Search hotels in Akankohan

The average stay at Akankohan is 1-2 nights. We stayed a week as we really wanted to immerse ourselves in Ainu culture and learn about a new area of Japan. The town was VERY quiet, although there was good occupancy in the 3 hotels we stayed at. We enjoyed meeting the people in stores and hotels and talking to the craftspeople in particular. We were able to get around easily on foot, no need for rental car. There was a shuttle bus service at La Vista Hotel and a public bus that we utitilised a few times. The Crane Park is an hour by public bus as well. We decided to cancel our last night in Kushiro and stay the extra night at Lake Akan. This worked out perfectly as it is just as easy getting to the Airport from Lake Akan as it is from Kushiro. If you are interested in art, crafts, nature and the Ainu people, this is a very special part of Japan to visit.

Terrible experience at Crystal room. Room 348, actual room is not as the picture provided, it’s worse. The toilet looks as 30 years ago facilities, the bed squeezing all night. Roof and wall paper has stain. It’s pity with such a Great Lake view, yet bad memory left.

Onsen was very good and available in 3 locations. On the Ground Floor & 8th Floor of the main building as well as on the 3rd Floor of the adjacent wing. Onsen on the Ground Floor of the main building is by far the best followed by the 8th Floor. Not recommended to use the onsen on the adjacent wing as it's small and mainly for the hotel customers that stay next door as there were 3 hotels that are interconnected. Food was pretty good as the hotel is inclusive of both breakfast & dinner. Location is pretty far if relying on public transportation. it takes approximately 6 hours by train from Sapporo To Kushiro and another approximately 2 hours by bus from Kushiro to the hotel. Be prepared for a full day of travel if using public transportation. Renting a car from New Chitose Airport will definitely save a lot of traveling time as it only takes approximately 4 hours from the airport to the hotel by car.

Our view of the lake was fantastic and our tatami room was spacious. The buffet was exceptional. There were so many great food stations besides Japanese cuisine. The hotel was just across the street from the shops and walking distance to the Aikan village. Only wished that my husband could have enjoyed the public onsen. Tattoos are not allowed. They offered a private onsen at a nominal fee.

Lake Akan with Mount Meakan and it's surroundings is very scenic. However in my opinion Akankohan has been spoilt by catering to the many bus tour groups that arrive every day. The main street is lined with souvenir shops and there are snow-mobiles zooming across frozen lake Akan once the tour buses arrive. Once the tour buses leave in the morning and before the new arrive in the afternoon the hotels and town are peaceful. Even when the tour groups are in town it's possible to find peace by walking out of town a few minutes. The Akankohan Eco Museum Center is a short walk out of town and is well arranged. There are some nice areas to walk around Akankohan. You can come to Akankohan on a day trip with a tour and take some nice selfies. If you want to get away from the tourists there are some nice walks in the area where the day-trippers don't go. You can enjoy peace and quiet in the town early afternoon before the tour buses arrive. It's also a good time to enjoy the onsens when they're not usually busy. You can also visit the Akan International Crane Center (GRUS) which is only about an hour away. There you can see the wonderful Red-crowned cranes. It's well worth a trip.

Nice mountain and lake scenery with volcanic activity . Mountain and forest walks and nature trails . Not busy in May. There is plenty of nature as we spotted brown bear, fox and deer. Flowers and bloom was slow , perhaps better in June