Hotel located in Sounkyo. This time, 2 adults and 2 children, including breakfast and dinner, cost 81,930 yen. In addition, a bathing tax of 500 yen is required. It seems to be an old-established hotel that has been around for about 100 years, but the inside has been renovated and is clean. The room was quite spacious, with a combination of Japanese and Western-style rooms, with two beds and two futons. The open-air bath was not very large, but it was a natural hot spring flowing from the source, and it was nice to hear the sound of the Ishikari River. Both breakfast and dinner were buffet style. The room seemed to be fully booked, with a huge crowd. The table space was large, but the space for taking food was quite narrow and difficult. Dinner was delicious, especially the beef steak was surprisingly tender and I had multiple helpings. It was disappointing that soft drinks were not included. For breakfast, the highlight was the seafood bowl with salmon, tuna, salmon roe, and grated yam, which was delicious without any fishy smell.

Unfortunately, due to the rain and strong winds, we couldn't climb Mt. Kurodake, so we enjoyed the magnificent Ginga and Ryusei waterfalls from the Sounkyo Gorge. Afterwards, we stayed at a nearby inn for the night. We relaxed in the hot springs to soothe our tiredness and had an early dinner due to a foreign group waiting behind us. The dinner was buffet style with a variety of dishes such as herring, Chika marinated in vinegar, octopus with miso, avocado and shrimp with spicy cod roe, tuna sashimi, squid and pickled mackerel, and yellowtail sushi. We also had tempura with shrimp, lotus root, onion, and octopus seasoned with salt. The main dish was teppanyaki beef, and we also enjoyed crab, prosciutto, and salmon carpaccio. Surprisingly, the beef curry was delicious, different from curry specialty shops, but still tasty. After eating, we strolled through the hot spring town and watched the traditional Sounkyo Gorge Fire Festival, featuring Ainu ethnic dances and fire performances. We ended the night by enjoying a beautiful fireworks display up close, truly feeling the essence of summer and looking forward to visiting again.

The open-air hot spring has a great atmosphere and water quality. It's not too hot, but even in summer, the cold outside temperature warms you up. The hotel is old but has been renovated to be quite modern. The food is traditional though. There's all-you-can-drink sake in the lobby. The gift shop is well-stocked. Perfect for room drinking, I mean lobby drinking. There are lots of deer along the river outside. No time to waste eating!

Open kitchen style buffet with COVID-19 precautions in place, such as wearing vinyl gloves for serving. There was a long line for the crab, which was plentiful. I was in the mood for Japanese cuisine, so I enjoyed sushi, tempura, wagyu steak, mixed rice, and miso soup. Dessert was served from a cart, with a variety of ice cream flavors. Finished off with a cup of coffee.

Stayed with my wife and our little one for the first time on November 1, 2020. As a gift to my wife, who always works hard taking care of our three sons, I treated her to a stay with flowing hot springs and a "luxury meal plan." We stayed in a new Japanese-style room with a buffet plan. The buffet didn't have a wide variety of items, but surprisingly, the grilled snow crab was delicious. My wife ate a lot. My little one and I enjoyed the local specialty mushrooms. The mixed rice was so tasty. The hot spring was a simple hot spring. Unlike the simple sulfur spring at the Asahi Resort where we stayed before, this one had a faint smell of hydrogen sulfide. Some parts of the old building were under renovation, but with the flowing hot springs and spacious room, the cost performance was good at 18,000 yen for three people with the use of the "Go To" campaign. I was most happy that both my wife and little one enjoyed themselves.

I thought I could see the Sounkyo Gorge from the Sounkyo Grand Hotel, but unfortunately it was covered in fog. I would like to try again sometime. The dinner was delicious with each dish carefully prepared! I had a great time! Thank you for the meal! (^｡^) #SounkyoGrandHotel

After visiting Asahiyama Zoo, we stayed at the Sounkyo Grand Hotel. The facility may not be new, but the rooms were very clean and spacious. We had dinner and breakfast at the buffet here. Unlike most buffets where you find your own seat, here the seats were assigned and set up with dishes for three people and a child's chair. This was very convenient for families with children. For dinner, there was a variety of seafood such as shrimp, octopus sashimi, and crab, as well as many Chinese dishes like sweet and sour chicken, shumai, stir-fried mixed vegetables, and zangi. The open kitchen offered steak and tempura. My child wanted potatoes, which were not available, but when I asked the staff, they kindly made a plate of potatoes just for him. The highlight was the DIY Sounkyo ramen, where you boil frozen noodles and add toppings like seaweed, char siu, and green onions with soy-based soup. It was delicious. The salad, fruits, and desserts were also satisfying, with tiramisu, baked pudding, ice cream, and more. The breakfast buffet featured Hokkaido-made bread (plain, mocha, red bean) toasted to perfection. There were also sandwiches, salads, fruits, and tasty items from the open kitchen like bacon, croquettes, and rolled omelets. A variety of juices were available as well. I highly recommend this hotel when visiting Sounkyo.

I came to Sounkyo in Hokkaido in winter. I used a solo accommodation plan before New Year's Eve. The bus (Sounkyo Liner) from Sapporo Station to the hotel cost 500 yen for guests. Departing from Sapporo, with stops along the way, it took 3 hours to arrive here. The area around the hotel is like an icy world with roads, houses, trees, and cars. The cold is something I, originally from Kyushu, have never experienced before. The sight of the scenery I've never seen before is exciting, priceless. The morning and evening buffet plan cost 9,000 yen. Considering it was the end of the year, for one person, with meals included, in a famous tourist spot, it was reasonably priced. The food itself was a typical hotel buffet. The photo is of breakfast. I forgot to take a photo of dinner due to excitement. The usual items were all there, and they were quite delicious. As always, I overeat at the hotel breakfast. It makes me feel very satisfied though. It was great to visit snowy Sounkyo. Winter in Hokkaido is wonderful with its simplicity and beauty.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (Visited in August 2009) Asahikawa Ramen (One dish for dinner) On the second day of our Hokkaido expedition, we arrived at Sounkyo Onsen. It feels like it has been ages since I was here in elementary school. Now, let me introduce the Asahikawa Ramen that was served at the hotel's dinner buffet. It's almost like a bonus feature, but since it's ramen, I'll include it. Of course, I tried the "Asahikawa Ramen". Perhaps it's because of the location, but we stumbled upon something interesting. It's a DIY ramen where customers boil the frozen noodles themselves, pour the soup over them, and it's ready to eat. It was a bit of an event, so many children were drawn to it. I also quickly drained the noodles and such (laughs). The soup was only shoyu (soy sauce). Pour it over the boiled noodles, then it's time for the toppings. There were six types: chashu, menma, wakame, corn, bean sprouts, and green onions. And believe it or not, you could add as much as you wanted. Whether you make it into ramen or a meat bowl is up to you (laughs). Well, I'll leave the taste up to your imagination. But as an attempt at a buffet, it was quite interesting. 185th bowl/2009 ↓↓↓↓↓ (Original blog post) http://www.ramen-travel.com/archives/51295090.html

My son who came back home and I went to a hot spring with three people. It was a buffet plan with one hairy crab per person for 8,800 yen each. I think this price is reasonable for this time of year. The buffet had thawed Zuwai crabs that didn't feel fresh, slightly tough steaks, and other typical buffet dishes at a hot spring inn. It didn't seem worth taking photos. (I think the buffet at the Sounkyo Kanko Hotel I visited two months ago was better.) Surprisingly, there were few Asian tourists this time, so we could enjoy our meal quietly. And, as a bad habit, I tend to eat too much at buffets... (*_*;) Our goal was to "relax in the hot springs," so we drank in our room and kept going back and forth to the open-air bath (lol) We were quite satisfied.

After warming up with some ginger ramen, I stumbled upon the former Higashikawa Station of the Asahikawa Electric Railway, which was discontinued in 1972, and got really excited! I also stopped by Ueno Farm, where the designer of the drama "Wind Garden" is said to be involved, but it was a bit different from what I imagined. Tonight, I will be staying at Sounkyo Onsen, located to the east of the Daisetsuzan Mountains. Known for being a representative hot spring in the northern Hokkaido area, it gained fame in the Taisho era thanks to a famous essayist. I chose to stay at Sounkaku Grand Hotel because it was reasonably priced. Despite the hotel's appearance catering more towards groups, the rooms have been renovated and offer a clean, bright, and comfortable space. The large outdoor bath was very relaxing. Of course, dinner was a buffet. The spacious restaurant was fully booked. The Japanese cuisine included freshly fried tempura, DIY sushi where you can place your own toppings, which was fun. Using audio-technica's professional sushi rice forming machine, the sushi rice had a nice texture. There were also teppanyaki pork, dim sum, pasta, and more. There was mapo tofu, but it was too mild by default, so I added a lot of doubanjiang (laughs). For breakfast, there was a variety of Japanese dishes, including fluffy dashimaki tamago, delicious mentaiko, and lightly seasoned homemade pickles. Surprisingly, there was soba made from 100% buckwheat, with finely ground and neatly aligned noodles. However, they were pre-boiled, so it was a bit disappointing that they were a bit stretchy. The milk brand was unknown, but Hokkaido milk is always delicious! It was a lot of fun, and Hokkaido's buffets are really great!

I stayed at this hotel for one night as the Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival is ending soon. The hotel is not very fancy, but the price is reasonable. I will write about the food as this is a review on Tabelog. For dinner, I had a set meal with a hot pot at the dining room. It included appetizers, a platter of three delicacies, sashimi (tuna, shrimp, scallop), grilled mackerel, teppanyaki beef, snow crab legs, hot pot, sukiyaki, soba noodles, rice, miso soup, pickles, tofu chawanmushi, and dessert. To be honest, I didn't eat much because most dishes contained mushrooms, which I don't like, so I passed them to my partner. For breakfast, there was a buffet with a variety of options, and I particularly enjoyed the fluffy rolled omelette. However, the hotel only had one dining area for all guests, so if you're not careful with the timing, you might end up in a seat grabbing battle. The surprising thing was that more than half of the guests were from Southeast Asia, making it difficult to have a peaceful meal, so we left early. In the end, it was just an average hot spring inn.

Sounkyo's long-established hotel. It's old but impressive, with a considerable number of rooms. However, the parking lot is far away, and the driver has to walk from the parking lot to the entrance if the check-in time is late. (I was annoyed by the narrowness and distance of the parking lot because I was tired). The staff service was good. The calmness of the veterans and the earnestness of the young fresh girls were also good. There were about three elevators to the rooms because there were many rooms, but I had to wait because they were slow. It was faster to use the stairs to go to the open-air bath. The hot spring had hot spring flowers blooming in the open-air bath, and the sign saying "Northern Fox comes out" was popular with people from outside the area. The hot spring was light and had no particular taste. I felt the oldness of the facilities in the large public bath, but the high ceiling allowed me to relax. The meal was a buffet, with plenty of quantity and variety, and the taste was normal. There was also a performance of grilling steak in front of you, but the meat was not very tender. For some reason, the curry was the most delicious. The rolled omelet and lychee jelly for breakfast were excellent. The rest was not particularly delicious and felt normal. There were many Korean? Taiwanese? Asian group tourists. The seating arrangement at the table I was guided to was just right, and I was a little concerned about the closeness to the person next to me. The rooms were spacious, and the bathroom was also spacious. It was good that the toilet was separate. The sound of the river at night was loud but elegant. It might be reasonable and good for banquets or staying with a large group.

Introduced by employees, the "Hatsuichi" Japanese sake is made from Hokkaido rice "Ginfu" grown from planting to cultivation. This manju is made from the sake lees of the same name. When you eat it, the aroma of sake lees spreads into a delicious flavor. It's not just any manju. The size is smaller than expected. I wish it was a bit bigger.