THE FOREST AKAN TSURUGA RESORT

What I loved most was the lobby, with its floor-to-ceiling windows offering a stunning view of Lake Akan. The room itself was pretty standard and a bit small, but the breakfast and dinner buffets more than made up for it. There were so many choices, including plenty of fresh salmon, shrimp, and other sashimi. The hot springs were also incredibly relaxing. Overall, I was very satisfied.

Honestly, I was quite impressed the first time I stayed here because it was so much better than the Gyozenmizu Hotel, where I usually stay (though there's often a big price difference between the two). At the very least, it was genuinely clean and hygienic, unlike Gyozenmizu's rather lackadaisical approach to cleanliness. The hotel facilities here are also much more thoughtfully designed; at least the door frames aren't under 1.8 meters! Is being tall in Japan a mistake? However, on my second stay, the showerhead was broken, barely spraying any water. By the way, in Hokkaido, outside of Sapporo and Otaru, no matter how nice the hotel or how big the room, the bathroom within the room is always terrible...

Our room directly overlooked Lake Akan, so we had a perfect view of the fireworks display from inside. The overall service was great, and both breakfast and dinner were delicious. However, I don't understand why the city view rooms only became available on the day of my check-in.

The rooms are a bit old overall, but clean. The Japanese-style room is a bit compact, but the overall experience was good.