25 and 26 May 2026
Jozankei Onsen is a historic hot spring town located just 1 hour from central Sapporo, Hokkaido. It is famous for its sodium chloride-rich therapeutic waters, dozens of traditional ryokans, and stunning seasonal nature views. I chose to stay in a luxurious hot spring hotel at this place on Day 3 of my Hokkaido road trip.
After driving from Asakikawa to Jozankei Onsen with some sightseeing stops en-route (see previous post), we arrived at the Shogetsu Grand Hotel at about 4 PM.
Shogetsu Grand Hotel is the brown building on the top right.
The hotel is perched on high ground, overlooking a river gorge with the Toyohira River. It is the only hotel here where every room faces the valley and its greenery in May.
The lobby is located on the 6th floor as viewed from the river, but it is actually at ground level when viewed from the main road passing through the town.
Our Room
I had booked a Premium Room with King-sized bed and a private hot bath. We were allocated a room on the 8th floor, their highest floor. After staying 2 nights in a small double room at JR Inn Asahikawa, this room at 67 m2 felt so spacious and luxurious.
Hospitality Services at the Shogetsu Club Lounge
Various complimentary Hospitality Services are offered to guests at the Shogetsu Club Lounge, located on the 6th floor. These are offered from 3 PM check-in time right up to check-out time the next day.
| Time | Hospitality Service |
| 15:00-19:00 | Manju (sweet buns) from Daikokuya, a famous confectionery shop in Jozankei |
| 16:00-18:00 | Dashi (Japanese soup stock) Bar |
| 16:00-22:00 | Honey Buffet |
| 17:00-18:00 | Post-Bath Beer |
| 19:00-21:30 | Evening Dessert |
| 19:00-23:00 | Infusion (Infused Liquor) |
| 21:00-22:00 | Late-Night Noodles |
| 21:30-23:00 | Wine |
| 7:30-10:30 | Morning Dessert |
After settling in, we went to the lounge to relax with tea and manju (sweet buns) from Daikokuya, a famous confectionary shop in Jozankei. We were also in time to enjoy the honey buffet.
The lounge featured floor to ceiling glass windows. We could take our time to enjoy the collection of unique honeys from around the world while gazing at the stream below.
There is also a newly opened dashi bar with three types of dashi: bonito, kelp, and shrimp, along with toppings such as plum, wheat gluten, and grated kelp. The staff was helpful to explain which toppings goes well with which dashi.
The rich umami of carefully prepared kelp and bonito hot soup was quite tasty.
We skipped the free flow beer service and went back to our room to use the hot bath and get ready for our kaiseki or traditional multi-course Japanese dinner that is scheduled at 6 PM.
Samue (Japanese work clothes) were provided in the room’s wardrobe for us to wear to meals, to the onsen or walking around the hotel. We chose to go in our own attire.
Spring 2026 Golden Moon kaiseki Dinner
Our dinner was held in a large restaurant named "Oborozuki" located on the 5th floor. Unlike some ryokans or hotels, the dinner is not served in a private room. We were seated in a partitioned room that had a dining table at each corner.
Dining table at Oborozuki room in Shogetsu Grand Hotel.
Shogetsu Grand Hotel is known to serve an excellent Japanese kaiseki cuisine dishes that incorporate seasonal delicacies.
There is 2 menu options for the dinner – Golden Moon or Silver Moon. To pamper ourselves, we had selected the more expensive Golden Moon (Kin no Tsuki) Menu that is the hotel’s finest kaiseki course, upgraded with more luxurious ingredients, including fish dishes and sashimi.
We were served the aperitif and a small cup of apple juice once we were settled on the table. This aperitif called “A drop of white thread” is inspired by the Jozantei Power Plant at Shiraito Falls where the water flows down and visitors could enjoy cherry blossoms in spring.
There were cherry flower petals in the alcoholic drink.
We were advised by the staff to add the apple juice after a sip to enjoy the change in taste.
Next came the appetisers. Like the aperitif, there 7 kinds based on themes related to Shogetsu, Jozankei, Sapporo and Hokkaido. The printed English menu on our table tried to explain the meaning of the elements in each appetisers based on the themes but some of the explanations were lost in translation.
They are to be eaten in the following order.
- Bamboo shoots, shrimp, and seaweed chawanmushi.
- Gyoza Garlic-scented lily root with white dressings.
- Handmade Roast Pork Haskap with Red Wine Sauce in the blue bowl.
- Shijimi tsukudani (savoury simmered fresh water clams) in the pink bowl.
- Nanban pickled salmon in the yellow bowl.
- Scallops, wild vegetables and vegetable jelly in the star shaped glass bowl.
- Caprese salad with tomato and milk tofu in the golden moon.
6 of the other appetisers that we ate in a clockwise direction.
After the appetisers, we were served a bowl of clear soup with black rockfish from Hokkaido.
Black Rock Fish with canola blossoms, wasabi and cherry blossom wheat.
The sashimi course was beautifully plated. We were provided with 3 kinds of sauces and recommendations on which sauce to use with each seafood. We were even provided with a small bowl containing Ohitashi (made from spinach and brown seaweed) to be used as palate cleanser.
Sea urchin with tosa soy sauce and wasabi, Chutoro (medium fatty tuna) with tosa soy sauce and wasabi, herring lime with shiso sauce, grilled amberjack with tosa soy sauce and wasabi, hokki clams with roasted sake.
The highlight of the Golden Moon Menu was the fish dish. We were served a spiny lobster in butter-scented bouillabaisse. We finished every drop of the delicious stew.
Hokkaido butter-scented bouillabaisse.
Our meal got even better after the lobster dish.
We were served ingredients for a yaki-shabu shabu that included ultra-thin, marbled slices of beef typically meant for shabu-shabu. Instead of swirling them in broth, we were to cook them quickly over a sizzling grill and then dipped them in the shabu shabu sauces.
Slices of Hokkaido beef loin, Asparagus, new onions, Japanese yam, red and yellow paprika, cod sprouts.
Cooking the shabu shabu ingredients on a hot plate.
We were given a bowl with a hot spring egg with runny yoke instead of raw egg for the dips since some foreign visitors (like us) do not appreciate dipping our cooked food in raw egg. We were also given three types of seasonings to go with the hot spring egg: onion burnt sauce, sansho kelp salt and fukinoto miso.
Onsen egg with runny yoke.
I appreciate that the chef tried to let us savour various tastes and do justice to the excellent ingredients used in creating each course.
We ended the multi-course dinner with a sushi course that had 5 types of temari sushi. The word temari means “hand ball” and the small, round, bite-sized morsels of various colours looked so beautiful.
5 types of temari sushi – Tuna, salmon, Salmon Roe, Abra flounder, Conger eel.
The sushi was the last course served in the restaurant. The staff then invited us to go to the lounge on the 6th floor for special sweets, ice cream, sorbet, coffee, tea and orange juice.
The large fireplace in the middle of the lounge was lit. We sat on rocking chairs next to the large windows and helped ourselves to the desserts and sweets.
Infused liquor were also served in the lounge from 7 PM to 9.30 PM. There were spirits, infused with the flavors and aromas of fruits, herbs, and spices, resulting in a vibrant and deeply flavorful beverage.
From left: Bourbon with cinamom and star anise, Vodka with lemon grass and bay leaf, Hard Liquor with rose, Hard Liquor with red kiwifruit, blueberry and strawberry. After a few shots of the liquor, I was all ready for bed.
Morning soak in the public onsen
I woke up early to try the public onsen before breakfast while my wife was still sound asleep. She is not a fan of onsen in the early morning.
Although the hotel has 2 private onsen baths, they were not free of charge for guests. Instead of paying 3,300 JPY for 50 minutes in the private onsen, I decided to use the 4th floor public onsen. The onsen in this hotel is filled with 75°C natural hot spring water that flows continuously. At 6 AM in the morning, the sky was already bright and I was the only person in the public onsen.
There is an indoor bath as well as an outdoor bath that is down a flight of stairs. I always prefer the outdoor bath as it was nice to have view of trees and greenery. I could hear the sound of river below (but could not see it) and birds in the trees.
I had time for a relaxing soak before going for breakfast.
Breakfast at Shogetsu Grand
Breakfast was served from 7.30 AM in the "Oborozuki" located on the 5th floor. The breakfast is a traditional Japanese set meal served individually to each guest, plus a mini buffet with a variety of salads and drinks.
The mini buffet includes spring pork soup, 6 types of drinks, fresh green salad with various dressings, potato salad with takuan, onsen egg, and fruits.
Fresh salad, miso soup, juice and onsen egg from the mini buffet.
A three-tiered bento box and piping hot grilled fish were already placed on our dining table.
Top layer of the bento includes includes red and white plank kama with chicken ham, sea urchin chawanmushi, wasabi kelp, tofu, stewed rapeseed flowers, natto, grilled seaweed and assortment of lightly pickled Chinese cabbage, pickled cucumber wasabi, pickled plums.
Second layer presents 4 morning dishes that are supposed to be good for the body. The dishes are Romanesco miso cheese tailoring, yellowtail and daikon radish, chicken jako and komatsuna with sesame dressing, asparagus & potato that is broth soaked.
Traditional Japanese breakfast is not complete without a grilled fish and rice. This hotel went one step further by providing a table top stove for us to warm up the Okhotsk Atka mackerel (hokke) before enjoying it with Yumepirika branded pot-cooked rice.
Heating up our grilled Okhotsk Atka mackerel (hokke) on the table-top stove.
Once again, we finished our meal at the 6th floor lounge. In addition to the coffee, tea and orange juice, there were ice-cream, strawberry pudding, and other sweets.
We had time to explore Jozankei Onsen on foot before checking out from the hotel. The town is quite small and our hotel is centrally located.
Jozan Gensen Park
The Jozan Gensen Park is just a 3-minute walk from the hotel.
Opened in the summer of 2005 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Miizumi Jozan, the founder of Jozankei Hot Springs. In the park, there is a statue of the founder along with foot spas and places where you could boil eggs in the water of the Jozankei hot springs (Onsen Tamago Hot Springs).
It was interesting to read how Jozankei Onsen was founded in 1866. Miizumi Jozan, an ascetic monk, discovered the hot springs and opened a healing spa in upper Toyohira River. Jozan cut through the forest to develop the land and put a great amount of work into bringing injured and sick people to the spa for healing. 
Jozankei Futami Park
The Jozankei Futumi Park is only a short walk away and is worth a visit. There is a statue of a Kappa, a mythical water-dwelling Japanese creature known for its mischievous nature and a water-filled dish on its head.
The Kappa Daio statue, the symbol of Jozankei Onsen.
The park is located next to the Toyohira River with a nice walking trail alongside it. This is a quiet and peaceful place with few visitors in the morning.
A short trail through a forest led to a bright red suspension bridge, called the Futumi Suspension Bridge. From the center of the bridge, we could see the gorge, surrounded by cliffs and forest on both sides, with the river flowing directly beneath.
Jozankei Onsen is a small town. We completed our walking tour of this town within an hour.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay at the Shogetsu Grand Hotel and we really enjoyed the hotel’s food and services.
On to Niseko, the next town in our road trip.
Next post: Drive from Jozankei Onsen to Niseko.
View from Totoro Pass.
Catbus with its bus stop post and even a bus timetable on it. 
Timetable that has the same schedules and destinations as it does in the movie. A bit dirty though.
A figure of Totoro painted on the door of the bus.
This is the place where the famous Royce chocolates are made. 
Logo monument outside the factory with some roses plants in May.
Chocolate soft-serve ice-cream that is a must-try at the shop.
The Cacao Farm Zone recreates the atmosphere of the ROYCE’ Cacao Farm in Colombia, South America.
Ripe pods (which range from yellow to red) must be carefully harvested by hand. We could try to hold a sample pod to feel the weight.
The pods are split open by hand to extract 30 to 50 seeds, which are coated in a sweet, sticky white pulp. 
We could even take a commemorative photo in this machine.
Taking an air shower to remove dust from our suited body before entering the production area.
The chart showing what ingredients are used to make milk, white or bitter chocolates.
Walking through a chocolate curtain to be coated with chocolate.
Collections and Art Related to Chocolate and the History of ROYCE’.
Collection of chocolate labels and tins related with chocolate from around the world.
Various packaging and labels for Royce’s Chocolates.
The canal and fountain at Maeda Forest Park. Unfortunately, Mount Teineyama is not fully visible in the distance.
Section of the 320m-long trellis of wisterias in the park. 
The wisterias were not in full bloom yet but still pretty.
Chocolate bread from Royce. 
Chocolate and bean paste fillings in the bread.
View from the observation deck. 
Wisterias are vines that produces hanging blooms that looks like a chandelier. 
I loved the reflection of the poplar trees on the canal. Unfortunately, there is a slight breeze causing ripples. 
I was hoping to see some ducklings in spring but there were none. 
Asari Dam as viewed from the Sky Loop.
Driving up to the Asari Dam via the Asari Sky Loop.
View of the valley below and the Asari Sky Loop.
View of Otarunai Lake from the dam.
The dam is 73.9 metres high.
It was quite scary looking over the edge and seeing water discharging from the dam.