Today's goal is the Kawashima Ryokan in Toyotomi Onsen. Toyotomi Onsen is located about 30 minutes from Wakkanai, the northernmost town in Japan. It is known as the northernmost hot spring resort in Japan. While many hotels in the area are quite old, Kawashima Ryokan has been renovated and is very clean. One unique feature of Toyotomi Onsen is its distinctive spring quality - it contains oil! Indeed, a film of oil floats on the hot spring water. I'm not sure if it's due to the oil, but my skin felt incredibly smooth after soaking in the water. It's a very relaxing hot spring in the midst of nature. The dinner here also features delicious dishes made with Hokkaido ingredients. The menu includes: - Pre-dinner drink: Rishiri kelp plum wine - Bisque made with plenty of Toyotomi milk - Creamy milk chawanmushi with miso butter sauce - Tuna and scallop carpaccio with chopped green onions - Luxurious Toyotomi butter ajo blanco to savor the umami of the ingredients - Herb-roasted Chiri carrots for antioxidant benefits - Simmered octagon from Wakkanai - Traditional Toyotomi Ryokan hot pot to enjoy with Rishiri kelp dashi - Sautéed Ezo deer meat from Toyoura with mountain wasabi butter sauce - Premium grade Yumepirika rice from Asahikawa - French vanilla gelato from Letier using freshly squeezed milk - Drink: Beginning of the journey beer - Drink: Yochi cider Every dish was incredibly delicious. It's hard to choose, but if I had to pick three favorites, they would be: - The creamy milk chawanmushi with miso butter sauce. The miso butter was so rich and delicious, I could eat as many as they would give me. - The ajo blanco made with Toyotomi butter. It was a first for me to have ajo blanco made with butter instead of olive oil. The butter added a rich flavor and brought out the freshness of the ingredients. It was perfect to dip toast into. - The herb-roasted Chiri carrots. The cumin used in this dish gave it a refreshing aroma. The sweetness of the carrots was perfectly brought out. The variety of drinks available was also surprising, with perhaps the best selection I've seen at a ryokan. I was completely satisfied with my stay. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

I had always wanted to visit Kawashima Ryokan after seeing the Toitomi Onsen's oil bath and flavored butter on TV. Finally, I was able to stay there. Location and Exterior: I flew to Wakkanai and then made my way to Toyotomi. The exterior had a stylish atmosphere with wooden accents. The interior was also very clean and had a cozy ambiance. Food and Taste: Each dish was made to complement the different flavored butters. The combination of the gentle flavors of the dishes with a hint of flavored butter was amazing. I liked it so much that I bought all the flavors. Personally, I found the sea urchin butter, salmon roe butter, and honey butter to be especially delicious. Just a small amount of sea urchin or salmon roe on top of rice was enough to keep me coming back for more. In addition to the famous flavored butters, the Toitomi milk pudding was also really delicious. It comes in about six different flavors and can be purchased within the inn.

I went to the famous Kawashima Ryokan and had dinner and breakfast there. I used the business plan this time, but the meals were satisfactory with no shortcomings. The highlight was the various flavored butters offered at breakfast. I tried several and found it interesting with some new discoveries. Thank you for the meal~

I decided to take a week-long vacation and visit the famous Toyotomi Onsen that I had always wanted to go to. I used a combination of a highway bus, airplane, and the Kitahokkaido Free Pass to travel, with pre-arranged transfers. The journey took 3 days round trip, so I could only stay for 4 nights. If I had more money and time, I would have liked to stay longer. The hot springs at Toyotomi Onsen are said to be effective for treating atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, so the clientele is mainly people using the hot springs for medical purposes. I want to mention that within the town, the inn is more hotel-like, but may feel lacking in terms of interaction like a guesthouse or luxury like a hotel stay. The communal baths are not very large, so they can get crowded at certain times. There are many books in the facility, with several spaces where you can read, making it ideal for those who want to relax and spend time leisurely after soaking in the hot springs. Since it is not a medical treatment inn, there is no self-catering environment. Meals are provided with a morning and evening business plan with daily changing dishes. I opted for the business plan with smaller portions instead of the course meal using butter. The business plan includes a one drink service. I informed them of my allergies in advance, and they accommodated me as much as possible, which was very helpful. In the morning, popular butter from 4 different types is provided daily. You can also have seconds! I stayed for 2 different meal plans, so I ordered a butter tasting set during dinner. For lunch, there are no shopping options nearby without a car, so I used the dining hall at the nearby Community Center. Although the Kawashima Inn also operates a cafe for lunch, I did not use it this time. There are cats, so be careful if you have allergies. I only posted a few photos as there are a lot of them. Photos that couldn't be posted are on my YouTube travel record. I would be happy if this information about the food was helpful in any way.

Business plans are all lies!! The dinner here is not business-like at all. Each dish is intricately prepared and very delicious, without any cheap feeling. And the hot spring here creates the perfect atmosphere with its unique petroleum scent. No complaints. This is the number one inn in the northern Hokkaido area. Have you ever visited a place because you wanted to soak in their hot spring? Or because you love the food at a particular inn and made it your travel destination? My hometown is Otaru. It takes at least 5 hours to get from Otaru to Wakkanai, no matter what mode of transportation you use. Driving your own car is the fastest way, but it still takes over 6 hours. By the way, you can reach Kansai in the same amount of time. 1.5 hours on the Rapid Airport train, 0.5 hours for connecting flights, and a flight time of 2.45 hours... By car, it takes a little over 6 hours to get to Wakkanai via local roads, and beneath Wakkanai lies Toyotomi-cho. The hot spring here is one of the most impactful in the region, with its unique petroleum scent. I visited here a year ago and couldn't forget the experience, so I came back again this time. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I came here just to stay at this inn. If you love hot springs, I highly recommend visiting Toyotomi Onsen. You won't be disappointed. Upon check-in, you are asked various questions. Dinner is either at 6:00 pm or 6:30 pm, and I chose the former. Breakfast options are at 7:00 am, 7:30 am, or 8:00 am, and I chose 8:00 am to take it easy. I previously wrote a combined review of dinner and breakfast, but this time I will focus on dinner only. The breakfast menu hasn't changed much from a year ago, but due to the pandemic, the buffet-style meals have been replaced with a system where you request replacements from the staff at the butterfield. Other than that, nothing has changed, so I will now write about the dinner. ★Dinner★ 6:00 pm. I was guided to the dinner venue when I went to the front desk. I sat at the table with my room name on it. There is a complimentary drink service in the business plan, so I ordered a Sapporo Classic beer, just like last time. After ordering, I looked at the menu and noticed a clear change from a year ago. There are more dishes, and the menu names are appealing. The number of dishes has increased... I have a bad feeling about this... The first dish was brought out with the beer. ◎Daily Salad It's a tofu salad. The smiley staff brought it over. Tofu salad as the first dish... The portion is too big!! I would prefer something lighter. I started with the tofu. ...Oh. The tofu is rich and creamy, very delicious. The vegetables are crunchy, of course. The dressing is a sesame dressing. It's a good start, but... ◎Milk Tea Wan Steamed with Uni Butter Sauce Steamed in milk tea with Uni butter sauce!? I asked the lovely staff who brought it, "Is the Uni butter from here (Kawashima Ryokan)?" "Yes, that's correct." I see. Actually, I didn't have a good impression of the Uni butter at breakfast last time... I took a bite. Hot!! It was just steamed. The sauce is rich because it uses butter. However, the steamed part is light, and it blends well with the butter sauce. But because the butter sauce is generous, it became heavy and overwhelming towards the end. It was delicious, but I got tired of it halfway through. It was already quite full from the daily salad and milk tea wan. Next is... ◎Grilled Vegetables... Oh. I asked the lovely staff, and she said there is no meat in it. Grilled vegetables only... I'm already feeling nervous. It was served. It arrived. Even if you look at the picture, you might not understand, but it has an overwhelming presence!!! The vegetables are vibrant!! I'm the main character! The sauce is a three-year-old pickled sauce.

This is a centrally located accommodation facility in Toyofuku Onsen, which is probably the only hot spring in the country that contains oil. They offer day trips and restaurant services. It is a long-established inn since the beginning of Toyofuku Onsen, but it has been rebuilt into a modern inn using wood, as shown in the photos. It seems like many other reviewers are focused on business plans, and the prices are reasonable. The salad is normal. The sea urchin pudding with uni is delicious. The flounder is good. The chicken tastes like the usual protein. The breakfast includes Toyofuku milk and they pride themselves on their bread, which can be enjoyed with rice. The miso soup is a bit thin. Overall, it is a decent place to stay at a reasonable price.

Kawashima Ryokan. If you know the name, you probably love hot springs or pudding. Located in Toyotomi-cho, Hokkaido, right next to Wakkanai City. The local specialty here is Toyotomi milk! And of course, the hot springs. I've always wanted to visit this hot spring. The purpose is, of course, the hot spring. And as a third-generation traditional inn (the third generation in Hokkaido is considered traditional), I was curious about the kind of enjoyment they provide. Kawashima Ryokan offers accommodation with room only, breakfast included, business plan (two meals included), and full-course plan (two meals included). This time, although it was not for business, I applied for the business plan through the official website. It is priced just under 10,000 yen. Check-in is from 3:00 pm. I arrived at 2:30 pm, but check-in was not yet available. So, I decided to take a walk around the hot spring town. Convenience store? None. Supermarket? None. Beer from a vending machine? Not available. Soft drinks are available. The original hot spring source is a 1-minute walk away. This place where natural gas and hot springs spring up is probably here. Next to the original hot spring source is Toyotomi Fureai Center (a day trip bathing facility). I didn't visit this time, but it uses the same hot spring as Kawashima Ryokan, but it's slightly different. There are baths for medical treatment and general use. Next time I visit Toyotomi Onsen, I want to bathe in the medical treatment baths. When I wandered back, it was 3:00 pm, so I checked in. I was guided to my room and offered a welcome drink of hot milk (Toyotomi milk) and pickled plum. This hot milk was delicious. The pickled plum, however, was not to my taste. The building is new, so there are no complaints, but there is some sound leakage. It's inevitable. It feels more like a pension than a traditional inn. When I went to bathe, there were two indoor baths. One was around 40 degrees Celsius, and the other was around 25 degrees Celsius. The lukewarm one was slightly cool, but it was a rich and pleasant hot spring. It smelled of petroleum and had oil floating on top, which was very good! I loved this hot spring!! The outdoor bath was warmer than the indoor baths and had a good feeling. The view was...almost non-existent. It's in the middle of the hot spring town, so it can't be helped. After enjoying the hot spring, it's time for dinner! Even though it was the business plan, it was about half the price of the full-course plan and included one alcoholic drink. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. ★First, we were told that rice refills were free. You can have as much as you want. I thought I would drink alcohol with the rice, but I ended up eating two bowls of rice. First dish: Colorful vegetable salad I enjoyed it with Sapporo Classic beer. It was crunchy. The texture was enjoyable. I was slightly surprised that they provided such delicious vegetables in the winter. It was a satisfying dish. Second dish: Firefly squid and garlic chives with vinegar miso dressing A dish that goes well with alcohol. It seemed like a dish to make you want to drink. The taste was very good. I wanted to order alcohol, but I had to resist... Third dish: Steamed chicken Simple and perfectly steamed chicken. It was delicious. Very delicious! This is not alcohol, this is food!! I hurried to serve myself more rice. It goes well with it. I never thought I would eat rice after drinking beer. Doing something I don't usually do makes me feel excited. The rice went down easily. And the homemade furikake (also free) With furikake and rice, you could go on forever. Fourth dish: Hot pot soup This hot pot...it's amazing. The good dashi that comes out of it. I remembered the simple and delicious hot pot soup my mother used to make at home...and I cried!! This, this, the remaining steamed chicken and hot pot soup. With the homemade furikake, you could even eat a second large serving of rice. Oh, delicious. Oh, happiness. It wasn't a full-course plan with fancy dishes, but the business plan didn't cut corners and actually exceeded expectations.

I have visited Toyotomi Onsen twice for a day trip in the past, but this was my first time staying overnight. I booked the chef's choice plan and the drive to Toyotomi was easy this season with less snow. We stopped in Rumoi for lunch but the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed, so we ended up getting food at a convenience store. We arrived around 2:30 PM, earlier than planned, and checked into our room. The newly renovated facility was very clean. We ordered a beer as soon as we entered the room, which was a nice treat for staying overnight. The hot spring was unique with oil floating on the surface. After enjoying the bath, we had dinner which was decent, with butter confit being a standout. I wished there was pudding for dessert. Personally, I preferred the breakfast at this inn over dinner. I recommend this place for those who want to experience a different kind of hot spring and for cat lovers. The white cat here is very friendly and cute. I look forward to visiting again to see the cat.

I made a reservation when I purchased butter the other day, and today is my first stay. The business plan includes one night with two meals for about 10,938 yen. I usually stay at more reasonable business hotels, so I had high expectations for this stay. The dinner provided was delicious. It was homemade dishes centered around vegetables. I've never had miso soup with caspian shad like that before, you can't find that in the Kanto region! The dessert, rich milk ice cream, was exquisite! I was happy to be served a Sapporo Crush beer before the meal! The breakfast was beautifully presented as well, with unlimited high-quality butter flavors available (^○^) I enjoyed it with freshly baked bread. I tried haskap berries, strawberries, and honey for the first time, and they go well with bread! They also had brown rice and white rice, and I had them with truffles, Rishiri kombu, and salmon flakes. All the high-quality butters were delicious. The bath was a natural hot spring with flowing water. It's an oil spring, so my skin felt smooth. The entire inn is non-smoking, making it a very relaxing and pleasant ryokan.

I loved the salty-sweet flavor of the soy sauce pudding. The creamy texture was so smooth and delicious. It's recommended to chill it well before eating. The pudding has two layers, with a creamy top layer and a pudding bottom layer, so it's best to scoop it up from the bottom. If you enjoy a slightly salty taste with a hint of sweetness, this pudding is perfect for you. It's not too strong on the soy sauce flavor, making it easy to enjoy. The pudding itself is creamy and milky, perfect for those who love a mild and easy-to-eat dessert.

【Kawashima Ryokan】Yuuagari Onsen Pudding Matcha Looking at the ingredients, there are no eggs in it! Pudding in my mind is always associated with eggs, so this is quite innovative. The pudding is thick and creamy, with a strong milk flavor and a subtle sweetness. The smooth and creamy texture is impressive. The matcha cream on top is intense! The bitterness of the matcha is prominent, but it is balanced by the richness of the cream. It is thick and heavy, with a strong presence of fats, but it suits my preference for intense flavors. The strong matcha flavor is truly remarkable...

The two-layer pudding has a salty cream on top. The salty cream has a strong saltiness and lives up to expectations. It has an airy texture but is thick, typical of Hokkaido. The bottom pudding is drinkable! This is truly a drinkable pudding. It is smooth and lightly sweet, maintaining its richness.

I had only visited Toyotomi Onsen for day trips before, so I was looking forward to staying at this ryokan after it had been renovated. The place was cleaner and more stylish than I expected, although the rooms were a bit small. It was surprisingly hot there. There were plenty of books in the common areas. It seemed like many guests were staying for multiple nights. The hot spring water was not as strong as I remembered from the previous visit at the community center. It was not as oily as I thought. The place was crowded with day visitors, especially in the early hours which was a bit inconvenient. For dinner, I tried the meals at the dining area. The cuisine was a mix of traditional ryokan dishes like hot pot and sashimi, with some modern twists inspired by famous restaurants in Yamagata and Tokyo. They also served Hokkaido wine and homemade soft drinks. I particularly enjoyed the Toyotomi butter garlic dish, steamed onion with minced meat in Chinese style, venison sashimi with mountain wasabi butter sauce. I think the sashimi platter and hot pot were unnecessary. The rice from Yumepirika was delicious. For breakfast, they offered a buffet with famous butter flavors. On that day, they had sea urchin, miso, truffle, blueberry, strawberry, and dried fruits. It was a great spread that paired well with bread. The sea urchin was the least favorite for me. I enjoyed the unique and natural vibe of the staff, many of whom had a minimalistic and natural look. I don't have any allergies, so I was able to enjoy the hot spring. It reminded me of my experience at Tamagawa Onsen.

Atopic dermatitis prevention for children, visited a place with a strong petroleum smell, and found some low-temperature hot spring pants that looked like they would be effective for atopic dermatitis, they turned brown lol. After taking a bath, bought some pudding called Yuagari Onsen Pudding. And guess what, turns out the son is the husband of a classmate's daughter! The world is small, isn't it? Thank you for the meal! (^^)v

A cozy inn-like hot spring ryokan with a very generous meal. The hot spring was the best part above all.

Kawashima Ryokan, which gives the impression of a high-class inn, also offers a business package that allows for budget-friendly stays. While the number of dishes may be limited, the overall content was satisfying.

All of them are delicious, but the uni butter from Rishiri is the best (o^^o) The pudding has a strong beef flavor and is delicious (o^^o)