Wineshark Nice Hotel Experience - Takinoya

Located in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, this onsen ryokan offers an excellent experience for us. 

After arriving and a quick registration, we were shown to a sitting room where there are comfortable sofas and soft music, a beautiful scenery of the Japanese garden outside, and being served with matcha and yokan, while the rooms are prepared for us.

We were then taken to our room. I have made reservation for the Japanese/Western style room, Tsuru, located on the third floor. There is one room which is decorated in Japanese traditional way, with tatami and very simple design, and can be used as an extended room if you have other family members along.

The main room is western style, with a big sofa in the middle, and a fireplace on the side. At the back there are two big queen sized beds which offers the best sleeping experience, as well as a small writing table and a rocking chair. All of these are looking out to the beautiful trees on the hillside, which happens to be turning golden and red in our stay so making it particularly serene.

Outside there is a balcony with two rattan chairs which is a good way for you to enjoy the scenery and reflect, and it was such a nice experience with the cool breeze on your face.

The bathroom is nicely decorated, with warm flooring and two separate sinks so you don’t need to fight during the morning with your partner. There is a Japanese wooden bathtub as well, and you can enjoy your onsen while watching the same scenery outside.

Regarding the public bath there are two in this ryokan. The first is located on the top floor, called Kumoi No Yu, an open bath looking out at the forests of Noboribetsu. The other is located at the basement level, called Chien No Yu. The indoor part of this bath have pools of two different kind of spring water, as well as a steamed bath.

But the one I like most is the outdoor one. After walking a few steps it opens to a pool of the signature Noboribetsu sulfur-rich spring water surrounded by trees and next to a clear pool where you can see fish inside. Immersed in nature and feeling completely relaxed, it is a good treatment for physical and mental stress.

For the cuisine it is also phenomenal, with our private dining room located on the second floor looking out to the Japanese garden. Being served by a friendly maid who speaks good English, our kaiseki dinner has 9 courses, and I also ordered a sake along.

Starting with an aperitif, then comes the appetizers which has 6 different pieces. The third course is the clear soup with tofu, ginseng and shrimp ball. Next is sashimi which showcased four different seafood, and there is a unique creamy soy foam to pair apart from the traditional soy sauce.

The fifth is the main course and I have opted for the hairy crab. The serving is huge as each of us is having half the crab. Then it is the miso-marinated cod fish. The seventh dish is local vegetables which are very fresh, tasty and sweet.

Next comes the boiled vegetables and scallop, and then the rice with pickles and miso soup. Last comes the dessert which is mixed fruit with apple ice-cream. A really wonderful and fantastic meal for us and we were all very full after that.

For breakfast it is equally impressive with an assortment of dishes, including fresh juice, salad, yoghurt, tofu, fish, egg, sweet beans, fish roes, pickles, rice and miso soup. Again it was a perfect meal and the food highlights the skills of the chef and his seriousness in the attention of all the details.

The price for boarding and two meals is HK$6,650. My overall rating for this onsen ryokan is 8.5/10.