It's been about 18 years since I went on a trip with mato♪ The famous inns in Shiretoko are expensive, so I managed to find a cheaper one and decided to stay there. Dinner was a buffet with sushi, tempura, steak, etc., but they were all just average or even below average. The yakitori was tough and the oyster fry seemed like something you'd get at a cafeteria. Mato said the curry was surprisingly good, but the seafood bowl was not so great. The soba that we thought we brought turned out to be something else. There used to be salmon roe and crab, but we couldn't find them this time. We had the choice of Black Label or Classic beer, and I went for Classic, which was the best part of the meal. The inn was surprisingly empty, and the hot springs were also empty with the outdoor bath being like a private one. That part was the best.

Breakfast buffet at a hotel in Shiretoko Utoro. Overall delicious, exceeding my expectations for hotel food. I usually don't opt for breakfast, but I would gladly pay for this satisfying buffet. There were also some local dishes on the menu. ★8 Dream Land pork shabu-shabu - tender and delicious pork. ★8.5 Jagabata (mashed potatoes with butter) ★8 Shiretoko Ape Meshi - a local specialty. Sashimi over rice with tea. The sashimi was delicious. ★7.5 Soft serve ice cream - fun to serve yourself. Truly Hokkaido's deliciousness. ★6 Smoked egg ★6 Hokkaido-grown mango tomato - yellow tomato resembling mango. Sour and hard as expected. ★7 Others

I chose this place for sightseeing in Shiretoko, Hokkaido. The price for one adult for one night with two meals is just under 9000 yen. Is it cheap or just the standard price in Shiretoko? The hotel room was a combination of tatami and Western-style, which was quite unique with its flashy wallpaper and tatami mats. The dinner and breakfast were buffet style. There wasn't as much seafood as expected, but there was a variety of vegetables, meat, fish, and desserts. They also had crab and sushi, which I had seconds of. The meat selection included beef, yakitori, Genghis Khan, and deer meat. For dessert, there was a delicious orange melon, maybe a Yubari melon. In the restaurant, you can take off your mask once seated, but it's mandatory to wear it otherwise. Gloves are required when taking food from the buffet. Although the building showed signs of age, the hot spring, sauna, and the talk about salmon were very enjoyable. The next morning, I saw freshly caught salmon at the Salmon Terrace. Shiretoko is known for having the most salmon landings in Japan, but the catch has been decreasing year by year. They are working on increasing the number of salmon, which was an interesting story to hear.

A large hotel located in Shiretoko, Hokkaido. I stayed here during my tour of Hokkaido. The dinner was buffet style with a wide variety of dishes including Western, Chinese, Japanese, and seafood. There was also a teppanyaki corner offering Genghis Khan, grilled squid, grilled corn, yakitori, steak, and more. However, the highlight was definitely the seafood. You could make your own seafood bowl and the quality of the sashimi was excellent considering it was a buffet. The salmon was particularly thick and delicious, making me glad I came to Shiretoko. The room I stayed in was comfortable as well. It was a great hotel. Thank you for the meal.

On July 8th, the first day of my trip to Shiretoko, I stayed at Hotel Shiretoko. I checked in around 5 pm and was impressed by how big the hotel was. I found out that it has a total of 271 rooms. Dinner was scheduled for 6 pm, but to ease congestion, they asked us to adjust the time. We decided to have dinner around 7 pm and first relaxed in the hot springs to soothe our travel fatigue. Then we leisurely headed to the Chitata Restaurant on the 2nd floor for dinner. The venue was quite spacious, and the staff seemed to be communicating with each other via walkie-talkies. Getting food seemed a bit challenging due to the size of the place, but the dishes were spread out widely, so it didn't feel too congested. We followed the guide to our seats and ordered a highball. The Black Nikka Highball for 450 yen was reasonably priced. I got permission from my wife to have up to 4 drinks. I then went to get food. It was a typical hotel buffet, but there were hints of Hokkaido in some dishes. The main dish was Kattedon, a seafood bowl where you can freely put various seafood toppings. Since I don't eat rice for dinner, I opted for a sashimi assortment. My wife enjoyed the salmon sashimi, and her excitement was evident. As the delicious food and highball flowed, I ordered my third drink and was recommended to have it stronger. I found out that you could make the whiskey stronger for the same price. I, of course, asked for it stronger. I thought it would be just slightly stronger, but what was brought to me was clearly very strong. It felt like the whiskey was doubled, so I ended up with only 3 drinks instead of the planned 4. Feeling satisfied, we moved on to dessert. The mini cakes, ice cream, and fruits were plentiful and delightful. Overall, the dinner buffet at the tourist hotel was the most satisfying experience I've had. The next day's breakfast was also held in the same venue. The wide space offered a variety of dishes, with the standout being the Ape Meshi. In simple terms, it's like Hitsumabushi made with salmon sashimi. As a fan of ochazuke, I had it in its final form right away, and it was excellent for breakfast. The deliciousness was overwhelming, and I ended up eating too much. I was prepared for a rough and casual experience in the large restaurant of the big hotel, but both the taste and service were satisfactory. It was a great way to fully enjoy my first trip to Hokkaido.

I returned to the town center and checked into Hotel Shiretoko. It is located quite far from the seaside, but it is convenient for solo travelers as they accept single occupancy. The most famous hotel in Shiretoko was not welcoming to solo travelers, so this was a relief. The road to the hotel takes a detour and passes through unpaved roads, which can be a bit unsettling. However, the hotel itself is large with open-air baths and spacious rooms, making for a comfortable stay. The only downside is that there is only one building with wifi, but it's not a big deal for those who don't need it. For dinner, I had my first solid meal of the day at the buffet. It's best to arrive over an hour before the 8:30 pm cutoff time for ordering and food cleanup. The buffet offers a wide variety of dishes from Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisines to cater to all ages. The highlight was the all-you-can-eat crab legs, which may be thin but satisfying in large quantities. The meat skewers and beef steak cooked on the spot were also delicious. The buffet also included Hokkaido specialties like crab soup and herring dishes, along with a rich dessert selection. The only downside was the limited vegetable options in the salad section. Overall, I indulged in the buffet, consuming more than usual and exceeding my daily calorie intake with crab legs, meat, and desserts.

I ordered dinner and breakfast. For dinner, there was all-you-can-eat snow crab and sushi, which made me happy. I still don't know how to eat snow crab properly. I also enjoyed the salmon roe bowl. Breakfast had fewer options, but I was satisfied with the rice in a wooden tub and sliced salmon.

All-you-can-eat crab!

The travel site offered a plan called "Shiretoko Taste Buffet Plan♪" where you can enjoy your favorite dishes to your heart's content. I was especially looking forward to having ikura donburi for breakfast. When I visited on a weekday, the dinner venue felt a bit deserted due to the low number of guests, with the food quantities adjusted accordingly. The dinner buffet had a DIY sushi corner, but it was a bit disappointing to find no maguro (tuna) available. However, the highlight was the small servings of ramen broth that was perfectly to my liking. While I indulged in seconds of yakitori and steak, I wished I could have had more ramen (but I was already full towards the end). As for breakfast, I was excited for the ikura, but it quickly ran out due to its popularity. Although it was replenished, I felt a bit hesitant to take more due to the Japanese virtue of consideration for others waiting in line.

The hotel in Shiretoko, Hokkaido is Hotel Shiretoko. It is a hotel that is open only from May to October. It is part of the Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel group. The hotel is quite large, and there were many Chinese tour groups staying there. The hotel itself felt old but well-maintained, so we had a comfortable stay. The room we stayed in faced the Sea of Okhotsk, and the sunset was beautiful. Both dinner and breakfast were buffet style with a wide variety of dishes that we couldn't finish. They also grilled scallops and shishamo right in front of us, which added to the lively atmosphere. Dinner even included all-you-can-eat crab, which was a pleasant surprise. For breakfast, there was also all-you-can-eat salmon roe. It was reasonably priced, but the luxurious meals left a lasting impression. The hot springs were also spacious. I highly recommend this hotel to those looking for accommodation in Shiretoko. Hotel Shiretoko Address: 37 Kagawa, Utoro, Shari-cho, Shari-gun, Hokkaido

I stayed at JTB Travel Story. During this time of year, Hokkaido was crowded with airplanes, tourist spots, and sightseeing boats. Of course, the hotel here was also fully booked, but it was spacious so it didn't feel cramped. The bath was large and there were plenty of hairdryers. I had the buffet twice for breakfast and twice for dinner. For dinner, there were crabs, salmon roe, steak, and several types of salted fish that I couldn't finish in one go. Breakfast was ordinary, but the chimaki on the first day was delicious. It seems like an old hotel, but it was comfortable without any unpleasant experiences.

On the first night of my trip to Eastern Hokkaido during the Marine Day long weekend, I stayed at "Hotel Shiretoko" which I chose from the tour (White Bear Family) accommodation options. It is a large hotel with a spacious lobby and facilities like Shiretoko's study room "Primeval Forest". The room was a Japanese-style tatami room. You can see the sunset from the room, but the view is even better from the observation deck. The bath is a hot spring with a sodium-based layered spring. The salty hot water warms you up nicely, with a smooth feeling on the skin due to the iron content, giving it a light brown color. Due to the layered spring, the skin remains smooth even after bathing. The open-air bath allows you to feel the nature of Shiretoko, with a small one with a source temperature of 57°C and a larger one adjusted to 41-43°C. Despite being a large hotel, they maintain cleanliness and circulation, but the concentrated hot spring components allow you to enjoy the bath. The next morning, I was surprised to find many guests bathing from as early as 5 am. The hot spring is recommended for women due to its iron, salt, and calcium content. Breakfast was included in the plan, so I headed to the buffet breakfast venue. It was filled with the mountain and sea delicacies of Shiretoko, including rice cooked with deep-sea water from Laus Ocean and Hokkaido-grown Nanatsuboshi rice. It was a luxury to make my own ikura bowl with unlimited servings of ikura! Hotel Shiretoko was a satisfying choice for accommodation, with its facilities, service, hot spring, and food all meeting expectations.

Stayed in Shiretoko during a trip to Eastern Hokkaido. Due to budget constraints, I booked a room at this hotel, which is part of the First Hotel chain. I made the reservation online and received an immediate confirmation, which was a good sign. Shiretoko has been designated as a Hokkaido heritage site, and the town of Shiretoko Utoro has changed quite a bit. The meals were buffet-style, and there were some unexpected dishes for Shiretoko, but the freshly grilled meat at the steak corner was quite delicious. The tempura demonstration featured eggplant and kakiage (no seafood). Overall, the seasoning of the dishes was on the sweeter and richer side, which may appeal to Asian guests. The sashimi included octopus, shrimp, and salmon, which was pretty standard. I could do without the snow crab. There was also a hand-rolled sushi corner with average ingredients. Breakfast didn't have anything particularly noteworthy, but there was squid sashimi and ikura, so you could have a seafood bowl in the morning. (I would have liked some seaweed though). This could compete with Hotel La'gent Plaza Hakodate. The staff were very hardworking and likable, despite getting a little flustered during meal times. Overall, considering the location of Shiretoko and the price, I think it was sufficient. I believe the era of individual travel is coming, and it will be a challenge for large hotels to adapt. As a World Heritage site, I hope this inn continues to welcome tourists warmly.

Meals are buffet style for both dinner and breakfast. The dinner venue is crowded with many people. Let's fill up the small plates divided into nine sections. It's easy to overeat at a buffet. You wander around looking for ingredients. Even though it's a buffet, this is Shiretoko. There are some unique ingredients here. One of the specialties is the Ezo deer hamburger. It's bite-sized and easy to eat, with a distinctive flavor. It doesn't taste gamey, but it's unique. While beef steak is delicious, this is Hokkaido. Finally, you can try Jingisukan. Let's savor the atmosphere, not like Daruma 6.4. Here, there's also ikura donburi. It's fun to serve yourself as much ikura as you like. Don't forget the freshly grilled scallops, they were delicious. In the corner where people gathered, there were cakes and ice cream for dessert. It's enjoyable to serve yourself strawberry, chocolate, matcha, and vanilla ice cream. It was a fun and lively dinner. For breakfast, reflecting on last night's overeating, serve one item on the plate at a time. The shishamo is delicious. Don't forget to try a piece of boiled Hokkaido corn. I arrived at the breakfast venue at 6:15 am when it opened, and it was moderately busy. Breakfast at a travel destination is always early.

Dinner on the second day of the trip. Today, I dined at the restaurant inside the hotel. I thought it would be salmon again! (laughs) But the hot pot today was delicious. The crab and beef steak cubes matched my mood perfectly. During the day, the tour guide mentioned a 44-proof alcohol made from potatoes called "Latitude 44," so I tried it and it was delicious. I think potato shochu lovers should definitely give it a try. Even though I had so many dishes and drank alcohol, I still managed to eat a lot of rice for the last meal of the day. I surprised myself with how much I could eat (bitter smile). It was delicious.