Ginkonyu — Hotel in Yakumo

It is hard to put into words just how amazing an experience Ginkon-yu really was! On a quest to find the perfect hitou ryokan, my girlfriend and I decided to stay two nights during our trip to Hokkaido for the Sapporo snow festival. After seeing the sights and exploring the cities Sapporo and Asahikawa, we were looking to spend our last few nights relaxing in nature and the comfort of a great onsen in the snow. We could not have made a better choice.||From the start, everything was perfect. Traveling from Sapporo to Otoshibe by train, we called ahead to the hotel in order to arrange for transport back to the ryokan. The front desk staff was very helpful and simply asked what time we would arrive. When our train pulled up to the station, our chauffeur was waiting, and ushered us into a warm, idling vehicle pulled right up to the exit of the station. We drove for 20 minutes or so to the ryokan, surrounded all the while by snow-covered mountains basking in the fading light of the day. It was at this moment I knew we were on our way to somewhere special. When we arrived, we were greeted by a pair of enthusiastic and smiling faces that immediately set about helping us with our bags and getting us checked in. This turned out to be the norm and not the exception.||With our luggage unpacked in our toasty room which looked out into those snowy woods I love so much, we headed back down to the front, anxious to try out one of the private rotemburo baths we had seen only in pictures up to that point. I have been to a dozen and a half ryokan at this point and enjoyed a soak in some well-located baths, but I had I expectations, still, for this place...expectations that were quickly exceeded. At the end of a 10-minute journey that took us around the inn, across a tiny suspension bridge and into the woods was, without a doubt, the most scenic bath I have ever enjoyed. Located 30 feet up the bank of the river running through the forest, I felt I had found the place I was looking for...somewhere peaceful, serene, and beautiful. Water temperature was a bit on the warm-side, so it was nice to have the cool, crisp winter air to balance it out...but aside from this, the two baths (one which was actually carved out of a section of tree were great. ||As I mentioned, I could go on and on about this place, but I will try to be a bit more succinct. Dinner was served in the room by a very courteous and friendly staff member. I felt like this ryokan did a great job serving enough food to ensure you were satisfied, but not so much that you felt guilty about violating the mottainai code of Japan. Breakfast was served in a larger room with split seating available - tatami or at a western-style table. I recommend the tatami if your legs can take it because you will be rewarded with a nice view into a cluster of trees that will look spectacular regardless of what time of year you visit. ||The inn itself is in pretty good condition. I, personally, seek out ryokan that give you that shita-machi feeling of turning back the clock a few hundred years while mixing in a few of the modern comforts that have made life so enjoyable these days. That being said, Ginkon-yu was spot on. With an old wood/mortar frame complete with warped floors, you can tell the inn has been around for a while, but it is clean and well-kept at the same time. The lady that served us mentioned that stink-bugs (kamemushi) can occasionally be a problem (we saw one our entire stay, but as I mentioned, this was during the winter), but given the remoteness of the location, such things should be expected. ||Lastly, don't feel isolated. In the spring and summertime, there is a bit more to do in the area from an outdoors standpoint. There are several hiking paths around and plenty of ways to enjoy the great nature that you will be surrounded by, but even in the wintertime it is possible to move about. The hotel staff was very willing to help, not only providing transportation to and from the ryokan (my girlfriend and I went to Hakodate for the day) but tips about places to eat and things to see. Additionally, when snow storms moving through the area threatened to impact our travel plans, the ryokan staff swooped into action yet again checking our flight status and availability of public transportation to the airport. ||This review has dragged on but here's the bottom line, at the end: if you love the outdoors, onsens, and staying in a place that feels more like a home than an inn, you have to stay...

There are already a number of great reviews of this wonderful place, but I will add my tuppence-worth...||||Ginkonyu Onsen Ryokan is located 10kms along Route 67 from the turning off route 5 on the pacific coast of Hokkaido between Oshamambe and Esan. I approached by bicycle and the 10km ride inland from the coast along R67 was delightful. The road follows a river through the valley with rice, potato and open fields on either side... beautiful Hokkaido countryside.||||Check-in time at Ginkonyu is 1pm (check-out is 11am) and I was warmly welcomed by Ryoko, the daughter-in-law of the owners. I had read that no English is spoken, but Ryoko lived in Australia for some time and is a competent English speaker, so if you wish to make a reservation by phone you should ask to speak to her.||||I've stayed at many onsen ryokans and visited many onsen, and I think this one has to be unique in Japan (a number of Japanese I spoke to there from as far away as Tokyo agreed with me). The ryokan itself is well-appointed with an obvious desire to maintain a good traditional environment with quality materials. It is not the cheapest place to stay, but - considering how special it is - neither is it the most expensive. The cheapest rooms are 10,000 yen (plus tax, so around 12,000) and the room I had was nearly 17,000 (more than I wanted to pay, but the only room available at short-notice). A lovely room with windows opening on to a sea of green and red leaves, and the sound of running water was all I could hear at night.||||The onsen in the main building are nice, but no better than the baths of a normal good onsen (with no sauna or other bubbly-massagy watery delights found in such), but, as other reviewers have mentioned, what really sets this place apart are the various small onsen baths dotted around the grounds of the ryokan. The system is that you go to the reception, look at the photos of these, choose one and are then given a wooden key and a paper map to guide you to its location (which can be as far as nearly 1km from the main building). You then walk through the lovely park-like grounds until you reach your stone pool or log or wooden hut... there are lots of photos already published here.||||If you are in Hokkaido - hell, anywhere within a 2000 km radius - and are an onsen lover then you really should not...

A super amazing 温泉旅館!! Best 温泉旅館 ever in Hokkaido for me!!To be honest, I want to keep this place secret because I don’t want people who are noisy to stay. All visitor here enjoy silence or sound of nature . If you are real nature lover, I definitely highly recommend!! Other than main bath in the building, this ryokan has 5 outside bath (露天風呂）and all are in the forest and located along the river. They are all private use. I took 3 of them. All of them were surrounded breathtaking beautiful nature. So amazing!! The each distance from ryokan are from 5min to 10min walk. The system may be a little bit complicated for non-Japanese speaking tourist. If you really want to go, I recommend to visit with Japanese friend or someone who can speak Japanese. As for food, also awesome! Actually I didn’t expect on food because it’s located in the mountain area and it’s not famous tourist spot but it was beyond my expectation!! I told them that My husband didn’t eat meat before we come and they prepared seafood pot for my husband. All place in the building are very clean and decorated authentic 生け花(which is Japanese art of flower arrangement)here and there, felt high grade hospitality. There are two types of rooms. One is called 本館(honk an) and the other is called 新館(shinkan). Formar one has no toilet in the room and have to use the one out of the room but price is cheeper and another type includes the bathroom. I stayed 新館 this time but I’d like to stay 本館 next time. It’s old but still charming! Its retro atmosphere is really attractive for me. One thing I have to say, some of staff are very shy, you may think they are unfriendly but it’s not true. The first impression of Hokkaido people tend to be thought unfriendly sometimes especially in countryside but it’s because just shyness. Their heart are warm. If they look unfriendly, please don’t be...