10 Best Onsen Ryokan & Hotels in Hokkaido, Handpicked by Our Editors

Editors' comment

Just beyond the edge of the large rock-lined open-air bath, the Shibetsu River flows by. The scent of earth and greenery, the constant murmur of the current, and water so soft it seems to cling to the skin. The onsen water is a sodium-calcium chloride sulfate spring. The source temperature exceeds 80°C, adjusted to just the right level before being delivered as a continuous flow. The men's bath features a log tub carved from spruce trees hundreds of years old, while the women's bath is built from stacked rock. On the evening of our visit, settling into the clear stream right beside the open-air bath and sitting in a riverside chair, all sense of time seemed to disappear. At night, all that remains is the sound of the onsen flowing.

Read our first-hand visit from August 2026 →

Editors' comment

The property has four proprietary hot spring sources. The top-floor bath, Kumoi no Yu, draws on a saline spring and an iron spring. Built with no visible rim to the bath, the water's surface appears to extend seamlessly into the forest below, and its smooth texture is well known. The basement-level bath, Chien no Yu, uses a sulfur spring characteristic of Noboribetsu along with a rare radium spring. Soaking here while gazing closely at the trees of a Japanese garden, the warmth is said to linger long after you step out. Within the same property, guests can move between upper and lower floors to experience onsen with completely different mineral compositions and views. Chien no Yu also has an adjoining sauna. Some room types come with private open-air baths on their terraces, continuously fed by source water, allowing guests to bathe free from prying eyes both night and morning.

Editors' comment

On the rooftop open-air bath, a lineup of tubs with distinctly different textures awaits: a rock bath where water spills between stones, a large custom-carved ceramic tub, a barrel crafted by artisans, and a single-person cypress tub. All are filled with continuously flowing Hakodate Onsen source water, a strong sodium chloride spring that keeps you warm from within long after you leave the bath. The feel and scent of the water change with each tub you move to, and beyond the rising steam, the Tsugaru Strait and city lights spread out before you. The top-floor main bathing hall includes a dry sauna with an open view and a cold plunge bath. However, it closes from late night through early morning, so it can only be used from dusk into the evening.

Editors' comment

A proprietary hot spring source that naturally wells up along the banks of the Akan River supplies continuously flowing water to the main bathing hall, the private baths, and the guest room view baths alike. It's a simple hot spring rich in iron, and the water can turn cloudy depending on the season. Three private baths, one lined with brick, one with cypress, and one with ceramic, each with its own character, are free of charge and require no reservation; simply check the availability sign at the entrance and step right in. Every guest room has a cypress-built view bath, and rooms facing the river open onto large windows overlooking the Akan River and surrounding forest. At the push of a button, fresh water fills the tub, so the bath is entirely yours, whether at midnight or early morning.

Editors' comment

Opened in the fourth year of the Taisho era (1915). Beyond the main bathing hall, a corridor leads to a natural open-air hot spring that wells up directly from the ground beneath your feet. It's separated from Lake Shikotsu only by a rocky outcrop, so when the lake's water level rises, the bath grows deeper too. The open-air onsen water is golden in color, with mineral content so concentrated it stains the tub itself. The lake lies right next to the open-air bath, and from the outdoor rest area, the sound of flowing water and the breeze reach you directly. At the drinking fountain, you can scoop up the onsen water with a ladle and drink it straight; it has a strong, iron-like taste. Beyond the indoor and open-air baths, the property also offers two private baths with continuously flowing source water, Maru no Yu and Koma no Yu.

Read our first-hand visit from June 2026 →

Editors' comment

The main bathing hall opens toward the ravine, and both the indoor and open-air baths let in the murmur of the Biei River below along with the sound of Shirahige Falls. The onsen water flows continuously from the source without dilution, added heat, or recirculation. Rich in moisturizing minerals, it has long been known at Shirogane Onsen as the wasureue no yu, or the spring that makes you forget your walking stick. A dry sauna is attached to the main bathing hall, with a cold plunge bath right beside it. Even as you move between heat and cold, the sound of the ravine's water never stops. At night, you'll spend your time beneath the stars, surrounded by this sound. This is a place you recognize by ear before you ever see it.

Editors' comment

Each guest room comes with its own distinctively styled open-air onsen bath, letting you soak as often as you like, whenever you please, surrounded by the scent of the lake. There are two main bathing halls: Kin no Yumi, an open, expansive bath overlooking Lake Akan, where light filtering through the trees illuminates the pale blue, cloudy water; and Gin no Shizuku, built from cut stone, offering natural onsen water with a smooth texture. Both the indoor bath at Kin no Yumi and Gin no Shizuku are continuously fed with source water, and the same Akan spring fills each tub with a different color and feel. Only guests in junior high school age or older may stay. Night and morning, the property remains quiet throughout. The main bathing hall also includes a ganbanyoku stone-bed sauna.

Editors' comment

A mountain resort perched at the highest point in Sounkyo Onsen. The property houses three main bathing halls, each with its own distinct character, plus two open-air baths, and every tub is filled with continuously flowing natural onsen water straight from the source. The top-floor observation bath, Taisetsu no Yu, offers views of the Taisetsu mountain ridgeline, and the adjoining Finnish-style sauna lets guests control humidity and temperature themselves with self-service löyly. The cold plunge bath is designed as a waterfall feature modeled after the Ginga and Ryusei falls. In the ravine open-air bath, morning mist and the sound of the river feel close at hand. Night and morning, the character of the onsen shifts within the same property.

Editors' comment

The top-floor open-air bath is arranged in three terraced tiers, jutting out toward the lake. With nothing to block the view, Lake Toya and the sky stretch out uninterrupted. The onsen water is a sodium-calcium chloride, bicarbonate, and sulfate spring, gentle on the skin with excellent heat retention. The sauna room's large window also faces the lake, and lake water is used for the cold plunge bath. A bubbling jacuzzi-style cold bath sits alongside, and the outdoor rest area opens onto a post-bath living terrace. Guest room terraces also come with their own private open-air onsen baths, allowing guests to have the lake entirely to themselves, undisturbed, both night and morning.

Editors' comment

At the eighth-floor observation bath, Oumigahara, the Okhotsk Sea fills the view beyond the large windows. The adjoining open-air space, Shionone, has no glass at all, letting the sea breeze from Shiretoko reach bathers directly. On the day of our visit, the sky was clear, and the cries of gulls soaring overhead echoed into the bathing area. The onsen water is a sodium chloride spring with a gentle touch on the skin, gradually loosening bodies stiffened by long travel. Its excellent heat retention keeps you warm from within even after you step out. By evening, the crisp blue of daytime shifts into warmer hues, and in winter, drift ice fills the view as far as the eye can see.

Read our first-hand visit from August 2026 →