Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel

Enjoy the Onsen to your heart’s content in the spacious large public bath, which is available even late at night. Meals are served buffet-style at Marusukoi, featuring freshly fried tempura and nigiri sushi made right in front of you, plus unlimited beer and soft drinks—so you can eat until you’re full. The candied sweet potato (which I somehow missed last time) was a big, fluffy stick and absolutely delicious. We choose Shizenkan every time for our room, and after dinner we enjoyed the magnificent sunset sinking into the Sea of Okhotsk.

We are seniors. My husband said this might be his last trip to Hokkaido, so we decided to visit places he wants to see again and places we should experience at least once. We stayed at this Hotel about 10 years ago, and the dinner buffet left a strong impression on us, so we wanted to return.Unfortunately, we couldn’t fully enjoy Shiretoko this time because we were worried about bears, but we still enjoyed the delicious buffet. The front desk staff told us their soft-serve ice cream is the best—and it truly was, so I ended up having quite a lot.