Chalet Ivy Jozankei

Chalet Ivy Jozankei opened in 2019 by the Toyohira River in Jozankei, 45 minutes by car from central Sapporo. All 26 rooms are suites of 67–137 sq m, tatami underfoot but with beds and sofas, and a heated indoor terrace. The lounge, around a sunken hearth, is open all night with free drinks and Hokkaido sweets.

Every room has its own hot spring bath: an indoor view bath with a window that opens, which the hotel states plainly is not an open-air one. Its water is a sodium chloride spring, free-flowing rather than recirculated, and diluted because the source arrives at 85–90°C. The communal baths, separate for men and women and never swapped, hold an indoor bath, an outdoor bath and a sauna, open around the clock except for cleaning, 10:30–14:30. Only the indoor one runs free-flowing; the outdoor bath is fenced for privacy, so it has no view. Tattoos are allowed only if a single small sticker, sold at reception, covers them.

Rates always include dinner and breakfast, both in the 88-seat restaurant Zui: a modern kaiseki at night, a Japanese set breakfast. No room service; a Chef’s Table with teppanyaki costs extra, booked two days ahead.

Check-in is 15:00–20:00, check-out 11:00. Children of any age are accepted, though mixed bathing in the communal baths ends at six under Sapporo city rules. The Kappa Liner coach from Sapporo Station stops at Jozankei-jinja-mae, five minutes away on foot; staff will meet guests there on request. Pets are not accepted.