Takinoya
B · 7 / 10right inn, right place
The top luxury name in Noboribetsu, and KI-NRT keeps recommending it as exactly that: a very solid property with superb pure source-fed water and wonderful forest-facing communal baths. He repeats every time, though, that nothing beyond the onsen blew him away, with food that was only good, no uni served, and a nakai who refused simple requests. The water alone makes it worth a stay, and the rest is solid without being transcendent.
Scores
Food 3.5 / 5
Dinner was good and some of it great, but for Hokkaido, which KI-NRT calls one of the world's top seafood locales, it did not stand out from the pack. The buri (amberjack) seemed to have come previously frozen, creativity ran to minor novelties like a foam soy sauce, and no uni was served in two nights, which sorely disappointed him. He has repeated the letdown for years, while allowing that his 2020 stay may have caught a bad time.
Bath 4.5 / 5
The water is the one thing that blew KI-NRT away: 100% pure Noboribetsu hot spring water fed straight into the open-air bath on the DW suite, so you will not feel cheated as at ryokans that dilute their onsen. The communal baths are wonderful and face a scenic forest, and he rates them more expansive and better-viewed than Chalet Ivy's. He adds that Noboribetsu has awesome onsen everywhere, so every ryokan in town likely has the same quality.
Service 2.5 / 5
Service was a mixed bag, without the vaunted omotenashi. The nakai was never rude but robotic and formulaic, showing experience without warmth. When KI-NRT asked her to set dinner in the Japanese-style room she answered 'that is not possible', and when he arranged dishes for a photo she told him that is not how it is done in Japan, which he found snide and petty. The front desk would not help with a booking at the new Upopoy Ainu museum either.
Room 3.5 / 5
The Japanese Suite DW type is a hybrid of Western and Japanese, with a dining room with table and chairs, a Japanese-style room and a bedroom with real Western beds, and at 92 square metres it is reasonably spacious. Meals are served in the room. There is no Presidential Suite or equivalent for anyone wanting the ultimate bling factor, but KI-NRT says the DW should satisfy even the most demanding luxury traveller. Book one of the DW suites.
Place 4 / 5
Takinoya sits steps from Jigokudani (Hell's Valley), the top sight in Noboribetsu, with Oyunuma Pond, Oku no Yu and a natural foot bath close by and worth the hike, and you can smell the sulfur as soon as you arrive. The grounds are not as expansive as at other world-class ryokans, though what is there is pretty nice, including a beautiful small water garden. KI-NRT lists Takinoya among the traditional ryokans with great forest and garden views.
Getting there
- New Chitose — ~1h, 0 transfers (estimated). ~1 hr by car from New Chitose Airport (CTS) to Noboribetsu Onsen.
- Sapporo — ~1h30, 0 transfers (estimated). ~1.5 hr by car from Sapporo down the coast to Noboribetsu.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #1 · TripAdvisor 3★ (September 2020) · #165 · #200 · #314 · #564 · #585 · #792 (thread mentions)