IKOISO — Hotel in Sobetsu

We had a lovely time at this little ryokan on the lakeside road to Toyako, much more affordable than the hotels in Toyako itself and only a short drive down the ride from there. It was our honeymoon and we received two warm cobs of sweetcorn as a welcome gift. We were a bit mystified by this but ate them anyway and they were absolutely delicious - sweetcorn is a specialty there, it turned out! The onsen facilities are quite basic, no special foot baths or anything, but they are clean and hardly anyone is there in the late evening and mid-morning. Our room was clean and spacious with tatami matting and futons laid out. They use bead pillows so if you're a softie like me you might want to wrap some clothes around them to make them a bit softer. Staff had limited English but were very welcoming and did their best to help out. They don't really do food here but they can recommend some food places down the road - Cafe Jalibu is a short drive further towards Toyako and they have an English language menu and brilliant Vietnamese/Japanese food and a great atmosphere with a record player, if that's any help! That place shuts at 8pm, just in time to go and watch the fireworks on...

Pros: Accessible by limited bus every 2 hours/40 mins from Toyako Onsen bus terminal (you can use bus from Toyako Onsen bus Terminal bound for JR Toya, Showa Shinzan or Murouran). 170yen to/from Showa Shinzan (Usuzan Ropeway), 230 yen to/from Toyako onsen. Bus stop name Sobetsu onsen, less than 1 min walk. Big room size equipped with toilet and had very nice lake view. Shower/onsen were shared. If you want to escape the densed Toyako Onsen area, this would be a good choice for reasonable price for half board. Dinner in Japanese style was very good, breakfast was OK. Staff were helpful.||Cons: No non-smoking room. Building smells of cigarette. ||Conclusion: My 2 nights stay there was hampered by my mistake of not realizing the rooms were all smoking rooms (even with deodorization, it still smells of cigarette). Otherwise, it would be a good...

とにかく、掛け流しでは無かった。苦笑 湯も少なく貧相に感じた。 風呂自体も、めちゃくちゃ狭い上に古く不衛生に見え、残念だった。

めちゃめちゃ笑ったのが同僚女性も掛け流しでは無かったよね…に加え更に驚いたと 話してくれたのが…

フロントで会った従業員たち(それも家族経営らしく御家族様)が、風呂で一緒になって営業時間に入ってた！！こと。との事。

笑……。

思い返せば…男湯にも従業員が居たような…。苦笑

……なんだかなぁ…。

※クライアント様が用意して下さったので、本来なら控えるべきかとも…ですが…

ホームページを先に見てしまってたので…かーなりイメージが違いましたので。

部屋も清潔感が乏しく、トイレと洗面台がめちゃめちゃ狭い空間に押し込められている造りだったのも辟易した。

食事も周辺のホテルや旅館と比べると……。😢

あと…ホームページが立派過ぎ。苦笑

ホームページから受ける印象とはかけ離れていた。

あまりにイメージ先行のホームページを業者に頼むと...