Ginrinsou
D · 5.2 / 10the evidence warns
Ginrinsou is the most famous address in Otaru, an 18-room historic ryokan on a hillside above the town with perhaps the finest suite in Hokkaido, and KI-NRT still swore he will never patronize it again, after average kaiseki, staff so full of themselves that they think guests should feel privileged to be there, and a cold-handed checkout that cost him hundreds of dollars. It is about as harsh a judgment as he has published, and the treatment outside the room outweighs the magnificent Tsuru suite, which is why the property ends up far below what the room and the setting alone would suggest.
Scores
Food 3 / 5
The kaiseki was decidedly average on KI-NRT's stay, and he asks how a top property on the coast of Hokkaido can serve "ok" food. There is also a French restaurant on site, which he did not try.
Bath
The Tsuru suite has its own in-room onsen bath. Nobody in the thread has written about the bathing itself or about the communal baths.
Service 2 / 5
Service is why KI-NRT will never go back. The style is old-school snobbery, with staff who think guests should feel privileged, a nakai-san who talked down to him about etiquette and a butleress without warmth. Checkout was the bombshell, since Ginrinsou left the Go To Travel discount paperwork to its guests and said so too late, which cost him hundreds of dollars with no apology, unlike Gora Kadan or Kayotei, where your problem becomes theirs.
Room 4.5 / 5
Tsuru, the top-floor suite in the new wing, is 118.6 square metres of bright, airy, functionally modern space with every amenity, an in-room onsen bath and a 270-degree view of Otaru and the bay, and KI-NRT calls it one of the more inspiring ryokan suites he has ever stayed in; he lamented booking only two nights. The rest of the 18-room house is semi-traditional inside and very well maintained.
Place 4 / 5
Ginrinsou is a distinguished, historic property on a hillside overlooking the charming town of Otaru and the Sea of Japan, and its exterior architecture is old-school Japanese, in a good way. It is widely regarded as the most historic and luxurious ryokan in Otaru, if not in all of Hokkaido.
Getting there
- Sapporo — ~0h40, 0 transfers (estimated). ~40 min by car or JR rapid from Sapporo, then ~15 min by car from Otaru Station.
- New Chitose — ~1h30, 0 transfers (estimated). ~1.5 hr by car from New Chitose Airport (CTS) to Otaru.