I stayed overnight while visiting a client along the coast of Okhotsk for work! The dinner with hairy crab was extravagant. Both dinner and breakfast were delicious. There were 5 of us, and 2 others had the same dinner, so with half a crab each, there should have been half a crab left over! The fate of this crab became a topic of conversation. Intriguing!

The hot spring package for 62,000 yen is quite cheap! It's in the mountains, so staying without meals might be tough. The meals are served in small ramen bowls, which was surprising! The hot spring is great, and I stay here every year. It seems like there are also many people staying here for work.

I stayed at this accommodation during a bike tour last year ( ᵘ ᵕ ᵘ ⁎) They had proper COVID-19 measures in place, so I felt safe. The hot springs were great, and the food was delicious. The accommodation is located deep in the mountains, so it's quiet and the location is beautiful. They even had a place to park the bikes and set up tents, which was very helpful.

The ramen and fried rice set for 900 yen is cheap! The broth has a lot of lard and is piping hot. The taste is a gentle shoyu flavor. The noodles are thin with a low water content. The chashu is made from pork belly, slightly soft with a hint of flavor. Surprisingly, the menma is made from bamboo shoots. The fried rice includes shrimp and clams. It was delicious.

This morning's hotel breakfast is served buffet style from 7 am. It was quite crowded around 7 o'clock, but once that group passed, it wasn't too crowded. The dishes were being replenished regularly... The grilled fish was likely marinated herring, with a mild and low-salt taste. I wish there was more tarako (cod roe). I made a luxurious tarako rice by pouring plenty of tarako over a small amount of rice. The salad had a good amount of vegetables in it. The coffee was decent. Overall, the content was quite satisfying.

Today's dinner at the hotel where I stayed was quite good compared to last summer. I had made a reservation for 6:30 pm. Some dishes were running low, like the sashimi almost running out. However, they were promptly replenished within 5-10 minutes. There was also a scallop dish and seasonal watermelon for dessert. I tried a bit of everything without overeating. The only sashimi options were mackerel and tuna, but they were not bad. The scallop dish and the soup it came with were delicious. I ended my meal with chicken skewers instead of rice. It would have been nice if soft drinks were complimentary.

It's more like a cold sesame noodle dish than cold noodles. The sesame sauce and chili oil dressing go perfectly with the cold noodles. It was delicious.

Delicious but too much.

Full volume, great taste♪

I am in the city known for having the best hairy crab tempura in Japan. However, I did not try the hairy crab and instead stayed at a hot spring hotel in the old town of Uta-no-ura. I opted for the business plan which included two meals for a total of 5,800 yen including tax, so I wasn't expecting much in terms of food quality. But to my surprise, the plan offered great value for money. The breakfast, which was served buffet-style, was not extravagant but had all the essentials covered. I was satisfied with the meal. I tried a bit of milk, and its richness was evident. If I could drink milk, I would have gulped it down eagerly. It must be locally sourced, as expected. Since it was a cold spring, there were no hot spring eggs. I wondered if boiling eggs in the cold spring water would turn them into hot spring eggs. The coffee I had after the meal was also delicious. It was served in a pot, so it was slightly lukewarm, but it was just right for me, a cat's tongue.

Continuing from the review of Uta no Bori Green Park Hotel, Onsen Edition, here is the Dining Edition. We did not have dinner included, so we had to settle for the dining hall at Kado. I will share that experience in another post. Breakfast was a buffet style. Well, all-you-can-eat for breakfast... not sure about that. It would be great if we could just relax after eating, but oh well. The breakfast was mainly Japanese style, with standard offerings. Considering the season, I didn't expect anything like a "forest-themed" dish that Uta no Bori is known for, but maybe some seafood from Esashi would have been nice? Esashi is famous for its horsehair crab after all! Unfortunately, there was no sign of that. Well, there were various side dishes that I liked, so I'll give it a pass. First round: The grilled fish was cold and tough! Everything else was also cold. Second round: To soothe my disappointment, I started with my favorite shumai. I understand that they may be struggling financially, but this cost-cutting breakfast might lead to a bad cycle if they're not careful.

The cost includes one night stay with two meals. I chose the business package, which is the cheapest accommodation plan with meals included. I didn't have high expectations for the food when I checked in. Although there was a restaurant on site, it was not open for regular business that day, probably because it was fully booked. It was a good thing I opted for the plan with two meals included. Dinner was a buffet, and while there wasn't anything particularly outstanding, I did come across some delicious Ainu leek salad. This alone made me want to have another bowl of rice. The braised pork was also quite tasty (probably pre-made). I enjoyed a beer as well, so I left satisfied. Breakfast was also a buffet, with the usual selection you would expect. It was adequate. I also enjoyed the hot spring (although the tubs were a bit small). Overall, it was a satisfying stay.

I have been curious about Asakura Onsen, which has been supplying hot springs to this facility for a long time, and decided to stay here. Asakura Onsen, the source of the hot springs, is only open on weekends, so I couldn't bathe there, but the fact that the hot spring water is drawn into the bath at this inn is good enough for me. For dinner, I had a simple buffet as well as a few dishes such as Yamame trout rice, grilled deer meat with miso, and tempura. The trout rice had no fishy smell at all and was delicious, and the deer meat was also very tasty. The buffet also had delicious soy-marinated garlic chives. For breakfast, there was also a buffet, and the tarako (cod roe) was especially delicious. This hot spring inn is located in a quiet environment where you can't hear any noise. I would love to visit again if I have the chance.

I visited the restaurant around 12:30 on a weekday. It was a fairly spacious, completely non-smoking restaurant. There was one family group who seemed to be day-trip hot spring visitors. I was promptly given the menu and water. I chose the recommended lunch set, which was ramen and fried rice. The food arrived in about 5 minutes. The ramen portion seemed small at first, but the fried rice was quite generous, and I ended up feeling full. The ramen lacked depth in flavor, it was just average. The fried rice had a good portion size but lacked flavor. However, I was satisfied and full after the meal. Thank you for the meal.

On August 10th (Sunday), my wife and I stayed at a hotel on the premises of the Health Recovery Village. The rate included breakfast for 12,200 yen. The town of Kado is surrounded by nature, and if you continue further into the mountains by car for about 10 minutes, you'll find the Health Recovery Village. Despite feeling a bit anxious along the winding road, we finally spotted the sign for the village. What a relief! The 6-story building nestled in the greenery made us feel like the poet Yamadera might appear at any moment. The environment was truly wonderful. We stayed in a twin room on the 5th floor, and the view of the shining green leaves from there was breathtaking. The breakfast was buffet-style with around 20 dishes to choose from. You could also choose between bread, rice, and porridge. However, as a rice lover, I have to say that the rice lacked stickiness and the unique sweetness of Japanese rice. I didn't check the variety of rice used, but overall, the rice was not delicious.