Otaru Furukawa — Hotel in Otaru

Otaru Furukawa is an onsen-inn, majority of their clientele are from Japan or speak Japanese. So please keep this in consideration when booking this lovely establishment.

English? Very unlikely. Even signs are only in Japanese. While I was there, there was one person who worked in the kitchen/serving who spoke respectable English. Otherwise, the staff speak no English or very, very basic barebones English. However, they are so kind, so hardworking, and so lovely - but they will not understand you if you do not either speak Japanese or use a translator app. I ask that any would-be travelers who would like to come here to please be open-minded and not be disgruntled when the staff are unable to accommodate the language barrier. (Again, most of their clientele are Japanese-speaking.)

Overall, Otaru Furukawa is a fantastic onsen-inn. Traditional in appearance from the outside and inside. It is situated right at the docks of Otaru. The rooms are small (barely enough room for a suitcase and yourself) and the bathrooms even smaller. (Honestly, small rooms is a common trait of Japanese accommodations so I won't fault this inn for it.) Note: the rooms are not Japanese-style, but Western-style. So you will not be sleeping on tatami/futons, but on a typical bed.

The bathrooms are small because it comes with the assumption that you will be using the onsens for your bathing, and not the fixtures in your room. There are rooms that have their own onsen but I cannot say much about it since I didn't stay in those rooms. You can also reserve an onsen on one of the top floors for a fee.

The shared onsens themselves are gorgeous, dimly lit in a romantic sense, and well-designed with wonderful rock fixtures. The waters are soothing, very hot, and continue to warm you up long after you've left. They are separated by men/women, and are alternated daily. Both are very roomy and come with a steam room nearby. The change room was also spacious, but counterspace can be a battle when it gets busy. Luckily I opted to bathe late in the night so the facility was mostly empty save for one other person. I loved the onsens so much, I went every night.

Breakfast is included in your lodging, and it was buffet style with Japanese-style foods every day. The dining room was very cozy, especially if you sit by the windows and can see the canal with snow coming down.

The lobby also has a lounge area where you are free to indulge in complimentary coffee, tea, and sometimes alcohol. There were several books worth looking through (again, only in Japanese). Side note, the owner has an adorable dog that they also sell merchandise of; you'll see the dog often hanging around behind the front desk.

During the wintertime, staff will set out snow boots for free rental in the lobby. So if you catch a snowfall and didn't bring the correct shoes, they'll have some in various sizes for you to borrow! Honestly, this consideration was so touching. (The snow there is not to be underestimated, especially the layers of black ice that is common in Otaru. I slipped on even ground caked in black ice, which was fortunate because hills are super common in Otaru.)

I loved Otaru Furukawa and hope to come again. I only stayed a couple of nights, but I really wish I could've stayed so much longer, at least for the onsens. Absolutely one of my...

I have visited Otaru before but this was the first time I stayed overnight. Otaru Furukawa is one of the 4 ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) in Otaru with hot spring. We chose Otaru Furukawa because it was in the shopping area and city center. We preferred the traditional Japanese style rooms overlooking the canal. However, they were all sold out so we stayed at 2 western style twin rooms with city view at the end of July 2018 for 1 night. This is a small inn right by the Canal shopping mall and within walking distance to many shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions. Most customers seemed to be Japanese. The rooms were very small but clean just like most of the Onsen hotels in Japan. The decor was dated but charming and cozy. There are both indoors and open-air public hot spring areas. We loved the open-air pool with fresh lemons. The food was excellent. I pre-ordered the set course meal for dinner (traditional Kaiseki Cuisine chosen by the chef to highlight the summer theme of Otaru). There were about 7 courses with wine and Saki. The breakfast is buffet style. ||||We arrived the inn from the airport by 1 taxi and left for Sapporo by 2 taxis. We could have taken the train to Sapporo but I did not want to load and unload the luggage many times. We were told that the trunk space of the taxies at Otaru is much smaller than those at the airport which was true. We loved the location and shopped at several boutiques at night. The service was excellent and the hotel staff was very friendly. Some of the staff members speak very good English! I will stay at the inn again if I can get a larger room and not in...

It's not often you get to give a hotel 5-stars - mostly you can find one or two tiny flaws that deduct half a star. Not so for Otaru Furukawa. Even if I would try to nitpick I wouldn't be able to find any fault. It all started on arrival: we arrived too early but were allowed to use the parking AND to stow our luggages - we could already do the check-in procedure as well, so that by the time our room was ready, the only thing we needed to do was get the key and go up.

While we waited for a bit to gather ourselves, we were offered free drinks in the cosiest lounge - several comfortable couches snuggled up close to a gorgeous high-fidelity sound system that was playing soft acoustic guitar music. What a way to set the mood for a nice stay.

The hotel itself is amazingly located in Otaru - right next to canal and an easy walk away from all the main attractions.

The room - we opted for the Japanese style with private onsen - was comfortable, practical, spacious and came with a lovely private onsen that was perfectly suited for the two of us.

The real stars of the show are both the staff and the food however. The staff is amazing. EVEN for Japanese standards, which sets the bar already extremely high. Friendly, accomodating, kind, ...

The food - we had both dinner and breakfast - was of the highest standards. Fresh, delicious, varied... The buffet style breakfast had many different choices - without being overwhelming - and all of it delicious.

Anyway, I could keep ranting about Otaru Furukawa, but if you ever decide to visit Otaru - this is the...