Bihaku no Yuyado Oe Honke

I stayed here for the first time in several years and was warmly welcomed by the front desk staff. I didn’t have time for dinner, but breakfast offered a wide variety of dishes, all of which were delicious. The supporting touches—like soy sauce jelly and mountain wasabi—were excellent and really brought out the flavors of the ingredients. The Onsen had a pleasant sulfur scent and multiple baths at different temperatures, and I warmed up thoroughly. I’ll be back again later this month.

With 124 years of history, the building has a wonderful sense of heritage, yet it is well maintained and areas such as the Onsen have been beautifully renovated, making our stay very comfortable. Many of the staff were international and provided exceptionally courteous service. Loungewear is a yukata; you choose your size in the lobby at check-in and take it to your Room.The Onsen left our skin feeling incredibly smooth. During our one-night stay, my father bathed five times—right up until just before checkout. Dinner was a buffet with a wide variety of options, including all-you-can-eat snow crab, though it was quite salty so we couldn’t eat as much as we hoped.When we went to the breakfast venue in the morning, we were surprised to see many birds and Ezo squirrels outside the window coming to eat. Whenever a squirrel stopped and faced us as if posing, a crowd would gather and an impromptu photo session would begin.We got so absorbed watching these adorable wild animals that breakfast took longer than usual, but it made us very happy. The breakfast buffet also offered plenty of seafood; we went back for seconds and tried this and that until we were completely full.We were extremely satisfied.