⚠Emergency
Home› Hokkaido›Where to stay
Furano and Biei

Where to stay & onsen

We recommend one night at a hot-spring inn.

Three kinds of nightWhere to stay in Hokkaido

The choice is really about what kind of night you want. A hot-spring inn feeds you twice and stops you moving. A city hotel is the right answer if you are arriving late or leaving early.

A ryokan or hot-spring inn

Dinner and breakfast brought to you, a bath, and floor bedding laid out while you eat. The price is per person and includes both meals.

Includes 2 meals Book ahead
See ryokan and onsen inns › How an onsen works

A city hotel

Clean, small, reliable and priced per room. Right for early trains, late arrivals and anyone travelling with a large suitcase.

Per roomNear the station
See hotels in Hokkaido › Getting around

A guesthouse or minshuku

Family-run, cheaper, and often the only option in the countryside.

Ask about cashRural areas
See guesthouses and minshuku ›

Our first choice in Hokkaido is named below.

Looking for a room in Hokkaido tonight?

MAP How an onsen works

BookingSix things worth asking before you pay

Ask about these

Meals
Whether dinner and breakfast are included, and what time dinner is served. Inns often serve at a fixed time and will not wait
Tattoos
Ask whether the bath admits them, and ask about a private bath
Private bath
Kashikiri. Many inns have one, and it removes the question of bathing with strangers entirely
Payment
Card or cash. Rural inns are often cash only
Arrival time
Tell them. Inns lock up earlier than hotels
Luggage
They will hold it before check-in and after check-out. Just ask

What a night at an inn is like

Shoes
Off at the entrance. Slippers inside; nothing on the straw matting
The robe
A cotton yukata is provided and is worn to dinner and to the bath. Left side over right
Dinner
Many small dishes, often in your room or a dining room at a set time
Bedding
Laid out on the floor, usually while you are eating
Bathing
Before dinner and again before bed is normal here
Breakfast
Rice, fish, egg, pickles. Ask the night before if you need it early
How an onsen works

Our first choice hereThe one we would book

JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo

Connected to the station, so the whole island starts at the lift. Trains to Otaru, Furano and the airport leave from below.

  • No walk outside in winter.
  • The bath is on the 22nd floor.
  • Two department store food halls in the same building.
Where
Directly connected to Sapporo Station — no need to go outside
Address
Kita 5 Nishi 2-5, Chuo, Sapporo 060-0005
Telephone
011-251-2222
Booking
Through the official site, or the booking services below
Worth knowing

Sapporo is a base rather than a sight. Use it for the first and last nights.

Checked 2026-08-18

MAP Call Official site

Portom International Hokkaido

Inside the airport, so an early flight needs no taxi. Ainu-inspired design, and a bath after the last flight lands.

  • Connected to the terminal on foot.
  • A bath and a spa, which an airport hotel rarely has.
  • The airport has a cinema, an onsen floor and a chocolate factory inside it.
Where
At New Chitose Airport — connected to the international terminal
Address
New Chitose Airport International Terminal 4F, Bibi, Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0012
Telephone
0123-45-6012
Booking
Through the official site, or the booking services below
Worth knowing

Use this for the last night before a morning flight. Winter delays are common; being inside the terminal removes the drive.

Checked 2026-08-18

MAP Call Official site

Where to go next

Places to see› Food & restaurants› Where to stay & onsen› Getting around› With children / with parents› Back to Hokkaido› Aomori› Iwate› Akita›
Photo: Furano and Biei by T-konno (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits and licences
⚲Map ✉Call ⚠Emergency