Oyado Kiyomizu-ya — Hotel in Noboribetsu

Finally, the taxi stopped in front of an antique and graceful gate, shed by warm orange lights. A warm bald senior guide staff fetched our suitcase and walked us to the register. During our check-in, the briefcase was transferred to the room already. The receptionist was a gentle senior with grey hair. He said slowly in English 'Your dinner is waiting you'. I replied 'Sorry. Thank you.' I appreciated it, although they could make money to wait after expiry, I abused their leisure time. The guide led us through the long and exquisite corridor, decorated with paintings on the wall and Japanese traditional music, introducing the amenities. There's a large table in the middle of the tatami room. We sat and relaxed a lot. After a while, a kind senior lady entered with cuisines. She spoke some English, tried to make us understand her meaning. However, we barely knew what every dish was and dared not to take her time at such a late time. All those little trays amused us much. We carefully tasted every sip. Then she came to help make the quilts. We left for a walk. After night trip of the valley, we changed the yukata to enjoy the hot springs. There's only one outdoor hot spring which takes turns to males and female. After the 9:30 pm, male guests could use it. Diane had no chance. There were two ponds indoor and several showerheads, few people. I cleaned myself carefully as to the instructions and sat in the pond near to a door. After minutes I walked outdoors and chilly to death all of a sudden. There's another man there, I sat into the other side, feeling so warm, even my head. There's water flowing through a pipe down into the pond, bringing more peace. We could rest at the bedroom, listening to the sound of streams just outside the window, which might be the orign of the name of the hotel, Oyado Kiyomizu-ya. We got up to the hot spring to make most of our time. I enjoyed the bath solely. I could view the stone, grass, white sky, and occasionally few snowflakes falling. I tried to meditate with some visions but found the more I thought of something, the hotter the water. Only if I cleaned up my mind, be a subject, the water comforted. I used a tub to water my head, refreshment but no hot then or cold after that. I became an empty and meaningless mark where I freed myself. After I went back to the room, I realised I had left my glasses behind. I turned back, and a man handed me this time. After check-out, I asked them to help book a restaurant in Nara given we couldn't speak Japanese, and our sim cards were for web data only. One man said the restaurant was not open till noon and he would help me in the afternoon. Then they gave us a bear park coupon and called a shuttle, a minivan. In the afternoon, we returned to the hotel. The receptionist helped me reserve the Nara restaurant. We booked the proper time, at noon, at the appropriate price, 6000 yen per person. In busy seasons, it's hard to book the cheapest cuisine, and if we booked the night dinner, the cost would be higher, and we might have to have a night stay in Nara. We were...

This is a must do if you are traveling to Hokkaido; the experience was simply amazing! Plus, hospitality offered to us were top notch though they speak minimal English. ||We landed at the New Chitose airport, and was adviced by the airport info counter to take a Donan direct bus to Noboribetsu (it’s supposedly the cheaper option ¥1400 per person, and the easiest way to get to our destination). We were stopped at the Noboribetsu bus stop, and the ryokan is approx 15 mins walk. ||We checked in quite swiftly and were taken to our room. On our way to the room, the lady showed us the public bath area and also gave us an explanation of the place. Room came with a heater, and an open space which was supposedly our dining and also sleeping area. Our room came with another small bedroom with 2 single beds but we opted to sleep at the other room on the tatami. Everything we needed for the “bath” was provided to us in our room.||We were served 2 meals (dinner and breakfast), options of timing were given to us and a lady will come knock on our room to bring us our meals. The food was delicious and very traditional! We enjoyed every single element of it. ||The public bath is open 24 hours, except between 9- 9:30pm whereby it’s closed for cleaning. This ryokan also has an outdoor bath which I strongly urge for anyone to try it. Though the weather was cold but the hot spring just balance out the cold and hot. And sitting outdoor with the fresh air and the greens just give it a different experience all together.||Just about 10- 15 mins walk is the Shikotsu-toya...

During our trip to Hokkaido, there was an earthquake and power outage throughout Hokkaido. Initially we stayed at Dormy Inn Higashi Muroran however we were supposed to go back to our country on that day. We wanted to extend our stay but they said it was unavailable(not so sure because they can't speak english at all, whatever we said they just said no no no) it was a very frustrating experience. That was when we chanced upon this hotel online and we booked it straight away. Much to our delight the staffs on oyado kiyomizuya are very welcoming, knowledgeable and so reassuring. There was electricity in the hotel because they have a big generator that can power up the whole hotel for the whole week! Even the bigger and more expensive hotels around us didnt have such facility. During that time, convenience stores and restaurants were closed due to the power outage. Our Hotel even offered us dinner even with the little they have at very affordable price. We are very very grateful to all the staffs that make our stay so enjoyable. Thank you guys for your warm hospitality and efficiency!!! Infinity...