Hostel Canal View — Hotel in Otaru

No kidding the ascent to this apartment is super steep!

It's a good thing we drove. Bear in mind, if the steep roads are icy, cars without chains may skid out of control.

Open air parking (free) is on the lower side of the building, while entrance lobby is on the hilltop. From the vantage of our top floor 2 bedroom apartment, we had a nice view of Otaru blanketed in snow.

The apartment looks and feels new. There were 5 of us and everyone felt fairly comfy.

In the smaller bedroom, the queen sized bed (or king?) was wall to wall, hence walking space is non existent. There's an attached store room, but you'd have to walk over the bed to get in which is not practical. Anyway there's another store room off the living area if you require some storage space.

The other "bedroom" sleeps 2 and is off the living area but without walls. If privacy isn't a concern, then it works fine because it won't feel claustrophobic.

The fifth person sleeps on the couch. There's another sofa bed should you need it.

The bathroom is spacious by Japan standards. It lacks windows so we detected a slight mildew smell initially. Washing machine is provided though a dryer isn't. There are heaters in the room and living area. Damp laundry hung near the heater will dry overnight.

The hosts thoughtfully provides most of the things you'd need, including umbrellas,...

這間旅館位於半山，上山的路一直是斜路，用走路的方式難以到達。旅館危然佇立於一條陡峭的斜坡路之上，必須先經過這條斜坡路才能到達旅館。在冬天的時候，斜坡路上覆蓋了冰雪，而旅館沒有進行清理路面的工作，斜坡路上非常濕滑。

我乘坐的士到達，司機表示車子不能駛上這條斜坡，我需要下車並自己攜著行李走上去。 然而當我嘗試走上濕滑的斜坡時，腳下一滑，就背部朝天，在路上跌倒了。我跌倒在地上，撞傷了背部和盤骨，痛楚難耐。

於是我聯絡了旅館，希望他們能提供協助。旅館負責人表示我需要自行在斜坡上撒上防滑砂，並且去購買防滑鞋墊，就可以攀登上去，也可以等待到下午二時，就會有職員來到協助。然而我當時跌傷了，在山上的雪地裡又冷又痛，而且攜帶著很多行李，一想到需要等待兩三小時才會有職員協助，不禁潸然淚下，處境十分徬徨。於是我拖帶著行李，忍著痛慢慢小心翼翼的走下山離開了，沒有入住到這間旅館，期待已久的小樽之旅也泡湯了。

旅館負責人和旅遊網站Expedia 明確地表示這不是他們的錯，因為旅館有事先表明路上有斜坡，並叮囑我購買防滑鞋具，我需要對自身安全負上責任，他們不會作出任何退款。我確實上了昂貴，且慘痛的一課。因此將自身經驗寫出來，供其他旅客參考。

This hotel is located in the middle of the mountain, which is difficult to reach by walking. The hotel is dangerously standing on a steep slope and must pass through this slope to reach the property. In the winter, the slopes are covered with snow and ice, and the hotel does not clean the road. The slopes are very slippery.

I arrived by taxi and the driver said that the car could not drive on the slope. I needed to get off the car and walk on it with my luggage. However, when I tried to walk on the slippery slope, my foot slipped then I fell on the ground. My backbone got hurt. I was so upset.

I contacted the hotel and hoped they could provide assistance. The owner of the hotel said that I need to sprinkle the non-slip sand on the slope and buy the non-slip insole to climb it, or I can wait until 2 pm and a staff will come to assist. However, I was injured at that time. It was cold and painful in the mountains. I also carried a lot of luggage. I couldn’t wait for two or three hours to get the staff to help. The situation was very embarrassing. So I dragged my luggage and slowly walked down the mountain. I didn't stay at this hotel. My wonderful trip in Otaru was gone.

The owner of the hotel and Expedia (where I booked the hotel) stated that this is not their fault, because they has indicated that there are slopes on the road and also remind me to buying the non-slip shoes, I need to be responsible for my own safety. they will not make any refunds to me. I did have a very tragic (and expensive) lesson on this issue. Hope other travelers can take my experience as...

This building is owned by a company and only available for booking through AirBnb ! Aside from that, the apartment was amazing. The room was clean, warm and well furnished, the kitchen was well equipped and modern. The owner we contacted through airbnb was friendly and helpful. Building is situated on a relatively steep hill with amazing view of the city, and it's best if you had crampons or cleats for your shoe if you're visiting in winter. Roads tend to be slippy...