Utto Onsen Matagi-No-Yu

Apparently this place is famous for its doburoku sake, so I bought two bottles at the shop. They can be stored at room temperature, so you can take them home without needing a cooler. Unfortunately, unlike the raw doburoku served with meals, these are made for takeaway. For dinner, we had bear hotpot, venison, and rabbit meat. The bear meat has no odor or peculiar taste, and the fat is not greasy. I heard that this is because they cook it using the doburoku made here. It's the chef's ingenuity. It was my first time eating rabbit, but it tasted like chicken, and I wouldn't have known it was rabbit unless they told me. All the dishes, which used plenty of local ingredients, were delicious, and the wild vegetable rice made with Akita Komachi rice was the best. Since the return train was late at 10:54, when I checked out at 10:00, I asked the front desk if I could use the hot spring after checking out, and they even kindly lent me a towel at no extra charge. Thanks to them, I was able to enjoy the hot spring until the time for the transfer to the station. They were very helpful, including arranging my transfer to and from the bear ranch.

・Access: We took the route from Kakunodate Station to Ani Matagi Station to the facility. From Ani Matagi Station, we used the facility's shuttle bus. Even on the day, you can call in advance and it's OK. It only takes 5 minutes to get there. ・Facility response: Everyone at the facility was very kind and heartwarming. The entire facility had floor heating and it was very comfortable. ・Discount information: We got a 3,000 yen discount with the "National Travel Support". However, you need to show proof of vaccination (at least 3 times) and identification (driver's license, health insurance card, etc.). In addition, we received coupons for Akita Prefecture residents and Kitaakita City, each worth 2,000 yen (weekdays), so we received coupons worth 4,000 yen in total. For the Akita Prefecture residents' discount, you install the app on your smartphone to get an electronic coupon, but there is a guidebook explaining how to install it, so it's easy to do. The Kitaakita City coupon is for guests staying until March 1st, which I didn't know until I heard it from the staff. I'm lucky.・Room: It was a single Western-style room, but it was spacious enough (not as cramped as a business hotel), so I was satisfied. There was a bottle of water from Shirakami-Sanchi in the fridge. However, it was inconvenient that there was no outlet near the bed. The free Wi-Fi signal was strong and there were no problems. ・Hot spring: There was a spacious indoor bath and an open-air bath (which was also spacious). Both were a little hot. The open-air bath had a nice atmosphere with the snowy scenery outside. It also doubles as a day-trip hot spring, so local people come to take a bath, but there were only a few people, so it was not crowded at all. ・Meals: For dinner, we had a course that included bear hot pot. There was no odor at all, and the texture was like beef. Overall, I was very satisfied. Breakfast was not a buffet, but more like a large bento type, but I was satisfied with the use of local ingredients such as smoked daikon radish. ・Matagi Museum: Free for guests. It is connected to the facility. It is open from 7am, so I had a short look around after breakfast. I was able to get a glimpse into the world of Matagi. The Matagi hut was also recreated and looked very realistic. It's definitely worth a visit.