Sukayu Onsen Ryokan — Hotel in Aomori

Located few minutes away from Hakkoda Ropeway, this large historic ryokan is a guaranteed experience to Japan in its purest traditional element.||||Each room is a tatami room where doors are sliding and where slippers must be removed before going in. There is no bed and guests have to install their futon by themselves to sleep on the floor. The room is equipped with a tiny TV and a safe. There are green tea leaves, cups, and a hot water pot that is changed everyday. The water stays hot until at least the next morning. Toiletries consist of a towel, a small towel (that I saw people bringing inside the onsen), a bathrobe, a toothbrush and a razor. They are changed everyday.||||The room is cold in the winter, especially the floor. I recommend to bringing extra thick socks. I was also wearing my beanie at night. There is a gas heater in each room; it is efficient but temperature was dropping quickly once turned off.||||There is neither toilet nor sink nor shower in the room. Toilets and sinks are located on each floor. They are not new, but they are clean. They are separated by gender. Disposable sanitary papers are offered to cover the toilet seat.||||Shower is possible in the 2 onsens :||The first onsen is huge and mixed gender. The water is very hot and white colored. Men and women are bathing in the same area, but it is large enough to not see the opposite sex. The room is quite dark and there is steam in the air. You know that there is a person, but cannot see the “details”. Two hours are reserved strictly for women every day at 8:00 AM & 8:00 PM. It is not possible to use soap in this onsen; you can only rinse your body.||||For real washing, there is a second onsen that is separated by gender. It is a lot smaller and the water is not as hot. The problem is that both onsens are located at different places. So if you want to use both, you need to dry yourself and get dressed to switch before undressing again.||||The evening meal is fantastic with a lot of variety and several Japanese delicacies. If you don’t like something, there is no problem since there are many other plates to eat. Service is impeccable. I personally found the traditional music annoying, but it is part of the experience. I suspect that the ryokan has different price grades because the number of guests during the evening meal was very limited compared to breakfast.||||The breakfast is a buffet and is served quite early in the morning. There is a lot of choice and the apple juice, speciality of the region, is delicious.||||The building is made of wood and is very old; it adds to the atmosphere of the ryokan. There are vending machines for drinks and there is a souvenir shop for snacks. Wi-fi is strong at the lobby, but I could barely receive a signal in my room that was on 3rd floor. There is also a kiosk for backcountry guided tours. As anywhere else in Japan, service is courteous and ultra polite.||||A free shuttle goes daily to Hakkoda Ropeway at 8:20 AM, with return at 12:40 PM & 4:00 PM.||||If you are ready to go off the beaten track, Sukayu Onsen Ryokan will certainly bring you a unique experience. Like it or not, it needs to be tried ! It is also possible to visit the onsen during the day without staying overnight. In my case, I loved it and will surely be back...

Located few minutes away from Hakkoda Ropeway, this large historic ryokan is a guaranteed experience to Japan in its purest traditional element.||||Each room is a tatami room where doors are sliding and where slippers must be removed before going in. There is no bed and guests have to install their futon by themselves to sleep on the floor. The room is equipped with a tiny TV and a safe. There are green tea leaves, cups, and a hot water pot that is changed everyday. The water stays hot until at least the next morning. Toiletries consist of a towel, a small towel (that I saw people bringing inside the onsen), a bathrobe, a toothbrush and a razor. They are changed everyday.||||The room is cold in the winter, especially the floor. I recommend to bringing extra thick socks. I was also wearing my beanie at night. There is a gas heater in each room; it is efficient but temperature was dropping quickly once turned off.||||There is neither toilet nor sink nor shower in the room. Toilets and sinks are located on each floor. They are not new, but they are clean. They are separated by gender. Disposable sanitary papers are offered to cover the toilet seat.||||Shower is possible in the 2 onsens :||The first onsen is huge and mixed gender. The water is very hot and white colored. Men and women are bathing in the same area, but it is large enough to not see the opposite sex. The room is quite dark and there is steam in the air. You know that there is a person, but cannot see the “details”. Two hours are reserved strictly for women every day at 8:00 AM & 8:00 PM. It is not possible to use soap in this onsen; you can only rinse your body.||||For real washing, there is a second onsen that is separated by gender. It is a lot smaller and the water is not as hot. The problem is that both onsens are located at different places. So if you want to use both, you need to dry yourself and get dressed to switch before undressing again.||||The evening meal is fantastic with a lot of variety and several Japanese delicacies. If you don’t like something, there is no problem since there are many other plates to eat. Service is impeccable. I personally found the traditional music annoying, but it is part of the experience. I suspect that the ryokan has different price grades because the number of guests during the evening meal was very limited compared to breakfast.||||The breakfast is a buffet and is served quite early in the morning. There is a lot of choice and the apple juice, speciality of the region, is delicious.||||The building is made of wood and is very old; it adds to the atmosphere of the ryokan. There are vending machines for drinks and there is a souvenir shop for snacks. Wi-fi is strong at the lobby, but I could barely receive a signal in my room that was on 3rd floor. There is also a kiosk for backcountry guided tours. As anywhere else in Japan, service is courteous and ultra polite.||||A free shuttle goes daily to Hakkoda Ropeway at 8:20 AM, with return at 12:40 PM & 4:00 PM.||||If you are ready to go off the beaten track, Sukayu Onsen Ryokan will certainly bring you a unique experience. Like it or not, it needs to be tried ! It is also possible to visit the onsen during the day without staying overnight. In my case, I loved it and will surely be back...

We stayed at Sukayu in a 3-person Japanese-style room for 1 night at the end of July 2024 on the recommendation of a Japanese friend. The price is very affordable for a Ryokan.

When you book, or after booking, you can notify the inn that you want to take their free shuttle bus to/from Aomori and select the time. It is a comfortable 45-minute through forest up the mountain in a coach bus.

The room included futons, a TV, a hot water pot (not a kettle) with tea, cups, and a complimentary snack (youkan), a table, an electric fan, a humidifier, clothesline for drying clothes, yukata, face and body towels. There were many sizes of yukata to choose from. There is no AC, but we did not find it hot.

The price included dinner and breakfast. If you paid a higher price then your dinner is served in the Banquet Hall, if you paid the lower price it is served in the Restaurant. We were not informed at check-in and went to the wrong place at first. Dinner is served 17:30-19:30, last call 19:00. Breakfast is a buffet and is served 6:45-8:30, last call 8:00.

The price did not include the bath tax of 150円 per person, paid upon check in. The baths are all large indoor wooden baths with milky, sour water which feels great but may sting your eyes. There are segregated baths, Tama-no-Yu, one for men and one for women with showers with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. There is also a much larger mixed bath which becomes women-only for 2 hours during the day (8-9AM, 8-9PM). The mixed onsen does not have showers, but there are buckets to rinse yourself before entering the bath. The entrance to the mixed bath for women is blocked by wooden walls so you can enter the water without being seen. Both men and women can get clothing at the gift shop (1300円 to buy or 500円 rental) which can be worn in the mixed bath if they don’t want to be naked. In the main lobby you can also drink cold spring water for free.

We loved the baths, but I was a bit disappointed by the mixed bath after an employee explained the rules (I am not sure where these are written). Although the bath is “mixed”, there is an imaginary line down the middle of the main bath, with men on one side and women on the other, so in practice only 2 couples can sit together. Also, except for the 2 hours where the mixed bath is women-only, women have to stay in the biggest, hottest bath. They cannot go in the smaller, cooler bath, nor use the stools where you can sit and be massaged by a stream of falling water. As the big bath is very hot, this makes it difficult for women to enjoy the mixed onsen in my opinion.

There is an entrance to the Mt Hakkoda hiking trail next to the inn. The inn is also a 15-minute walk away from a hot spring pond, Jigokunuma. There is a 1-hour loop walk that leads to the lake and to a heated bench. However this was all closed due to recent bear attacks in July-August 2024. A JR bus goes past the inn which can take you to other hikes such as the beautiful, easy, Oirase Gorge Hike from the stop Yakeyama. The gift shop sells onigiri if you need...