A boutique inn by the lake, and walking distance from the bus and ferry terminals
Contents
1. TLDR
- ✨ Aesthetics: Remote wood cabin with Japanese influences
- 🏨 Room: Clean, spacious room, small bathroom
- 🧳 Facilities: Lounge, Public Bath (Onsen), Laundry
- 💵 Price: On the pricier side for Lake Towada
- 📌 Location: Right next to the lake, bus and ferry terminals
- 👨👩👦 Clientele: Primarily groups of 2 adult travellers
2. Room Overview
We paid about SGD 290 per night (~ JPY 35,700/ USD 227/ TWD 7,195) for the Japanese-Western Style Room for a Sunday night in early September 2026. We booked this hotel through Agoda and prices might differ depending on the time of year and who you book with.
Our first impression was that the room was huge for two people. Frankly the room could accommodate up to four adults quite comfortably. We had plenty of space to open up our luggage, which is rare in Japan.
We got two double beds as this was a hybrid Western Style room. There were also Japanese Style rooms which came with futons instead.
Moving further into the room, there was a sitting area separated from the sleeping area by some sliding doors. A long desk with two chairs overlooked the lake. Unfortunately for us, and probably for most of the other rooms, the view was partially obscured by some trees outside.
The power outlet at the desk was the only one we could find at a comfortable place. So it was just a bit inconvenient to charge our devices.
To the left of the desk was the toilet and shower area.
The entire toilet and shower area was incredibly small. Even as someone who is only 150cm tall, I was still bumping into the sides of the bathroom with my elbows as I was washing my hair. Mr Bao had a better time showering at the public bath.
3. Facilities and Amenities
From what we could tell, there was a laundry area, lounge, dining hall, public baths, and a kids play area. In the front hall, there was also a random grand piano that was free to play. I’ll share about the public bath, hotel lounge, and the parking.
Public Bath
Again, I wasn’t able to enjoy the public bath but Mr Bao had some time by himself as there was no one else soaking while he was there. His review was neutral (“It was hot”). The hotel provided a little basket, towels, and robes for the onsen. I saw a few people in the robes relaxing in the hotel lounge after their soak.
Hotel Lounge
While Mr Bao was off in the onsen, I hung out in the lounge area to read. There were a ton of comfy chairs and gentle music playing. The snack and drinks bar included alcoholic drinks which were free to take. They also provided a sink to wash your hands before digging into the sweet and savoury snacks available.
Parking
On-site parking was free. When we were there, there was practically no one else in the lot.
4. Location
This was the nicest looking accommodation in the Oirase Gorge/ Lake Towada area that didn’t cost us an arm and a leg. We settled on this hotel as it was good enough for us, but there may be other suitable stays available.
The location was pretty convenient as we walked to the bus terminal to catch the shuttle bus up the Gorge. On our way back down, we caught the last ferry that took us on a tour of Lake Towada and dropped us back off near our hotel.
There was also a nice dock at the back of the hotel where we could take these beautiful photos. We didn’t have much time to explore the area as we had a long drive ahead, but having easy access to these walking paths was nice.
However, I would say that food options were limited. This was not a hotel problem but a Lake Towada problem. We knew about this in advance from all the reviews online. We were even prepared to buy convenience store food as back-up in case nothing was open, but we ended up not needing it. We had ramen for dinner from the store opposite the hotel which was alright. There was also a sushi restaurant in the hotel itself if we wanted. But dinner options were definitely limited.
5. Breakfast
This DIY breakfast was reminiscent of the one we had at a boutique hotel in Jeonju, South Korea. There was some bread, ham, cheese, cereals, and salads. For drinks, we could have milk, apple juice, orange juice, tea, or coffee.
The DIY toasting was pretty fun and I felt like I was at a little summer camp!
Similar to the lounge, the staff were pretty diligent in coming in to restock items and check that everything was set out nicely. Frankly there weren’t too many guests around, so we had the dining hall mostly to ourselves.
(Side note: There seemed to be two girls there who had Singaporean accents and Mr Bao and I spent the time eating our breakfast silently because we were doing the stereotypical Singaporean thing of not revealing ourselves to other Singaporeans while abroad.)
6. Pros and Cons (in my opinion)
This stay was more of a mixed bag but overall I was satisfied with it.
😍 Pros
- Calm and quiet
- Huge room that could be value-for-money for bigger groups
- Close to Lake Towada
- Close to the bus and ferry terminals
- Free parking
🙁 Cons
- Tiny bathroom
- Only two viable food options nearby for dinner
Thanks for reading till the end. Happy travels! 💜
P.S. If you are interested, I am writing more about our trip to Tohoku. Stay tuned!
If you found this post helpful, you can check out my other travel posts here. I write frequently about travel, food, and pop culture. Subscribe to my newsletter or Instagram if you want to be notified when I post something new!