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Accommodations that are easily booked in English tend to be modern, characterless hotels built for Japanese tour groups. Gorgeous lobbies and sterile, cookie-cutter rooms are the norm, although more attractive hotels are appearing as Japanese seek out lodging with more personality. Guesthouses or pensions are a cheaper and friendlier option, with welcoming owners who strive to impress guests with the catch of the day or wild vegetables on the dinner menu. Many (but not all) guesthouses have Western-style beds and regular sit-down toilets. Although booking in Japanese is the norm, simple emails via a website can work, too. Although you might not normally consider one, a youth hostel is also a decent alternative in Hokkaido, both for price and for the sense of spirit and camaraderie that you will not find in the more sterile hotels. However, some do not allow male-female couples to sleep in the same room. Hostels in towns and cities are usually clean and modern, and in the national parks, although in older buildings, they can be excellent touring bases.
Outside Sapporo and Hokkaido, most hot-spring hotels (onsen) charge on a per-person basis and include two meals, excluding service and tax, in their rates. If you don't want meals and wish to eat convenience-store food, you can often renegotiate the price (the word in Japanese is sudomari). Just remember that those hot-spring hotels and guesthouses are your best bet for dinner in remote areas. Also note that with Japan’s prolonged recession, some hotels may actually be cheaper than listed here. Some onsen offer combination rooms, a Western-style room with a tatami section where you could also sleep on futon. If you're interested in trying out a Japanese-style room but still want to sleep in a Western-style bed, this is the perfect option.
This former department store in the heart of the downtown shopping area was remade into an elegant hotel. The lobby's creamy upholstery and yellow walls are echoed in the rooms, which are nicely furnished and have larger than usual bathrooms. A shared Japanese bath lets you get to know your fellow guests. There's a small teppanyaki restaurant and an 11th-floor piano bar with city views.
Overlooking Otaru Marina, this 18-story hotel sits atop the huge WingBay shopping complex, giving easy access to outlet stores, restaurants, and a movie theater; inside is a reliable, familiar chain hotel with English-speaking staff. Western-style rooms in gold, blue, and brown have large twin or double beds, and most overlook the waterfront. It is a five-minute walk from JR Otaru Chikko Station, two stops from JR Otaru Station. The on-site restaurants include a small sushi restaurant (you are still in Otaru), Marina Bar, which features steaks, wines, and whiskeys, and the Terrace Brasserie with its panoramic views of the water and breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets (and a dessert buffet on weekends). In winter, several of the ski bus companies offer pickup from the hotel, making it a convenient option for skiers and boarders.
This large bustling, modern hotel is a short walk from the station, the morning market, and the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses. Standard rooms done up in pastel shades have bland decor. Many of the rooms and the Shiomi-no-Yu hot-spring onsen have great ocean views.
Waterbirds drift by the windows of the big but friendly hotel on the shore of Lake Abashiri, a few miles from town. It has the usual noise of Japanese resort hotels—game corners, tour groups, and karaoke rooms. But beyond the doors you can enjoy the peace of a lakeside walk, enjoy a soak in the hot spring, and finally retire to your room and relax over a multicourse crab dinner. The combination rooms have raised beds and tatami sitting areas. The hotel has everything you can imagine, even a barbershop for dogs.
Located right next to the station and directly accessible, this business hotel, a delight for trainspotters, is the most convenient accommodation in the city. Rooms are modern with subtle locomotive-themed decor. From the 12th-floor onsen you can soak while watching the trains pull in and out of the station. Also on the 12th floor is a small lounge with free coffee, books on Japan's train network, and great views across the city and ocean. At the "Pillow Corner" in the lobby, guests can select from 12 different types of pillow.
This modern guesthouse sits in the center of the village's flower-filled pedestrian area. The owner is not only extremely knowledgeable about butterflies but is also an agile fisherman, so dinners can include freshwater fish, plus seasonal wild mushroom soup served from a giant cauldron in the dining room. He can also take guests on fishing trips. Sake liqueurs made from fruits like mountain grapes may enhance (or hinder) the next day's hiking power. There are clean tatami rooms with shared washing areas, and use of the Kurodake no Yu hot spring next door is free; there are two options for dinner.
With classic European style, white-gloved bellhops, and conveniences like in-room refrigerators tastefully hidden away in wooden cabinets, Sapporo's grand dame has welcomed guests since 1934. In the heart of downtown, the three buildings (Main, Annex, and East) almost fill a city block. Rooms in the older main building feel like a gentlemen's club, with striped wallpaper and small armchairs, while those in the east wing exhibit a more modern flair. In the Memorial Library, check out photographs of VIP guests and mementos of their stays, such as Margaret Thatcher's thank-you letter and the 1955 lunch menu for the visiting New York Yankees.
Contemplate the Hell Valley while soaking in one of the 35 different baths at Takimotokan Hokkaido. This Japanese-style hotel is often busy with tour groups from Japan and overseas. The main draw is sitting in the sumptuous waters, where swimsuits are allowed in some of the outside baths. There's also a daily shuttle bus from Sapporo. Nonguests can bathe for ¥2,250.
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