Hotel Grand Tencoo — Hotel in Semboku

We stayed 3 nights at this Hotel. It is far located and not easy to reach without a private car. We used the Bus and then walked for about 6minutes. It was deep winter and at night so it was bit difficult carrying the luggage in the snow.

For the New Year Dinner I asked if they could prepare it without meat and fish for me. At first they hesitated and were in general concerned about me since up the mountain are basically no restaurants. Also it was during New Year so many things are closed in general for several days.

The Hotel accommodated me in my wishes for no meat and fish and I really appreciate that. They might haven’t had a customer yet with this wish since it is a very remote area and the visitors are mostly Japanese.

When we wanted to go skiing the always brought us and picked us up at the ski resort. That really saved us and it was super convenient. Thanks!

On our last day they even gave us a ride to the bus station for going to Nyuto Onsen. Since the snow is several meters high, we have lots of luggage and the road is narrow we were very grateful.

The view is amazing from the windows of the hotel and we could see the lake. But the cold winter clouds sometimes hide the lake.

The food is also tasty but the breakfast is Japanese style every day so keep that in mind!

I didn’t like the Onsen too much. My face got very dry (like incredibly dry) after it and the water was weird in general. We always went at night so we couldn’t see outside. Also the snow was too high for seeing anything but I think in summer the view is great. I think the Onsen quality could be more improved!

Altogether I enjoyed my stay.

In spring I want to visit this area again...

In January this year, near Tazawako, a lake located in Akita Prefecture, my girlfriend and I stayed in a four-story hotel. The first thing you should know about this northern prefecture, is that in January snowfall is at its peak. And this year, without breaking tradtion, the snowfall was amazing.||||We arrived at the station and informed staff that we would arrive with the next bus. The weather was gloomy and it was already dark. We had to wait an hour or so for the bus to take us to the nearest bus-stop to the hotel. Due to the snowfall, the bus arrived late. But we were still greeted with the best service. ||||We received the key to our room facing tazawako lake, and used the elevator to go to our floor. When we entered the Japanese-style room, the view was eerily breathtaking. Even more beautiful than we expected. The Japanese-style room was bigger than any hotel we have stayed in, and extremely clean. ||||The staff asked when we wanted to have dinner, and we decided that 6.30 sounded good. The beautifully decorated dining hall would have held some hundred people on a normal day, but we were the only ones to eat dinner at the hotel that night. We never saw the chef, but we heard the faint sounds of someone cooking coming from the kitchen. Knowing that a chef that made such great food only cooked for two people in a single night, made us realise how special this experience was. ||||The bathouse was equally amazing, and took a bath of what felt like hours. The wind was cold against my face, but the bath itself was just the right temperature. ||||The next morning we checked out, and it felt like going back to the inhabited world. This was truly a...

No complaints whatsoever about the room; the view was immaculate especially on a winter morning. We visited during early January 2020, so the whole landscape was caked in clean snow. There were traditional Japanese mattresses (not futons) for you to sleep in. There is a toilet, but no bath or shower in the room. All bathing facilities are at the shared onsens.||The food was amazing, traditional Japanese fare for both dinner and breakfast, although some people might find it hard to take if they're not used to Japanese/Asian cuisine. Like our rooms, the dining hall overlooked a gorgeous hill covered in glorious white snow.||The onsens weren't the best, but it does its job of warming you up on a freezing winter night. No mixed baths.There's a changing room, an indoor bath room and an outdoor bath room. Good views too!||The staff were very friendly. Probably the best part of the trip. English is severely lacking here, but they provided a template to help get your and their point across. If you know some Japanese, it'll go a long way here. Even so, they do their best to make your stay enjoyable, and boy did they succeed! There was even a free bus ride for us to the nearest bus stop from our hotel come check out time. They are wonderful people at Hotel Grand Tencoo.||Honestly though if I go back to Tazawako/Semboku Town, I would probably stay somewhere else to experience a new hotel. But please know that you definitely can't go wrong with Hotel Grand Tencoo. Highly...