Hoshino Resorts Kai Tsugaru

“Sanctuary”

Yukata on.Tick.Lie down. Tick. Cue snow.Cue Santy and Rudolph. Time for kaeseki dinner. Maybe an onsen. The only stresses were 1. Being asked at arrival which shuttle buses we wanted for visits to owani/hirosaki etc during our stay. We chose to relax instead. 2. Remembering.. Onaka ippai desu (I'm… Mais

Yukata on.Tick.Lie down. Tick. Cue snow.Cue Santy and Rudolph. Time for kaeseki dinner. Maybe an onsen. The only stresses were 1. Being asked at arrival which shuttle buses we wanted for visits to owani/hirosaki etc during our stay. We chose to relax instead. 2. Remembering.. Onaka ippai desu (I'm full) as the beautifully presenting dishes keep on appearing and Amai mono wa bestsubara ( dessert goes into a different stomach.) Staff were great with good English. If I was prescient I would have cut two days from Sapporo to add to Kai Tsugaru.

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“Outstanding service and relaxation. Best hotel ever stayed.”

I and my husband really enjoyed our visit to the island hotel. This is absolutely hidden treasure. Location is out of no where, but once you enter this hotel, it is out of imagination. Simple, clean but well maintained collaborating with nature and local tradition. What is outstanding was the hospi… Mais

I and my husband really enjoyed our visit to the island hotel. This is absolutely hidden treasure. Location is out of no where, but once you enter this hotel, it is out of imagination. Simple, clean but well maintained collaborating with nature and local tradition. What is outstanding was the hospitality from the staff. They were so nice, friendly and polite. They treat you like queen. Room is spacious. View from the room is calm and relaxed. Breakfast and dinner are representing local food. We stayed there for 3 night. We will come back again to stay longer.

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“Excellent Resort”

We thoroughly enjoyed our one night stay here. Our room was spacious, with a lovely view into the trees. Our beds are very comfortable and the bathroom, very well appointed. Both the dinner and breakfast had a great selection of delicious Japanese delicacies and the service from the staff in the r… Mais

We thoroughly enjoyed our one night stay here. Our room was spacious, with a lovely view into the trees. Our beds are very comfortable and the bathroom, very well appointed. Both the dinner and breakfast had a great selection of delicious Japanese delicacies and the service from the staff in the restaurant was wonderful, The ladies bath area was a delight, so unusual to have lots and lots of apples floating in the water, a very novel experience.

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“Quiet not-so-small hotel nestled in a spa town”

After having stayed multiple times at the KAI in Hokkaido (Poroto), I finally made the choice to visit the Aomori area and stay at the Tsugaru property. This was a 2-night stay over a busy holiday weekend. The location of the hotel is quite remote and necessarily so since KAI properties need to b… Mais

After having stayed multiple times at the KAI in Hokkaido (Poroto), I finally made the choice to visit the Aomori area and stay at the Tsugaru property. This was a 2-night stay over a busy holiday weekend. The location of the hotel is quite remote and necessarily so since KAI properties need to be close to onsen sources. Owani-Onsen is a 10-minute train ride from the nearest city, Hirosaki, and the hotel times their shuttle service with the arrival and departure times of trains to Hirosaki and Akita. From Aomori Airport to KAI Tsugaru will take about 90 minutes (bus from airport to Hirosaki station, and then to Owani-Onsen station. Check-in was quick and efficient, even though there were 4-5 groups checking in. Staff English was "workable." The onsen area is quite small. There are individual shower areas and then just two baths. One inside with apples bobbing in it, and one outside with a view. I liked the outside one better. I visited on both days around 6 pm, before dinner, and there were only 2-3 other people using the baths (male). I reserved the smallest size Japanese style room which was more than adequate for a solo traveler. The view was out into the woods. I guess nothing much to rave or criticize about the room. I liked the futon, which was very comfortable. The dinners at the restaurant were very nice. I observed that while Poroto might need to adhere to serving Hokkaido regional foods, Tsugaru is not so limited and they had a wider variety of items to serve. The rice quality was good. I never tried Kirin Heartland before, but it was a great beer. The quality of the beef was good. I think I ended up having at least 2 bowls of rice each meal. The restaurant and the hotel as a whole is a little bit larger than Poroto, with more guests. But at the restaurant, the larger size did not bother me and the larger size of the hotel was not a bother at all. In fact, I noticed more Japanese guests this time than in Poroto, which I notice had more foreign guests. The next day after checking in, I spent the day visiting Hirosaki castle. Again, the train and shuttle times are quite logically set up so that you can be back at the hotel by exactly 5:15 pm. One little tip - there is a large park 5 minutes up the hill from the hotel - it's called Ajara Park. There is a beautiful small pond there which is quite pretty - very photogenic. Overall, I was very happy at my stay but truth be told, I was not sure if I would come back to this hotel. It's quite remote, and it takes a bit of effort to get there. There should be enough of a draw for this effort. For Poroto it's the lake and the charm of the village it is located in. For Tsugaru, the park was pretty and Hirosaki is nearby. I am not sure if that's sufficient.

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