Akita Accommodation | Lake Tazawa Stay | Tazawako Lake Resort & Onsen | Japanese-Style Hot Spring Ryokan | Pet-Friendly Rooms
This time we planned to explore the Lake Tazawa and Kakunodate area, and didn't want to drive all the way back to Morioka to spend the night, so we decided to look for accommodation near Lake Tazawa. However, since this was a Saturday, rooms in the area were quite in demand, and in the end we chose Tazawako Lake Resort & Onsen.
📜 Information
- Check-in date: 2024-04-06 (Sat)
- Room type: Japanese-style room
- Payment: Credit cards accepted
- Address: Shimotakano-82-117 Tazawako Obonai, Semboku, Akita 014-1201
- Phone: +81187462016
- Booking site：https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/morinikaze-tazawako.zh-tw.html
- Official website：https://tazawako-lakeresort.com/
📍 Location
Tazawako Lake Resort & Onsen is not a lakeside hotel — it's about 3 km away from Lake Tazawa, so if you stay here and want to visit the lake, having a car is much more convenient.
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| There's plenty of parking at Tazawako Lake Resort & Onsen, so no need to worry about finding a space |
Getting here is really only convenient by self-drive or private charter. If you rely on public transport, you can transfer to a bus from Tazawako Station, but it isn't as convenient as the lakeside hotels — the bus stop is out on the main road, and you'd still need to walk about a kilometre to reach the hotel.
🏢 Hotel Environment
As soon as you step inside, you see a bright lobby with a slightly raised ceiling, with the check-in reception desk right in front. The hotel has two wings: the Main Building and the Annex. All the Japanese-style rooms are in the Annex, while the Main Building has Western-style rooms.
Although the two buildings are separate, they're connected indoors, so you don't have to step outside — just walk through a passageway to get where you're going.
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| The in-room guide includes a map of the whole hotel |
🛏 The Room
Tazawako Lake Resort & Onsen offers a variety of room types. Besides the usual Western- and Japanese-style rooms, it also has something rather special: pet-friendly rooms where you can stay with your furry companion.
We stayed in a Japanese-style room in the Annex. The room is very spacious at 41 square metres, with tatami flooring just like a traditional Japanese hot spring ryokan — except instead of futons laid out on the floor, there are proper mattresses. The room clearly shows its age, but it's kept reasonably clean.
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| The bathroom and toilet area |
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| There's a basket in the wardrobe, handy for trips to the large communal bath |
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| In-room amenities such as a fridge, electric kettle and humidifier |
The room really is spacious: besides the beds, there's a low table with Japanese-style floor seating, and if that's not your thing, there's also a table and chairs by the window where you can enjoy a late-night snack or a drink. The room has its own bathroom too, so if you don't feel like going to the big communal bath, you can shower in your room. (The hot spring ryokan we stayed at in Nikko previously had no en-suite bathroom.)
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| In-room toiletries and amenities |
On arriving we noticed a roll of tape on the shoe cabinet and had no idea what it was for. Later, after reading the guide and hearing from others, we learned that because the hotel is out in the countryside, insects often get into the rooms — the tape is for catching them. Sure enough, we did spot a bug in the room during our stay.
🏢 Hotel Facilities
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| The shop |
As a hot spring resort hotel, it has quite a lot of facilities. Besides the large hot spring baths, there's table tennis, billiards and even a manga reading room, so guests can relax and enjoy themselves without leaving the property.
Large Hot Spring Baths
Opening hours:
- Morning 5:00–9:00
- Evening 15:00–24:00
The large hot spring baths are on the first floor. Remember to stop by the yukata corner next to the reception desk first and pick out a yukata you like — there's a good range of designs and sizes, including children's sizes.
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| There are different sizes at the back so you can try them on for fit |
Like most hot springs in Japan, the baths are nude and separated by gender. Besides the washing area and indoor pools, there are also outdoor open-air baths, and the men's and women's baths are swapped each morning so everyone gets to enjoy a different outdoor view.
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| from the official site：https://tazawako-lakeresort.com/facilities |
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| from the official site：https://tazawako-lakeresort.com/facilities |
Kids' Play Area
In the passageway linking the Main Building to the Annex there's a very, very small kids' play area. It's an open space, so it's presumably accessible 24 hours a day.
The Shop
Directly opposite the reception desk is a small shop selling all kinds of souvenirs, clothing, gifts and alcohol — you can pick up plenty of sake or local beers here.
Opening hours: 7:00–21:00
Lounge Area
On the 1F of the Main Building there's a lounge area with a smoking room. Free drinks and coffee are available here, along with plenty of vending machines selling drinks and alcohol.
Open: 24 hr
Games Area
On the 2nd floor at the other end of the Main Building there's a multi-purpose space with table tennis, billiards, plenty of arcade machines and a manga reading room. Table tennis and billiards are chargeable — you need to rent the equipment at the front desk.
Opening hours: 10:00–22:00
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| A good selection of fairly new manga (2,300 volumes) — all in Japanese, though |
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| The manga reading room, with all the seats facing one way like a classroom |
🍽️ Dinner and Breakfast
Both breakfast and dinner are served at "Ao 423" (碧/あお 423), the restaurant on the 1st floor of the Annex. Both are buffet-style with plenty of Japanese dishes. Seating includes regular open seating, a shoes-off tatami Japanese seating area, and a few private rooms at the very back.
- Breakfast: 7:00–9:00
- Dinner: 17:30–21:00 (staggered entry at 17:30 / 19:30)
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| The open seating area |
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| The shoes-off tatami Japanese seating area |
Dinner
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| The teppanyaki steak was decent |
Dinner was fairly average in taste, though there was a good range of options and dishes. The all-you-can-eat snow crab and the Ishikari hotpot show that many blogs mention are no longer offered, and alcohol costs extra.
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| Drinks price list |
Breakfast
Breakfast was also just average. There aren't many Western items, but there's a good range of Japanese dishes worth trying.
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Before the trip I'd browsed a number of blogs and the reviews were mostly positive. Overall, though, staying on a weekend is on the pricey side — around NT$7,000 per room. The hotel is somewhat dated, though not unclean; my main issue was that the mattress wasn't especially comfortable, the pillows were tiny, and the old air-conditioning unit was very noisy, so I didn't sleep particularly well that night.
Still, if you're in the Lake Tazawa area and want to experience a traditional Japanese hot spring ryokan and its large communal baths, it's worth considering.
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