers.

Matsumi Hasegawa, the owner of the inn, explains, “Tourists come here for the salmon in the river, and some come to get a glimpse of the island lords. It's nice to feel the wild atmosphere up close and personal, and it's soothing to the soul.” It's the lack of transportation that makes this place even more secluded.

“No. 1 Hot Spring Hotel” Hokkaido Nakashibetsu-cho Pension Cow 518 +81-153-78-2131 Price (including breakfast and dinner): 13,000 yen per person. www. yoroushi.jp

🤗 03 Chikouchi Hot Spring

After passing through the Seikan Tunnel on the JR Tsugaru Straits Line, you will see a sign for Chikuchi Onsen on the right side of the road. Located at the foot of Daisenkendake, the tallest mountain in Hokkaido, the inn “Utopia Wakurakuen” is built on the mountain and is a secluded place in the mountain. The hot spring has a history of 800 years and is the oldest secret hot spring in Hokkaido, and is a member of the Japan Secret Hot Spring Preservation Association.

The indoor hot spring is a slightly grayish light blue hot spring water, and the spring water precipitates piled up at the bottom of the soup are like fish scales, which are shiny and very beautiful. The open-air hot spring pool is a slightly thicker hot spring water, and you can feel the smooth hot spring water gently moisturizing and wrapping your whole body, which makes you feel relaxed and happy all of a sudden. There is also a mountain hot spring at the back of the mountain. I borrowed long rain boots from the hotel and headed for the mountain. After climbing for about 20 minutes, you can see the hot water bubbling up.

Not to be missed is the ryokan dinner, where the sashimi of yellowtail flounder, a specialty of Chichinai-machi, is very tender and refreshing, and the oysters are large, tender and plump. The oysters are large, tender and plump, and the mountain delicacies, such as mountain vegetables and duck hotpot, are a real treat.

Shiretokocho is also home to one of Hokkaido's oldest treasures, the Raiko Shrine. The shrine is hidden in a dense forest and is said to have been built after the discovery of the Shiretoko Onsen hot springs. The shrine is dedicated to the god of thunder, who is in charge of telecommunications and marriage. It is a good place to pray for luck in love and marriage.

Yutopia Wakuen (Musical Gardens) 289 Aza-Yunosato, Chikouchi-machi, Kamiso-gun, Hokkaido +81-139-26-2341 http://01392onsen.com Price (including breakfast and dinner): 11,000 yen per person

🤗 04 Lake Shikotsu Onsen

Not far from New Chitose Airport, the lake's water is crystal clear and the transparency of the water is one of the best in Japan. Surrounded by mountains, you can sometimes see the top of a volcano surrounded by smoke, which makes it look like a fairyland.

In this quiet and faraway place, there is also a place for relaxation. Located on the shore of Lake Shikotsu, LAKESIDE VILLA Suimeikaku has long been a part of the landscape. The hotel is located in Shikotsu Toya National Park and was built before the park was designated as a national park, but now no accommodation is allowed in the park, so Tsui Myoko is the only hot spring lodging built on the shore of the lake.

All 8 guest rooms face the lake and have hot spring baths by the windows. When you open the window, you can see the bottom of the lake, and the peaks of Mt. Tarumae, Mt. Fumitake, and Mt. Etiwadake are not far away, and the breeze brings the flavor of Hokkaido to the room. Inside the hotel, there are two open-air hot springs, “Luri-no-yu” and “Jade-no-yu”, which face the lake and have a unique atmosphere, and you can enjoy the fragrance of cherry blossoms in spring, the breeze of summer, the gradual reddening of the maple in autumn and the snow in winter. The spring cherry blossoms, summer breeze, autumn maples, and winter snowfalls can all be experienced here. The quality of the springs here is so good that you will immediately feel your skin as fine and smooth as if you were a newborn.

The dinner served here is an authentic French meal, with ingredients naturally chosen from Hokkaido's seafood and mountain treasures. When Japanese “wagashi” meets French cuisine, after the visual amazement, what follows is an unprecedented taste bud experience.

LAKESIDE VILLA Tsuimeikaku Lake Shikotsu Onsen, Chitose, Hokkaido +81-123-25-2131 www.suimeikaku.jp Price (including breakfast and dinner) ￥20,000 per person

🤗 05 Abashiri Onsen

Kitano-no-Nuan is the name of a hotel, and the saying “It's good to have friends from afar” hangs over its entrance. The hotel's wooden building is called “Tonda-zukuri” and has 14 rooms. Abashiri used to be a remote place for prisoners, and artifacts from the Abashiri Prison Museum are displayed in the corridor.

People who step into the North Warmth will be attracted by the hall made of natural wood, the columns in the original wood state, towering into the top, grand and not losing interest; the vintage TV set in the corner attracts attention, and the lovely shape is delightful; the open-flame iron stove that heats up the water in the way of wood burning is the “star” in the hall, and every guest passing by will have to stop and look at it. Every guest who passes by has to stop and study it.

The source of Abashiri Onsen comes from the natural hot springs gushing out from the shore of Lake Abashiri. The hot spring bath “Ryuyu” is located on a wooden platform, and the view of the clear and open Lake Abashiri jumps into the horizon as you look past the trees and fields along the fence. What's even more special is that it is a bath where you can soak your entire body even while standing up, and it has a surprisingly deep depth that makes for a refreshing soak.

From the top of the pool is also hanging down a number of thick hemp rope, it is thought that some guests covet the warmth of the pool water, may not be able to resist the danger caused by a nap, hanging rope can be gripped to ensure the safety of the hand - this way of standing soak in the soup, but also really unheard of experience!

Kitano Warm is proud of its cuisine, which is a creative combination of Japanese and French styles. In addition to home-grown fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh wild greens from the nearby mountains are also important ingredients, as well as carefully selected and rich treasures from the Sea of Okhotsk. Improvisation is a major theme in the chef's creations; for example, if the owner happens to pick some fresh mountain celery on the day of your visit, you will have a dish for dinner that incorporates mountain celery.

Warmth of the North Hokkaido Abashiri City Daigaku 39-17 +81-152-45-5963 Reference price (including breakfast and dinner) 23,000 yen per person 〜 www.only-hotsk.com

🤗 01 Hakodate Yukawa Hot Spring

🤗 02 Pensioner's Cow Hot Springs

🤗 03 Chikouchi Hot Spring

🤗 04 Lake Shikotsu Onsen

🤗 05 Abashiri Onsen

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