{
 "slug": "tsuruga-besso-ao-no-za",
 "name": "Tsuruga Besso Ao no Za",
 "url": "https://ryokancatalog.com/inn/tsuruga-besso-ao-no-za",
 "location": "Lake Shikotsu",
 "prefecture": "Hokkaido",
 "region": "Hokkaido",
 "geo": {
  "lat": 42.7333,
  "lng": 141.35
 },
 "tier": "C",
 "score": 6.7,
 "score_scale": "1-10",
 "unscored": false,
 "confidence": "med",
 "evidence": {
  "units": 3,
  "op_stays": 1,
  "member_stays": 1
 },
 "kinrt_rank_claim": null,
 "rooms": null,
 "property_type": "Modern ryokan",
 "style": "New lakeside luxury ryokan",
 "features": {
  "in_room_onsen": "Some",
  "meals_in_room": "No"
 },
 "summary": "A 25-room Tsuruga Group flagship on Lake Shikotsu with a spectacular building and interiors and a kitchen that lets them down: KI-NRT was shocked that a 2019 build at this price would serve frozen, dried-out local fish. Both 2025 stays called it overpriced even with the all-you-can-drink inclusions, and the service has a corporate feel and is patchy. He still expects anyone staying on Shikotsuko to end up here, because everything else nearby is extremely rustic by comparison and there is really no other choice.",
 "aspect_scale": "1-5",
 "aspects": {
  "cuisine": {
   "label": "Food",
   "score": 2.5,
   "text": "Dinner is where Ao no Za falls down. On KI-NRT's June 2025 stay the grilled Tokishirazu salmon was hard, dry and clearly frozen, his wife's flounder was inedible, and only the opening abalone kuzu-uchi impressed, and he was shocked they served such dishes at all. Breakfast was downright pleasant by comparison. pWei, a month earlier, found the food quite solid though nothing amazing, served in private dining rooms with an included drink list."
  },
  "onsen": {
   "label": "Bath",
   "score": 4,
   "text": "The Suite Villa's open-air onsen bath draws water from the source, but the spring is lukewarm, so the water is heated in a tank and recirculated at 41C (staff will change the temperature on request). KI-NRT puts it a step below a free-flowing source such as Myoken Ishiharaso for authenticity, but the water was still silky-smooth and soothing, and pWei also found it clear, alkaline and a great softener of the skin."
  },
  "service": {
   "label": "Service",
   "score": 3.5,
   "text": "Service was mixed on KI-NRT's stay. Tomoko, his dinner and breakfast server, explained each dish in detail and took pride in her work and local roots, and he adored her. Other staff were less attentive: a guest relations agent never followed up on an art question, receptionists were quick when asked but not proactive, and after an outing half the staff welcomed them back while the rest ignored them. pWei found the service otherwise excellent."
  },
  "room": {
   "label": "Room",
   "score": 3.5,
   "text": "The 140 square metre Suite Villa is comfortable, tastefully done in modern Japanese decor with checkerboard tatami, an open-air onsen bath, two sinks and electric blinds. The one drawback is that it has no lake view, and neither does the Executive Suite Villa above it at twice the price. The GM told KI-NRT the site was chosen to be near the shops and Visitor Center, which he called a cop out. pWei's third-floor room did overlook the lake."
  },
  "setting": {
   "label": "Place",
   "score": 4,
   "text": "The interiors are grand, with ultra-high ceilings, rock and sand art, carvings of the extinct Hokkaido wolf, a wireframe owl, Ainu clothing on display and a courtyard pool with wireframe balls hovering over the water. The building tells Hokkaido's story from the Ainu to the modern age, and KI-NRT says it works beautifully. The site is Shikotsuko Onsen, the lake's tourist hub, with tour buses in the lot, though pWei found them no great bother."
  }
 },
 "transit": {
  "cities": [
   {
    "city": "New Chitose",
    "hours": 0.6,
    "time": "0h35",
    "transfers": 0,
    "estimated": false,
    "text": "~30-40 min by car/shuttle from New Chitose Airport (CTS) to Shikotsuko Onsen."
   },
   {
    "city": "Sapporo",
    "hours": 1,
    "time": "1h",
    "transfers": 0,
    "estimated": false,
    "text": "~60 min by car from Sapporo to the lakeside onsen."
   }
  ],
  "note": ""
 },
 "photos": [
  {
   "url": "/img/nc_tsurugabessoaonoza-0-d3da72cb.jpg",
   "tag": "bath",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 300
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/nc_tsurugabessoaonoza-1-5616124d.jpg",
   "tag": "room",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 300
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/nc_tsurugabessoaonoza-2-44af709e.jpg",
   "tag": "setting",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 300
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/nc_tsurugabessoaonoza-3-d259a5f5.jpg",
   "tag": "interior",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 300
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/nc_tsurugabessoaonoza-4-dd0aac7a.jpg",
   "tag": "food",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 300
  }
 ],
 "links": {
  "website": "https://www.aonoza.com/en/",
  "map": "https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13758095758609341928",
  "jp_site": null,
  "flyertalk_reviews": [
   {
    "post": 539,
    "author": "pWei",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37093989-post539.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 584,
    "author": "KI-NRT",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37175950-post584.html"
   }
  ],
  "flyertalk_discussion": [
   {
    "post": 165,
    "author": "KI-NRT",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35556631-post165.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 485,
    "author": "KI-NRT",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36905079-post485.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 602,
    "author": "jtrader",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37211424-post602.html"
   }
  ],
  "tripadvisor": []
 },
 "as_of": "2026-09-07"
}