I Looked Into Chikuyo Shinyotei

On this blog, I've been looking into a series of inns that could work as a backup plan—switching to a hot spring stay whenever camping plans fall through.

This time, I looked into Chikuyo Shinyotei. I was already curious about it just because it's a long-established ryokan in Hokkaido, and since it apparently also offers day-trip bathing, I decided to add it to my list as a potential relaxing stopover.

The Short Version

This appears to be a historic, purely Japanese-style ryokan founded in 1949, where you can enjoy two types of hot springs while gazing at a dry landscape garden.
Rakuten Mobile's signal condition was rated C.

I've summarized the details below.

What Kind of Place Is Chikuyo Shinyotei?

It's apparently a purely Japanese-style ryokan built in the sukiya style, located in the Yunokawa area of Hakodate, Hokkaido. Founded in 1949, it looks like a place with quite a bit of history, judging from the official website. There's said to be a tasteful dry landscape garden inside the building, and it seems like just walking down the hallways would let you feel the changing seasons.

The kaiseki cuisine made with Hokkaido ingredients and the hot springs seem to be the main draws, and it looks like this ryokan puts effort into banquet-style dining use as well as overnight stays. I couldn't find specific room rates listed on the official website, and it seems reservations go through an external booking site. I also wasn't able to confirm the specific check-in and check-out times within what I looked into.

Komorin

Just the phrase 'dry landscape garden' makes me feel like I need to sit up straight. Even as an indoor type, I feel like I could relax in a quiet space like that.

About the Two Types of Hot Springs and Day-Trip Bathing

There appear to be two types of hot springs: Manyo no Yu and Chikurin no Yu. Manyo no Yu is said to let you enjoy the garden's seasonal changes, while Chikurin no Yu offers a view of a bamboo grove, which is apparently rare in Hokkaido. Both the open-air baths and indoor baths have a men's-to-women's ratio of one to one, and since they're swapped between genders on a time-based schedule, it seems there's no option for private/reserved use.

The water quality is apparently a sodium-calcium chloride spring, said to have benefits for neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, rheumatism, and frozen shoulder, among other things. The operating hours are apparently as follows.

Hot springs (for overnight guests): 3:00 PM–1:00 AM, and 5:00 AM–10:00 AM the following morning (gender-swap system; apparently unavailable from 1:00 AM–5:00 AM and 10:00 AM–3:00 PM for cleaning)
Day-trip bathing: 3:00 PM–7:00 PM (last entry at 7:00 PM, last exit at 8:00 PM, apparently)
Day-trip bathing fee: 1,100 yen for adults, 800 yen for children (elementary school age or younger), apparently including face towel, bath towel, bathing fee, and bathing tax
Bathing fee when using the banquet service: apparently 500 yen for adults and 350 yen for children
Bathing tax: apparently an additional 150 yen is required for adults

For day-trip use, in addition to dining in a private room, you can apparently also use an elegant VIP room equipped with its own open-air bath and tea room, which is said to be suitable for occasions like betrothal ceremonies or 60th birthday celebrations. Amenities seem to include face towels, bath towels, combs, razors, and toothbrushes, and there's also apparently a rental service for baby baths and shower chairs for those needing care assistance. I wasn't able to find any mention of a sauna on the official website, by the way.

Reservations for day-trip bathing are apparently accepted through an external booking site or by phone.

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

When I checked the location of this facility using the official "My Area Connectivity Simulation" tool, the overall rating came back as C.

Since it's rated C, there may be spots where the connection isn't very stable, depending on where you are. If you're planning to do online work or watch videos during your stay, it might be a good idea to check in advance whether the property has in-house Wi-Fi. Within what I looked into this time, though, I wasn't able to confirm any information about in-house Wi-Fi.

Komorin

Hearing a C rating makes me brace myself a little, but at a long-established ryokan like this, maybe it's fine to just not worry about signal and relax instead. Since I'm a Rakuten Mobile user myself, I'd want to prepare in advance if I were to go.

See Rakuten Mobile Details

Wrapping Up

To sum it up again, my impression of Chikuyo Shinyotei is that it's a long-established, purely Japanese-style ryokan with a history dating back to its founding in 1949, where you can enjoy a dry landscape garden and two types of tasteful hot springs. Since it also offers day-trip bathing, I also liked that it's easy to consider as a stopover destination even without staying overnight.

Rakuten Mobile's signal condition came back rated C, so if connectivity is a concern for you, it seems like a good idea to check with the official tool beforehand.

Check Out Rakuten Mobile

This article includes a referral link for Rakuten Mobile's employee referral campaign. For details, please see our Disclaimer & Advertising Notice.