Hot spring Hotels in Towada

In July, when the weather was beginning to get quite hot in Tokyo, we decided to escape the heat and crowds by spending a few days in Aomori. We wanted a nice hotel, off the beaten path, while being a place which wasn’t too hard to get to. After looking at what was available in Aomori, we decided to try the Oirase Keiryu hotel, which is located about 7 miles from Towada lake. This area is famous for its forests and natural scenery, its numerous streams, waterfalls, and wildlife. Access to Amori is easy, we took the Tohoku Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo Station to Hachinohe, which takes under 3 hours. From Hachinohe we rented a car from the Times Rental Car which is almost in front of the station. It takes about 90 minutes to get from Hachinohe to the hotel, though the hotel does offer shuttle bus service to the station. We chose to rent a car because there are many things within driving distance to see. The Oriase Keiryu hotel lies in a small valley alongside a river which runs from Towada lake. The drive from the train station to the hotel takes you through farm land and small towns. As there are few shops or stores near the hotel, it is a good idea to stock up on sundries at a convenience store or at the station before you get on the shuttle bus. Our rental car (a Mazda) had a navigation system which could be set to English, but I found my iPhone maps app offered a faster route. However, the route chosen by my phone took me alongside small farm roads, and a couple bridges which were too narrow for two-way traffic. But as there was almost no traffic along the route, this wasn’t an issue. After reaching the hotel, we found free parking near the entrance, and were quickly checked in. One great thing about Japanese hotels is that the service is always first rate, and tipping is not permitted. Our bags were promptly picked up at our car, and taken to our room. The Oriase Keiryu hotel is a combination of buildings with an older wing and a newer wing. The new wing (where we stayed) was a considerable distance from the lobby, but in Japan people are used to walking everywhere, so this was no real issue. The new part of the building is wonderfully decorated, with a couple of beautiful lobbies which offer coffee, tea, books and comfortable places to sit, indoors or outdoors. A good thing about this hotel is the wide variety of rooms, which can be had from less than $100 per night to $1500 per night. One thing I noticed as we were heading to our room was a rather strong smell. To some it might smell like an old building or something else, but I recognized it as the smell of onsen (hot spring) water. The hotel has an onsen baths for men and women, these are located in the newer wing of the hotel. As it happened, my wife had booked the best room in the hotel, which was a 2 bedroom suite. This was literally the most beautiful hotel room we have ever seen, and we have stayed at some wonderful hotels. The room featured two separate bedr

On March 7th and 8th, I visited Towada City for my daughter's graduation ceremony. I was also moving, so I stayed there for two nights to be present at the termination of the apartment contract I had been on for three years. The first night was a little luxurious, so I stayed at Oirase Onsen to celebrate graduation. Then on the second night, I stayed at Pony Onsen. It was reasonably priced, close to town, and had the best hot spring water quality. The lights were a little dim in the onsen reserved for guests, but it didn't feel like a hot spring in the city, which was great. If you're looking for an inn in Towada City, I recommend Pony Onsen.

We spent a couple of nights at the Hotel Towadaso on our latest trip to Japan and found it to be a decent base for visiting the area. It is quite a big hotel and caters to the numerous bus tours that roll through the area, so it has a bit of a mass tourism feel to it which we didn’t like. The location is OK, just a 5-minute walk to the lake front, however not a very inspiring location. The hotel was clean and well-presented, ****s under control, but with an air of faded grandeur. The reception staff were all good, very helpful and spoke a little bit of English. Our Japanese style room was lovely, very large and airy, with plenty of areas for storage and room to spread out (but drastically lacking hooks to hang things on. Our futon bed was comfortable and we had a good night’s sleep. The room was clean and well-maintained. The walls however are a bit thin, so you are able to hear your neighbors engaged in conversation, and also a bit of noise from the hallway. There is a number of restaurants on site. The one we ate our dinners at wasn’t all that great. The food was quite bland and tasteless and not much that was even recognizable. Luckily we had some extra food with us to supplement with. The breakfast, on the other hand, was quite good, but you eat it in this massive industrial type cafeteria that is obviously geared up for the mass bus tours. Good food, zero ambience. The hotel wifi was intermittent, almost unusable in the evenings, so we just switched to 4G data. So overall, not a bad experience, but we’d probably look for something else if we were to stay in the area again.

The hotel is located in the deep mountains of Hakkoda, at the entrance of Takada Odake, about 500 meters walk from the Yachi Onsen jr bus station (the bus only runs twice a day). The hot spring has been open for more than 400 years. The building of the hotel, including the hot spring, feels relatively old, and the TV in the room is still the same as in the 1980s. The dinner was unexpectedly good, and the taste of each dish was amazing and just right. Deep in the mountains, thick duvets will be covered at the end of July, and it doesn’t feel hot at all. After checking out the next day, the hotel can be driven to Aomori Station.

Stayed one night with my wife. The ryokan really matched the scenery of the surrounding mountains. At the same time, you can feel history and tradition from every corner of the wooden inn. The best feature of this ryokan is the historical hot spring. The inn has two types of hot springs. One was too hot for me to submerge my whole body in it for a minute. Also, there was no shower there, so it was a little inconvenient to wash. The other hot spring was still comfortable. In the hot spring, the pillars, the bathtub, and even the bath tub were made of wood, and you could feel the atmosphere. It was unique that the hot water gushed out from the bottom of the bathtub. I think it is a recommended hot spring for those who like historical hot springs. I had a meal in the evening and it was very delicious. Seafood such as sea urchin, kinki, and river fish were especially good. The staff were kind and served me politely. It was comfortable. I think this ryokan is good for people who like to feel nostalgic rather than comfortable.