Jozankei Onsen is a hot spring resort founded in 1866. Visitors can either find accommodations along the valley, at one of the inns, or just enjoy the many different hot springs, including foot baths, on a day trip.

Thanks to the striking natural scenery, autumn brings the area fame for its bright crimson leaves, while in winter, it's the countless lights from snow candles glittering at night in the resort town nestled in deep snow. An annual event in the winter is the yukitoro or snow lanterns creating a fantasy-like atmosphere.

Here are some of the top things to do in Jozankei Onsen!

・By public transportation
New Chitose Airport Station → Train (Rapid Airport, approx. 40 minutes) → Sapporo Station → Bus (approx. 60 minutes on the Kappa Liner, which needs reservations by 5 PM 1 day ahead; approx. 80 minutes by route bus) → Jozankei Onsen
*There are multiple bus stops throughout the Jozankei Onsen resort. We recommend checking the nearest bus stop to your accommodation in advance.

・By car
New Chitose Airport → New Chitose Airport Interchange
→ Kitahiroshima Ineterchange → National Route 36 → National Route 230 → Jozankei Onsen (approx. 80 minutes)

・By public transportation
Sapporo Station → Bus (approx. 60 minutes on the Kappa Liner, which needs reservations by 5 PM 1 day ahead; approx. 80 minutes by route bus) → Jozankei Onsen

・By car
Sapporo City → National Route 230 (approx. 50 minutes)

There are 56 hot springs in Jozankei Onsen, and more than half of them bubble up naturally from openings in the rock bed and along the banks of the Toyohira River, which runs down the middle of the resort. Spring water temperatures are between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius, with the source producing an impressive estimated daily volume of 8,600 liters.

These are called sodium chloride springs; the water is transparent and contains natural salts. These salts make your skin feel soft and smooth after you get out of the bath and leave you feeling warm for quite a while afterward. You can enjoy the baths at the various inns and hotels or one of the many foot and hand baths in the area!

First, we will introduce the foot and hand baths you can enjoy free of charge! Foot baths are where you can enjoy spring water that comes up to your knees, and hand springs enable you to enjoy warm waters that warm your hands and wrists.

(*Choju to Kenko no Ashi Tsubo Yu (Foot Bath Spring of Longevity and Health) has been closed. Jozan Gensen Park was closed for construction at the time of our interview, but it has since reopened.)

Jozan Gensen Park (open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.) is right next to Tsukimibashi Bridge. It’s a famous spot in Jozankei Onsen, where anyone can enjoy the footbath for free!

In addition to a footbath, you can make your own hot spring eggs using the high-temperature waters at "Ontama no Yu." Eggs in nets can be purchased at the souvenir shop located on the opposite bank of the river, across Tsukimibashi Bridge. If you bring the cooked hot spring egg to the souvenir shop, you can borrow a bowl and salt to enjoy it fresh!

Walking two or three minutes further from Tsukimibashi Bridge is the Kappa Kazoku no Gankake Te Yu (Kappa Family Supplication hand bath), which is open 24 hours a day.

What’s more, Jozankei Onsen is known for its kappa, mythological creatures who inhabit the rivers and streams of Japan! Statues with Kappa motifs are scattered throughout the hot spring town, so those who are interested can walk around a search for some!

If you walk four or five minutes along the national highway from the Kappa Family Supplication hand bath, you’ll arrive at the Ashi no Fureai Taro no Yu (Mingling Feet Taro Spring). This facility is open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Although it’s smaller than the footbath at Jozan Gensen Park, it’s the best place to enjoy a quiet footbath with a small group! There’s even a vending machine that sells towels, enabling you to come empty-handed!

There are all sorts of foot and hand baths in the hot springs town, but perhaps none offer as memorable an experience as the Kokoro-no-Sato Jozan.

The theme of this facility is “relaxing in nature, an oasis of the heart.” If you pay the 1,500 (tax included) admission fee, you can freely spend as much time here as you like during its hours of operation.

You can use any of the eight foot baths as much as you like! Chairs with thick cushions face the front, making sitting for long hours a comfortable and pleasant experience.

In addition to providing tabi (Japanese socks with split toe) and towels, they also have lap blankets, hanten (traditional quilt jacket), and in the summer, straw hats; all of which you can use freely.

There are changing rooms that make it convenient for those who need a place to change to use the foot baths. They also provide as much hand cream and body oil as you want! If you use tabi, you can take them with you when you leave.

After relaxing with a foot bath, visit the healing lounge inside.

If you would like to eat something a bit heartier than just tea cakes, you can either bring your own food and drink into the facility, or you can buy them here.

Adjacent to the healing lounge is a tea room and library containing about 800 books on nature. The tea room has implements for making tea; for 500 yen (tax included), you can make matcha tea for yourself. If you choose to do so, the staff will gladly assist you.

Some of the visitors like to bring beer with them to enjoy while soaking their feet in the baths, while others bring laptops with them to help pass the time.

Next, we will introduce the top hot spring accommodations! There is a wide range of options, such as sophisticated hotels located near hot spring resorts, resort hotels with swimming pools and various facilities for family fun, and inns nestled in the middle of nature. Of course, all of these facilities have hot spring baths! We’re sure you’ll find something you love with so many choices!

Our first recommendation is Jozankei Daiichi Hotel Suizantei, located a three or four-minute walk from Tsukimibashi Bridge. The hotel offers a soak in private hot springs-welcoming elementary schoolers and older. As it’s located in the center of Jozankei Onsen, it’s easy to take walks around the resort to nearby footbaths.

The facility has three hot springs, each blended so that they have slightly different compositions that make for rich spring water quality. In addition to the large public baths, guests can enjoy the hot springs in their guest rooms or private bath facilities without worrying about their surroundings!

Meals include a variety of local ingredients. There’s seafood from Otaru City and its surrounding areas, high-quality meat from an in-house butcher shop that also wholesales to barbecue restaurants, and vegetables from the farm on the hotel’s grounds.

Several Japanese-style dining halls are located throughout the facility. You can choose from options such as restaurants with table seating and sunken kotatsu (low, wooden table frames covered by a heavy blanket), semi-private rooms, or private rooms.

Multilingual support
Japanese

Hana Momiji is a hot spring hotel offering an atmosphere of a traditional Japanese inn with sweeping views of a nearby valley. Located in the center of Jozankei Onsen, it’s only a one-minute walk to Tsukimibashi Bridge and Jozan Gensen Park, letting you enjoy strolls in a yukata summer kimono!

Hot springs include an open-air bath on the 12th floor, where you can enjoy the view of the nearby valley and mountains, a large public bath attached with an open-air bath reminiscent of a Japanese garden, and a large public bath in the affiliated hotel, Shika no Yu. Additionally, there are three private traditional Japanese baths. Each has a different atmosphere, but they are all private and relaxing.

There are two types of rooms: 35 square-meter or 25 square-meter Japanese-style rooms with tatami mat flooring and "urara," premium rooms with a private onsen hot spring and lounge. Furthermore, all rooms offer views of the Toyohira River and the surrounding mountain range!

Located on the top floor of the building, urara is a higher-grade room with two types of hot spring baths and a private lounge. The rooms have a one-meter-long sofa, a Simmons double bed, Bang & Olufsen speakers, and a 55-inch or 65-inch large-screen TV. A stay in this room is sure to be one of pure luxury!

You can enjoy Japanese sweets at the lounge, including manju, soft rounded dough filled with sweet red bean paste, and ohagi, red bean rice cakes. There are also light meals such as inari sushi (sushi rice stuffed inside seasoned deep-fried tofu), and drinks, including alcohol, available for free! Here you can enjoy rare whiskies and liqueurs from both Japan and abroad!

Meals at the hotel include Kaiseki, a traditional multicourse Japanese meal. Breakfast is served at the hotel’s buffet-style restaurant with a range of Japanese and Western dishes. There are multiple Kaiseki courses to choose from, differing in the number of dishes and ingredients used.

Guests staying in the urara rooms can enjoy a premium Kaiseki course called “Hatsune” in a private dining room. Skilled chefs serve beautifully plated dishes that blend traditional cooking methods and creative flavors. Any course you choose will make for a luxurious dining experience!

Multilingual support
Japanese, English

Jozankei Onsen has many lodging facilities, but the biggest of them all is the 16-story Jozankei View Hotel. It’s also the biggest spa resort in Hokkaido, famous for its Water Kingdom Lagoon, an amusement facility with a large-scale indoor heated pool spanning a total area of 4,000 square meters.

Hot spring facilities are spacious, with open-air baths, a jacuzzi, waterfall showers, and saunas. You can also enjoy an open-air bath with a view of Jozankei from the hotel's top floor, 60 meters above the ground. Men's and women's baths are interchangeable and are switched every hour. Please be sure to check the hot spring schedule and enjoy both baths!

There are several types of guest rooms in the main building and new building, respectively, including Japanese-style rooms, Western-style rooms, Japanese/Western-style rooms, and deluxe suites or suites. As this high-rise hotel is situated on a hill, the view of the Jozankei Onsen valley and the surrounding mountains from the guest rooms is exceptional!

For meals, you can choose between a buffet in the hotel’s restaurant, or a Japanese Kaiseki course served in a semi-private dining room.

The buffet offers a wide variety of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes that make the most of seasonal ingredients. What’s more, many dishes, such as freshly fried tempura and freshly made sushi, are prepared right before you!

The kaisendon, a bowl of rice topped with all the seafood you can eat, is very popular at the breakfast buffet. For those who want to enjoy Japanese cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere, we recommend the Kaiseki course filled with Hokkaido delicacies!

Multilingual support
Japanese, English

Shougetsu Grand Hotel is a long-established onsen hotel founded in 1934. It’s located in the center of Jozankei Onsen, across the street from the Kappa Family Supplication hand bath.

In addition to the hot spring baths, open-air baths, and lounge, all guest rooms face the surrounding valley, enabling you to enjoy stunning seasonal views throughout the hotel.

There are several types of guest rooms, including modern, Japanese/Western-style rooms with tatami mat flooring and a separated bedroom, child-proof family rooms, and premium rooms attached to hot springs.

A look out the window from any guest room gives you a view of steaming waters rising from Toyohira River’s valley as well as the surrounding hot spring resort. Fresh greenery, fall foliage, and snowy landscapes are picturesque, creating a sense of peace just by looking at the beautiful scenery from indoors.

In addition to enjoying the large public bath with an abundant flow of hot spring water, we also recommend the steam bath! This makes use of the steam from the spring water, which gushes out at approximately 75°C. This natural hot spring steam sauna is popular for enabling you to work up a sweat without damaging your skin.

For meals, you can enjoy delicious Japanese cuisine! Dinner is Kaiseki, which makes the most of seasonal ingredients, served in the dining room. Breakfast is a Japanese meal that includes a variety of dishes served in small bowls, hot pot, and a buffet of salads and drinks.

Multilingual support
Japanese, English (not stationed permanently)

Information: Booking.com

Chalet Ivy Jozankei is a hotel reminiscent of a traditional ryokan inn and blends traditional and modern Japanese sensibilities. Opened in 2019 along the Toyohira River’s valley, the hotel has a sense of novelty with a classic flair.

Guest rooms are suite-style, and all 26 rooms have private open-air hot spring baths. While some rooms have tatami mat flooring, they are equipped with beds, so even those who aren’t comfortable with futon bedding can easily enjoy the Japanese atmosphere!

Open-air hot springs in the guest rooms make for a completely private experience! The hotel’s large public bath also has a spacious open-air bath. Both options are attractive, so we recommend choosing which one to soak in, depending on your mood!

At the Japanese restaurant, meals using seasonal ingredients can be enjoyed in a private room or in the teppanyaki room. In the private rooms, you can enjoy a creative Japanese course that serves Japanese cuisine using Hokkaido's ingredients as well as dishes with Western-style arrangements.

Multilingual support
Japanese, English, Chinese

Information: Booking.com

Lastly, we will introduce a hot spring inn that comes highly recommended for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and spend time in nature. Kasho Gyoen is a secluded, naturally abundant hot spring resort located approximately a four-minute drive from Jozankei Onsen.

Besides the national highway, there are hardly any artificial structures, and thick virgin forests and rivers surround the area. With its undisturbed primeval forests and a vast 3,000 square meter garden, guests can soak in exquisite hot spring baths while enjoying beautiful seasonal views.

There are 23 guest rooms in total, all of which are Japanese-style suites. All rooms also have a hot spring bath with a view. The spacious layout, with its separate living rooms and bedrooms, allows you to enjoy a relaxing and luxurious stay with the utmost privacy.

Although the inn doesn’t have a large public bath, the open-air baths in the guest rooms more than make up for it! The hot spring waters in these baths come from Usubetsu Onsen’s private source. This is a different quality of spring water from the hot springs available within Jozankei Onsen.

Moreover, Usubetsu Onsen’s secret spring is otherwise known as “Bijin no Yu” (beautifying hot springs) because it leaves the skin smooth and moist. You can enjoy seasonal views from outside the window while taking a completely private soak.

Meals can be enjoyed at a restaurant facing the pond, close to the waterfront. Dinner is served at the Italian restaurant, Oku Jozankei Italian. It’s run by an Italian chef who travels to various parts of Hokkaido to create creative cuisine using seasonal ingredients carefully selected by connoisseurs.

In addition to wine pairings suggested by the sommelier, you can also enjoy the blissful marriage of Hokkaido wines and sake. Breakfast is a Japanese-style meal, which can be enjoyed with a view of the refreshing garden and pond.

Multilingual support
Japanese, English

For more than 150 years, Jozankei Onsen has been known as the “backwaters” of Sapporo. This hot spring resort offers abundant nature and relaxing, skin-soothing spring waters.

Why don’t you stay at one of the many hot spring hotels to enjoy relaxing hot springs, delicious meals, strolls in nature, and a stop by the footbaths? Another attractive feature is that it’s easily accessible from Sapporo City and New Chitose Airport. Jozankei Onsen is a must-see destination during a trip to Hokkaido!

Text by: Nobuhiro Kawashima
*The information in this article is from September 2022. For updated information, please refer to the official websites.