Furano thinking forests (Tokachi Dakeonsen) — Hotel in Kamifurano

This is a recently renovated ryokan, it used to be called "Barden Kamifurano", but now under new management with a new name "shiyuirin". It sits in the middle of the Tokachi range. While all the snow has melted in Furano town, it was still snowing hard the night we arrived at the hotel. Surprisingly we were the only guests for the night, but the hotel still run its full staff to serve us! I didn't know what to expect, since this is a last minute reservation. Turns out all the furnishing was brand new in the rooms and in the public area. The only area they did not renovate was the changing area for the public onsen (it was functional, so it didn't matter). The chef did an amazing job, serving us a 6 course Japanese/Western fusion dinner, all made with fresh, local ingredients. The breakfast was similarly excellent (mostly Japanese-style dishes). We had the whole onsen to ourselves, it was a delight to enjoy the outside onsen while it was snowing outside! The only complaint I have is that the indoor onsen has a strange temperature gradient problem. There were pockets of cooler water which I did not experience in other onsens. A great steal given we only paid around 15000 yen per person for the night. All in all an...

We stayed 2 nights and felt like leaving, except that were told to pay upon check-in. Poor value for money (over US$400 a night), even if we factor in the premium for the lavender season. Worst check-in experience of our lives with an inattentive, unsmiling front desk staffer who didn't even look up when we arrived (no doorman, no ramps for wheeled suitcases); they did not clean our bedroom and bathroom!; the air-conditioning was so poor and they knew it because they had a small desk fan on the floor to supplement it; the beds were too lumpy and soft and our room 102 faced the backyard. Poorly maintained grounds that didn't compensate for being in the national forest area. It would have been ok to travel 30 minutes to Route 237 flower fields, but nothing compensated for the distance. Even their onsen was dark and murky; unpleasant to imagine using. (They said it was chocolate? Or was that sulphur? Chlorine? No thanks) The dinners were better though not the quality at other ryokans at the same pricing range, and the breakfasts were mediocre. Perhaps the experience is better in the winter, but it would be difficult to find in the snow as it...

We stayed 2 nights and felt like leaving, except that were told to pay upon check-in. Poor value for money (over US$400 a night), even if we factor in the premium for the lavender season. Worst check-in experience of our lives with an inattentive, unsmiling front desk staffer who didn't even look up when we arrived (no doorman, no ramps for wheeled suitcases); they did not clean our bedroom and bathroom!; the air-conditioning was so poor and they knew it because they had a small desk fan on the floor to supplement it; the beds were too lumpy and soft and our room 102 faced the backyard. Poorly maintained grounds that didn't compensate for being in the national forest area. It would have been ok to travel 30 minutes to Route 237 flower fields, but nothing compensated for the distance. Even their onsen was dark and murky; unpleasant to imagine using. (They said it was chocolate? Or was that sulphur? Chlorine? No thanks) The dinners were better though not the quality at other ryokans at the same pricing range, and the breakfasts were mediocre. Perhaps the experience is better in the winter, but it would be difficult to find in the snow as it...