Hotel Kolam air panas di Otofuke

　昨年１２月。コロナ渦も一息ついていて、北海道民割とおとふけ割がダブルで利用できることから、十勝川温泉にある観月苑に行くことにしました。 　割引があることから、改装済みで広さもある川側の部屋で、食事は和食の会席のコースにしました。 　十勝川温泉の泉質はモール温泉という世界的にも貴重な植物泉です。肌あたりがとてもやさしいお湯なので、私のお気に入りの温泉の一つです。基本的に和食のコースは、ちょっと洋風なアレンジがなされていて、おいしくいただきましたし、新しく改装されたお部屋の居心地が良かったです。部屋には広めのテラスが着いていて、そこからは目の前に十勝川が流れていて、奥には雪を頂いた日高山脈の山々がきれいでした。

Great service, nice view, good shop and super Japanese food. This hot spring resort is collocated with another large hotel (and perhaps some other smaller ones) about 5 miles outside Obihiro. The view of the river area and bridge from the rooms is very nice and relaxing. We were in a corner deluxe room that afforded plenty of space for 3 adults. It also provided a private in-room onsen style bath on our balcony, very useful for younger westerners who may have tattoos and are banned from using the hotel’s large public baths. Meanwhile we tattoo-free elders enjoyed the infinity public hot spring fed baths. We opted for a Japanese food plan where breakfast and dinner meals are prepared in front of us and served privately to our small party of 3 - excellent. On our last morning, we opted to use the breakfast buffet instead, which was okay, but a mistake on our part as the private meal was better. The onsen area is removed from the city. We walked along the river and back up the hill behind the hotel. There is a mini-mini-mall close by that has souvenirs and a few food options, we had lunch there.

We chose to visit Otofuke Town because we were eager to experience the only area in Japan that features ”Moor Onsen.” Moor hot springs are different in that it gets its contents from reed and other native planets that are deep underground, and gets its high temperature from geothermal heat before making an appearance in the area around Tokachigawa Onsen. Also, once the hot spring makes contact with oxygen, it turns reddish brown in color. Moor hot springs also have a higher concentration of salt compared to the typical Onsen. While I'm not sure about the accuracy of the claims, supposedly the high content of organic matter and humic acid results in abundant natural moisturizing ingredients, which is why it's commonly referred to as ”Bijin-no-Yu” (the hot spring for beauty) by locals and in marketing materials. Did I feel 10 years younger after taking a few dips? I doubt it, but the silky smooth feeling of bathing in Moor Onsen leads me to believe that doing it daily would likely have a positive impact on my skin's smoothness, that's for sure. Sanyoan and Seijakubo are the luxury choices among the Moor onsen ryokans, and we flipped a coin and went with the former. Sanyoan features a ”Daiyokujo” (gender segregated open-air communal Onsen bath), although we didn't find anyone when we visited. That's because each of the ryokan's 11 rooms on site comes with its own en-suite Onsen. Only two, however, are of the open-air outdoor variety, including our ”Tokubetsu Shitsu” (Special) room named ”Haru No Umi” (which means Ocean in Spring.) It's a two-story maisonette-type unit that offers 97m² indoor living space. We knew going in that the room was not going to win any awards for design, and it feels more like a country home than anything (which is somewhat appropriate given its location in Hokkaido), but the first floor was more drab than we anticipated. It consists of a toilet, the main bedroom (with two beds) and a small living room that has a small yellow sofa, a fold-open wooden chair masquerading as a coffee table, and a large TV. The living room in particular felt constricting, mainly due to its small size... we really didn't spend much time downstairs, except when it was time for bed. We were relieved to find the second floor being far more inviting, consisting of a living room, a tatami room, the main washroom (with dual sinks), an indoor shower as well as a massive patio with the gensen kakenagashi (free-flowing and never recirculated) Moor Onsen bath. There was an abundance of natural light and a served as a place that we were able to relax in comfort. The dining experience takes place in the main restaurant, although there are 3 koshitsu (private rooms) that can be reserved upon request, which is what we did. Hokkaido is known for its wonderful produce, bountiful seafood (made particularly incredible thanks to the cold water and strong ocean currents) and its beef (and milk and cheese), and Sanyoan did a terrific job in representing the best t

2人部屋でしたが、思っているよりも部屋は広く、洗面所も広くて使いやすかったです。 水道水は、飲み水としても使えました。 温泉もキレイで、使いやすいですね。 ウェルカムドリンクとして、牛乳が飲めます。 皆さんに飲んで貰うために、積極的に購入して、宿泊者の皆さんに振舞っているそうです。 場所は帯広市内から少し離れていて、静かでとても過ごしやすかったです。温泉も良かったです。 また帯広に来た時は、利用したいと思います！

Contemporary interpretation of a ryokan. Very gracious staff. Elegant, modern meets traditional common areas. Extremely quiet rooms, lovely in-room onsen (we didn't' try the communal ones). Food was excellent! We paid extra for the teppanyaki one night and I wouldn’t recommend (it was fine but the regular dinner is better IMHO). Only downside is it is the middle of nowhere and immediate physical surroundings are not particularly attractive (in fact there is a parking lot next door, hidden visually). If you are driving around Hokkaido I'd definitely stop here but I wouldn't travel to Hokkaido only for this.