Kucoon

Life in Hokkaido is one full of bathing days.  And I don’t mind it at all as I’ve always enjoyed going to the spa when visiting other Asian countries.  The difference between Japanese Spa (onsen) and Spa in say Bangkok or Bali is that the Japanese Spa is more of a family and culture thing, whereas the Spa in Thailand or Indonesia is more of a personal pamper. 
 

If you’re looking for a day return spa trip near the city of Sapporo, Jozankei is the best choice.  It’s only 50 minutes drive from the city and it’s got over 20 onsen hotels to choose from.  Most onsen hotels in Jozankei offer day spa package including shuttle bus from Sapporo train station at around USD20 per person. 

My Japanese friend has recommended her favorite getaway Jozankei Daiichi Hotel’s Suisantei onsen for our day spa.   She said whenever she felt worn out or needed to recuperate, she’ll spend a good couple of hours there. 

We left the city at around noon and dropped by a famous handmade noodle shop for lunch on our way to Jozankei.  It’s one of those small local mom and pop restaurants.  The interior was all made of wood and even the tables and chairs were carved out of original wood pieces.

There were only one other family in the restaurant as it’s a weekday.  They seemed to be enjoying the noodles very much. 

Of course I’ve ordered my favorite Ten-Zaru or tempura zaru soba  (shrimp tempura with Japanese cold buckwheat noodle).  The noodles were chewy and the tempura was fresh and light.  Delicious!

Suisantei is not a big hotel but it has an inviting atmosphere right from the lobby.  Although we were only on a day visit to their spa, they treated us as if we were the most important guests of the hotel.  That’s what I like about the service in Japan.  They really know how to make a customer feel important. 

The open-air onsen itself was quite small.  You have to walk through a passageway to get there.  It’s the feeling of tranquillity and a little bit of mystery that added to the fun.  The onsen is overlooking a Japanese garden with mountains as the background.  Not a stunning view as compared to other Onsen but somehow I felt more calm and relaxed.  Maybe because of its tranquillity.  There’s hardly anyone there except for me and my friend.  A mother and 3 small kids were taking their time bathing and playing in the big bath inside. 

By the time we left it was time for an early dinner before heading back to the city.  After about 30-minute drive we found a good Restaurant

And the total expense for the day (2 meals and onsen entrance fee) was around USD30 per person.  What a deal!  Only in Hokkaido!  Oh!  And I forgot to mention that there were free massage chairs in the rest area and a snack bar that sells greentea flavored soft ice-cream cone!   

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Japanese Bath & Onsen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.