Hana Rebun — Hotel in Rebun

My partner and I booked a two night stay in Hanarebun earlier this month through the Agoda website and on the morning we were supposed to travel from Sapporo Station to Wakanai Station so as to take the ferry to Rebun Island, the train was cancelled due to track fault. After waiting at the train station for 2 hours and knowing that we were not going to make it to the ferry terminal for the last ferry to Rebun that day, we called Agoda and told them our problem. They immediately called Hanarebun and the gracious owner of the hotel immediately allowed us to cancel our booking for that night and refund us in full the amount paid. We managed to get to Rebun Island successfully the next day.||Hanarebun was probably considered one of the more expensive hotels on Rebun Island but it was totally worth it. The hotel was easy for us to locate (you can see it from the ferry) and about a 5 minutes walk from the ferry terminal. The hotel was probably also the most beautiful hotel in Rebun Island with impeccable service and friendly staff. The smell of roasted green tea leaves from the aroma burner at the main entrance on the first floor and the breath-taking view of Rishiri Island at the hotel lobby on the second floor was what greeted us when we arrived after our long journey from Sapporo to Rebun Island. The chilled Yuzu Honey tea they served us as a welcome drink was delicious and very addictive.||Check in was easy and the English speaking staff assigned to help us through the process was very friendly and welcoming. They even gave us an upgrade to a twin bed corner room with 2 views. ||The hotel lobby and corridors outside the rooms at every floor were decorated with small simple ikebana flower arrangements. Everything was clean and looked new/ well maintained. ||Our room was spacious, very clean and the views were fantastic. The pictures attached speaks for themselves. The bed and linen were all very clean and comfortable. We slept with our windows slightly open so we could hear the wind and waves outside. We even found a little box in the closet that contained two small packets of local Japanese medicine for gastric discomfort, along with a fingernail cutter and toe-socks provided by the hotel.||The dinner and breakfast, which were included in the price we paid for the hotel room, were fantastic. It was some of the freshest raw scallop, sea urchin, fish and shrimp I have ever tasted. We also could not help it but ordered more of the Yuzu Honey tea to go along with our meals. ||The onsen in the hotel was beautiful too. The view from the pools was fantastic and there were both outdoor and indoor pools. Everything looked and felt new and clean. ||Our server for both of meals was Miss Kaori, who spoke very good English, had a bubbly personality and generous with her smiles. She explained every dish that was served to us patiently and told us how best to enjoy them. She even helped us arrange for a free "Wildflowers of Rebun" excursion that was provided by the hotel at 6.00am the next day since we did not much time to explore Rebun Island. We would not have gone up to the hills and saw the wildflowers had it not been for her suggestion and help as we had to leave for Rishiri Island the next day. ||In conclusion, if you are planning to make the effort to travel all the way to Rebun Island, you really should reward yourself by staying at Hanarebun. Keep in mind that this hotel only opens from May to September each year. We wished we could have stayed a few more nights and be able to explore the island properly but the train track problem prevented that. Well, there is always...

Wonderful two-night stay. There is shuttle service to the ferry terminal tho it is very walkable, about 5min walk away. We had a very friendly reception on arrival and the hotel is in newer condition than I was expecting. There are live flower arrangements all over the hotel that are changed each day. We had a corner room facing Mt Rishiri. It was not noisy besides the seagulls haha. Beautiful views and can see fisherman activity and water and mountain scenery change with the sun and cloud movement. The food was very good, much better than I was expecting. Featured local seafood bounty. The flavors were light and great variety. The onsen has 3 baths including one rotenburo. For me the temp is too hot to enjoy for a long soak (I think 41deg) and all three baths are same hotness. Would be nice if at least one was cooler temp. Nice facility otherwise, clean with views towards Rishiri. The cooling water drink is flavored with kombu. We did the hike to Momoiwa observatory, about an hour one-way and saw many flowers. Then we hired a private taxi driver to see the island and it was very worth it (8000yen/hr). He was very enthusiastic and also provided sightseeing commentary. There were only 3 taxis on-island during our trip but we were able to secure an afternoon booking when calling the morning of. We did the north with our taxi tour (capes and sea lions). We took the e-bikes south later and caught the sunset. There was a kid leaving the island on our departure ferry (maybe to college) and he had a whole group singing and dancing farewell to him from landside. Very endearing. The hotel okami waved goodbye too. Very happy to visit Rebun and very pleased with the...

Despite walking in the rain from the ferry terminal with backpacks as luggage we were warmly welcomed at the lobby of the Hana Rebun. This was just the beginning of a short but wonderful stay.||||Our amazement continued as we were escorted to our room. The room appears to have been recently renovated with clean, scratch free wooden floors and well kept tatami mats. The view from the balcony onsen was magically with Mount Rishiri rising majestically across the waters.||||The bathroom was one of the largest I have seen in a Japanese hotel. The room was also supplied with a good selection of bathroom condiments (eg. hairbrush, razor, soap, shampoo, etc), tea and coffee.||||Dinner was served with a dusk view of Mount Rishiri and the lights popping alive on Rishiri Island. The food served for dinner was excellent. The uni (sea urchin) was the best I have ever tasted. Ditto for the ikura (salmon roe). The local produce was bountiful.||||It was a big disappointment that our plans included and early morning hike. So early we would not be able to attend breakfast. Once again the staff exceeded expectations as the prepared a delicious bento which we picked up early in the morning and later ate at the top...