Noguchi Kanko Hotels in Toyako

After booking the hotel on Ctrip, I made sure to reserve the shuttle bus from Sapporo Station to the hotel half a month in advance by filling out a form on their official website. The bus departed from the designated parking area outside Sapporo Station North Exit at 1:30 PM, reaching the hotel around 4:00 PM. If you sit on the right side of the bus, you get a close-up view of Mount Yotei midway through the ride. Upon check-in, I managed to book a private onsen for 6 PM and dinner for after 7 PM on the spot. After dinner, around 8 PM, we took a short walk to the lake to catch the 8:45 PM fireworks show. The whole evening flowed perfectly! The next day, payment for the private onsen and shuttle bus was conveniently handled at a machine during check-out. At 10:15 AM, we took the hotel shuttle to New Chitose Airport, arriving at the domestic terminal around 12:30 PM. Sitting on the left side of the bus offers a close-up view of Lake Shikotsu en route. Since it wasn't crowded at the end of August, we were able to book the return shuttle and a private onsen on the spot at the front desk. However, it's generally safer to book these in advance. Current prices are: the hotel shuttle from Sapporo Station to No Kaze is 1000 JPY per person, and from No Kaze to New Chitose Airport is 1500 JPY per person. The private onsen costs 4400 JPY for 50 minutes. Overall, it was a perfect short getaway!

Due to a miscalculation of our travel time, the drive from the airport took about 2 hours, and it was already dark by the time we reached the hotel. We had originally booked a mountain-view Japanese-style room, but upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find we'd been upgraded to a lake-view Japanese-style room. The moment we stepped into the room, we were treated to a view of fireworks – absolutely stunning! The room perfectly matched my preferred Japanese style, and sleeping on the tatami mats was exceptionally comfortable. Our stay included both dinner and breakfast. Unfortunately, we arrived quite late, so it was already past the last order time for dinner, and we only managed a few quick bites. However, the breakfast the next morning was incredibly lavish. Most of the dishes were Japanese-style, and the restaurant, overlooking the lake, offered beautiful views while we dined. The hotel's onsen (hot springs) were truly superb and showed great thoughtfulness. I appreciated that the open-air baths for men and women swapped locations between the evening and morning, ensuring all guests could enjoy different scenic views during their soak. After our evening soak, we put on the hotel's yukata (robes) and took a stroll outside. The lake was just a short walk away. It was a fantastic way to experience Japanese culture!