Akan Tsuruga Bessou HINANOZA

Best hotel I've ever stayed at. We stayed here for 1 night during winter. The Ryokan is all inclusive (all alcohol is free too), has lovely staff (they gave us the perfect setup to watch the Winter festival fireworks), and has amazing amenities. The public onsen has delicious milk you can drink afterwards. There are midnight snacks and more snacks outside the main store. The ground floor also has a great sound system you can sit on while you enjoy a drink or midnight snack. The in room dining was plentiful and delicious! The staff were super attentive even though she couldn't speak much English. Will definitely come back next time I'm in Japan!

We stayed in the deluxe room; the lake view with the private onsen was worth the extra cost. Very conveniently next to Snowland Akan, with a perfect view of the evening fireworks from our room. Service was great, and the kaiseki meals were pretty good. Nothing mind-blowing by any means, but we felt very pampered by the staff and the entire experience.

We had a wonderful stay at your hotel and truly enjoyed every moment. The facilities were comfortable and beautifully maintained, making it easy to relax and feel at home. The service throughout our stay was warm, thoughtful, and very professional. We were also genuinely impressed by the English communication skills of every staff member we interacted with. Compared to our previous accommodation experiences in Japan, the level of English spoken at your hotel was exceptionally good, which made our stay even more smooth and comfortable. The food was also excellent — everything was delicious and well prepared. We especially appreciated how carefully the staff asked about food allergies and dietary considerations. For dishes we were unable to consume, the team kindly assisted in arranging alternative options, which we were truly grateful for. This level of care made us feel very well looked after during every meal. We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Ms. 大崎, who provided excellent dining service. She explained each dish with great care and attention, allowing us to fully enjoy and understand the meals. We would especially like to mention Sultana, who kindly guided us to our room. She was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and her explanations were clear and detailed. Thanks to her, we felt well taken care of right from the start, which made a great first impression. When we checked in, we informed the staff of the bus schedule we would be taking upon departure. To our pleasant surprise, the hotel thoughtfully arranged a car to take us to the bus stop. This kind of attentive service truly exceeded our expectations and reflected how considerate and well-organized the team is in every detail. Thank you for such lovely hospitality. We truly appreciated the experience and will definitely recommend your hotel to our friends and family. We would also be very happy to stay with you again in the future.

This was my first time staying at a Ryokan and experiencing a lot of traditional Japanese inn culture. The experience really starts on arrival, with a car valet taking care of things and then delivered to a grand entrance hall and lobby. We said goodbye to our shoes for a while and completed the very smooth check in process.||We were escorted to our room by a lovely member of staff who explained the inner workings of our room to complete the check in.||The room:|Big, traditional and warm are the best adjectives. The entrance hall had the toilet and a separate soundproofed door to provide more privacy. The tatami room followed, with a great space, dining table, tv and wardrobe. The other room was the bedroom, containing a sink and a fantastic massage chair. The shower room was in between the bedroom and balcony, that had an outdoor onsen and seating area.||We had twin beds that were super comfy and warm and we both slept well. The onsen was really special as the cold weather was complementing the hotness of the onsen and we really enjoyed it.||However: some recommendations / considerations for the hotel.||The room was, in a way, quite complicated. It felt like a mix of modern and traditional, with the modern parts interfering with the traditional. There’s no usable power sockets near the bed and for some reason the only ones free were by the sink?? The provided stereo is a good idea but our room had the instructions to a different stereo and therefore we couldn’t connect to it - but that might have interrupted the experience somewhat. The shower room wasn’t that private and because of the design of the shower next to the balcony, there was no blackout possible and sunlight poured in at sunrise. There were too many controls located around the room for various functions and this made things a little confusing. I personally feel that the beds needed to switch places with the tatami room, so that there’s better sleep quality and more functional layout. Lastly, we struggled a bit regulating the room temperature as it was a battle of too much heat versus the cold outside.||The hotel:|Ideally located right next to lake Akan, this is a beautiful hotel that exudes character, history and charm. There’s staff were all wonderful and so helpful. The food was also spectacular and the dining kaiseki experience was truly unforgettable. We also had a drink at the bar and really enjoyed the end to our evening.||Overall, a wonderful experience at the lake Akan area that I would fully recommend.

After a long drive, we arrived at the hotel and immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. The staff were consistently friendly, attentive, and always had the right answer to any question.||Having stayed in many hotels and ryokans across Japan, I would personally rank Akan Tsuruga Bessou HINA no ZA as a very close No. 2 on my list—just behind my No. 1, the Kaho in Tsukioka Onsen. But truly, it’s a photo finish!||The dining experience was absolutely fantastic, and the spacious rooms are equipped with everything one could wish for. What really sets excellent hotels apart from merely good ones are the little details. Here, every detail has been thought of—for example, the coffee machine already filled with water, a small but meaningful touch. Even my shoes were cleaned during my stay, something I did not expect.||These thoughtful touches show that everything in this hotel is perfectly cared for. We are deeply grateful to the staff for such a wonderful stay. If our travels bring us back to the area, we will certainly return.

My two-night stay at Akan Tsuruga Bessou HINANOZA in early March was the best hotel experience I’ve had so far! The food was absolutely impeccable, and the service was exceptionally thoughtful. Soaking in the hot spring while enjoying the fireworks over Lake Akan, gazing at the starry night sky, and watching the sunrise, everything was simply perfect. Will definitely visit again—I absolutely loved it!

We stayed 3 nights. The first 2 were on the second floor, but they moved us to a bigger suite with a separate bedroom/beds on the 3rd floor because the staff found our room too cold (heater not fully working). The first two nights' Kaiseki were in room and the third was in the restaurant at our request. All three dinners and breakfasts were wonderful with different ingredients and cooking styles. Our menus were bilingual although the Japanese side was more descriptive. The in-room covered open air (facing Lake Akan) hot bath was great. We were able to watch the fireworks in the bath. The temperature at 42°C (adjustable) was just right for the winter. The in-room massage chair was spot on after a long day of snow activities. We had a marvelous dedicated and very professional staff who took care of our meals and set up the room for tatami after dinner on the first 2 nights. She was the one who noticed our cold room. We communicated mainly thru Google Translate and hand gestures.

Stayed at the hotel for three nights. The lake was fine should weather permit, but lacks adventurous activities. Can’t swim in it, drive any boat by yourself and even canoe rentals have to be accompanied… We went on a guided speedboat twice which was cheap and fun.||The service at the hotel isn’t great across the board. Most of the local employees were cold and aloof, like they were doing us a favor by letting us stay here, spoke no English and didn’t try. One said “I don’t know” in Japanese and no then hung up the phone. Some ladies at the front desk were very kind and always remembered our room number.||Foreign staff were amateur and ignored/misunderstood many of my requests. For example, saying that there were no canoe rentals on the lake which turned out there was and being overly intrusive at dinner. Stayed at about 10+ just this year and the service here sits in the bottom. One Southeast Asian waitress that unfortunately served most of our meals mafe us feel very uncomfortable. She spoke poor english, talked way too much and was quite rude.||Food was initially supurb, but kept declining night after night. Still extremely innovative within the constraints of Kaiseki cuisine. Breakfast had free flowing portions of salmon roe which is great if you like it. Very generous too with all kinds of alcohol free at dinner and later at the lobby lounge.||Onsen facilities were excellent with a unique stone sauna where you put on a towel dress and lay on the stone on another towel and never crowded.||The town was depressing and only one main street long, everything except souvenior shops was closed during our time and restaurants all seemed like cafeterias. We never had lunch.||Rooms, albeit standard was spacious and very well-maintained and designed. Had very nice stereo tower speakers connected to a CD player, with jazz CDs beside it.||Three nights, which I booked is too lengthy even for the lake. There’s only a short path to walk along the lake and a small unpleasant forest trail. Not to mention we arrived from on a propeller powered plane which was the scariest flight of my life and I love to fly. A car is a must here if you don’t want to pay the $100+ cab ride from/to Kushiro airport.||What’s interesting is that service magically improved on the third day of my stay. I’ve had employees gawk/stare at me before and especially male ones never smiled.