$158 Hidden Wooden Inn with Lake Views in Japan | Towada Hotel
North, and more north—three hours on the shinkansen First, we aim for Shin-Aomori Station An ekiben is a must Got the Suica Penguin bento! It comes with a little toy This hamburger steak is so delicious It tastes like a kids’ meal, my favorite flavor! The egg is so runny The rabbits and penguin can stand guard while I take a nap until we reach Shin-Aomori We’ve arrived at Shin-Aomori Station! The snow that piled up is all gone The bus journey continues from here, but we still have some time I’ve found something tasty Apple-flavored soft serve: 450 yen Wow, this is… So delicious, apple sorbet Today’s bus stop is number one Limited Express Mizuumi-gou No reservation needed, but trains are few, so check the schedule Heading south towards Akita Prefecture, we’ll ride to the “Towada Lake” bus stop It’s a 3-hour long journey Wow, snow?! Does Aomori still have this much snow in late April? The Hakkoda Mountains This bus has an audio guide and stops to take in the scenery Feels like a tour bus. The ride itself is fun The fare is already 1,570 yen. Make sure your IC card is loaded or bring cash This swamp reaches over 90°C and emits toxic gases That’s why it’s called “Hell Swamp.” There are also bears around here… so much untouched nature remains The snow walls are incredible With all this snow left, I wonder when it will finally melt? The largest mountain in the Hakkoda Mountain Range Mount Hakkoda, 1,585 meters high We’ve arrived at Tsuta Onsen Ryokan! But… We’re not staying bovernight here today We’ll stop for a 10-minute break before continuing our journey Entering the Oirase Gorge area, which flows out of Lake Towada Many waterfalls and virgin forests make this area mystical and beautiful The Kumoi Waterfall One of the representative waterfalls of Oirase Lake Towada, here we come! The bus goes along the lake for a bit since the stop is on the southeastern shore In total, the bus fare was 3,480 yen per person We’re here at the Towada Lake (Yasumiya) stop, right by Lake Towada The Towada sightseeing boat runs seasonally from late April to early November each year Too bad, it wasn’t running today, so we couldn’t ride it Lake Towada was formed about 200,000 years ago by a volcanic eruption Its maximum depth is 326.8 m (12866 in), making it the third deepest lake in Japan We can see the inn where we’ll be staying! That one over there See it? Right there We’ll take the inn’s shuttle bus, which operates regularly from the bus stop The journey takes about 15 minutes It’s located on the western lakeside of Lake Towada The weather seems a little bad though Well, we’ve arrived The inn closes every winter. In 2025, it reopened on April 15 Hooray for spring! Surrounded by vast virgin forests, the environment is quiet and peaceful Towada Hotel was founded in 1939 It was built at the government’s request to welcome foreign tourists The Tokyo Olympics were scheduled for the following year (but didn’t happen) This three-story wooden main building was built by about 80 local carpenters It’s officially registered as both a cultural property and an industrial heritage The entrance is especially famous We stayed here just to see it! Wow The grand entrance hall made of natural Akita cedar It’s even more beautiful than the photos I saw in advance Including this entrance, the main building was constructed without using a single nail It’s really impressive It’s breathtaking No need to take off your shoes in this area Akita Inu! There’s a staircase in front, so we’ll try going up The interior also uses Akita cedar, feeling both heavy and warm with wood This is the library You can read books while looking at Lake Towada ❤️ By the way, this is right above the entrance So you can look down at the grand entrance from above Coming back to the library later Check-in is from 3 PM The front desk is near the entrance >> Staff: You’re now on basement level 1, and this is the front desk >> Staff: In the lounge, you can get coffee and other drinks >> Staff: The lounge is open until 9 PM Check-in complete. Thank you Found a shop nearby Edamame pound cake Since it’s on the border of Akita and Aomori, they have souvenirs from both places The annex, made of reinforced concrete, has a completely different atmosphere from the main building Wow, there’s still snow in the courtyard There’s an elevator too, btw A picture of Kumoi Waterfall, which we saw on the bus! We’ve arrived at the lounge It features a high ceiling and chandelier, with a classic Western-style design The windows let in lots of light, making the space bright You can enjoy Akita-grown burdock tea and coffee, served self-service I’m drinking burdock tea for the first time! It’s black Umm… tastes really burdock-y. It’s good Our room is in the main building Here it is Standard Japanese-style room: 23,100 yen (158.84 USD / € 141.1) per person Even with the same room type, it seems the designs differ by room I wonder what this one will be like It’s a simple and clean tatami room The wooden ceiling is really cool Water with a print of the grand entrance Tea set Green tea Roasted tea The view is Lake Towada, trees, and the sky It’s common to see a lot of stink bugs at remote inns in snow country Nice, they even prepared something for stink bugs Okay, time to handle it! …My husband will! I’m not good with even small bugs There are cups and a safe on the nearby shelf A refrigerator Next to it is the closet Yukata and towels The washroom and toilet are here There’s no private bath in the room Toothbrush That’s the end of the room tour All rooms in the main building are Japanese-style rooms They’re giving us a special peek at some other rooms this time Room type: Special Japanese-style room This room is about twice the size of the standard Japanese-style room we’re staying in There are two tatami rooms So it seems convenient for staying with family or friends The washbasin is spacious with a nice view There’s also a beautiful indoor bath All rooms in the annex are Western-style rooms The largest suite room, about 66m², looks like this Don’t forget your towel for the public bath The bath doesn’t have a gender rotation system, and you can bathe until 11 PM (Filmed with permission outside of operating hours) The changing room is spacious The washbasin is also clean and looks like this Lotion, milk lotion, and facial cleanser A nano-care hairdryer Various other amenities Wow The bath itself has a simple design Outside the window, a breathtaking view stretches out! Washing area with dividers Shampoo and other essentials are provided And there’s also a sauna It seems big enough for a large group to use After showering and warming up in the indoor bath… Head to the outdoor bath The tub is compact, but it’s more than enough The magnificent view of Lake Towada spreads right in front of you So beautiful! The water isn’t from the hot springs It’s sourced from mountain spring water flowing into Lake Towada Feels like you’re wrapped in nature, with the lake and trees all around It feels so nice It’s especially recommended to bathe in the morning The sunlight on Lake Towada and the beautiful bird sounds make it a perfect experience Near the bath, there’s a vending machine for drinks and ice cream I picked a gin soda Relaxing in the library, I’m looking through a photo collection of Akita This is such a nice time It’s almost time for dinner We are so hungry The restaurant is on the first floor of the annex Here’s what it looks like inside There are seats with a view of Lake Towada Our seats are here Today’s menu I ordered some sake from Akita The name “Yukino Bosha” sounds really cool Here’s the appetizer It features ingredients from Aomori and Akita, like Hinai chicken and Shirakami prosciutto The menu offers a variety of Japanese and Western fusion dishes Simmered herring and bamboo Turnip and soy milk soup Bagel sandwich with prosciutto, apple, and cheese Steamed mackerel with yam and ginger sauce The next dish is a salad in a heart-shaped bowl It comes with seared bincho tuna This wasabi soy sauce dressing is incredibly delicious It’s like eating sashimi The wasabi soy sauce also goes really well with the vegetables Preparing the hot pot While it’s heating up, we’ll have the fish dish Flounder wine-steamed It’s topped with pimento sauce, so it feels kind of like Spanish cuisine The flounder’s flavor really stands out. Moist and tender What’s this chewy little thing? Gnocchi? The hot pot is ready! Miso hot pot with sea bream It’s filled with spring vegetables It’s topped with grated daikon and citrus, so it seems refreshing The fish is so fluffy The light broth really brings out the sweetness of the fish and cabbage The meat dish and rice were served together Bamboo shoot rice and miso soup Roast wagyu beef It’s thin and tender Akita’s famous “Iburi Gakko” It’s smoked and dried daikon radish that’s pickled in rice bran It’s got Aomori and Akita flavors, with a cool mix of Japanese and Western styles It’s a delicious dinner Finally, dessert From left: butter rice cake, strawberry cheese pudding, and chocolate cake Thank you for the meal! This entrance makes you want to come back again and again It’s rumored to be the model for “Spirited Away.” At night, the lighting stands out, creating a more solemn atmosphere My husband’s gone to the bath So I returned to the room alone While we were out, the futon has been prepared for us The lighting is dimmed, and everything is ready for bed Good night Good morning Look at this sea of clouds!! It looks like waves! Such a peaceful morning in Towada’s nature It’s breakfast time! We could choose between Japanese or Western breakfast So my husband chose Japanese, and I went with Western Grilled salmon, pickles, and tofu with ginger sauce and dashi-maki made with hinai eggs are among the local ingredients used Here’s the Western breakfast It’s a simple hotel-style breakfast The bread is so good There’s butter and jam too The salad comes with Caesar dressing The rice, miso soup, and bread are all refillable For drinks, there’s self-service Akita apple juice and coffee It’s quite filling and satisfying Thank you for the meal It’s a rural area, but I think even foreign visitors would find it easy to stay here The staff were kind, the nature was beautiful, and it was a really nice stay The Tohoku region has a unique charm Apparently, the lakeside is just a 10-minute walk from the inn We’re a little worried if the bears are still hibernating this time of year Still, we’re walking along the magical forest path This feels so nice Look, it’s Lake Towada The surrounding mountains and forests reflect on the water It creates a calm, mystical landscape The circumference of Lake Towada is about 46 km, vast and beautiful Viewing it from a high point like the hotel is completely different from seeing it up close When viewed up close, the water seems very clear But it’s said it was even clearer in the early Showa era I hope this nature continues to be preserved Thank you so much for watching If this video helped you relax, please check out the other videos as well See you next time🐰🐰
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💻Towada Hotel
Website: https://towada-hotel.com/en/
*This video was filmed with the hotel’s permission.
🗒 How to book
Agoda: https://px.a8.net/svt/ejp?a8mat=3TLBA5+BIDQL6+4X1W+BW0YB&a8ejpredirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.agoda.com%2Ftowada-hotel%2Fhotel%2Fkosaka-jp.html%3FcountryId%3D3
Trip.com: https://www.trip.com/t/n1jiLupTpP2
Expedia: https://expedia.com/affiliate/sAPOkqF
Hotels.com: https://www.hotels.com/affiliate/Ip0LZRJ
Official: https://towada-hotel.com/en/
🚃🚶♀️How to Get There
About 15 minutes by free shuttle bus from JR Towadako Station (Yasumiya).
MAP: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rzeHj7KaHJXiYCzAA
💰 Price
Standard Japanese-style room (8 tatami mats): 23,100 yen (158.84 USD / €141.10) per person.
*Prices may vary depending on the season and room type.
🚃 JAPAN RAIL PASS is an economical and convenient way to travel throughout Japan by rail!!
https://click.jrpass.com/aff_c?offer_id=19&aff_id=1038
⌛️ Timestamps
0:00 Opening
0:12 Ekiben (train station bento)
1:21 Sightseeing Bus: Limited Express Mizuumi
5:52 Lake Towada
7:12 Arrival at the Hotel
8:12 Main Entrance (Atrium)
9:18 Library
10:19 Front Desk & Gift Shop
11:40 Lounge
12:30 Standard Japanese-style Room Tour (8 tatami mats)
15:25 Special Japanese-style Room
16:12 Annex Suite Room
16:32 Large Public Bath
19:23 Library (again)
19:59 Dinner
24:49 Entrance at Night
25:06 Good Night
25:41 Sea of Clouds
26:10 Good Morning
27:54 Strolling around Lake Towada
#Tohoku #japan #japantravel #asmr #cc_for_subtitle
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・Titles, descriptions, and subtitles are provided by automatic translation and may contain inaccuracies.
・The prices in the video are based on the exchange rate at the time of editing.
・Prices may vary with the season.
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45 Comments
Thank you for watching and subscribing to our channel☺If you enjoyed this video, feel free to share it with your friends and family👀!!
Guau ese edificio de madera es pura pasada,y el paisaje con el lago y los bosques alrededor es todo un espectáculo.Me encanta ver la comida japonesa,arte en porciones.❤
Danke für den schönen Ausflug
🤩👍🥰
You video is one surprise and beatiful totally ❤
обожаю ваши ролики о местах, что я пока не посетила конкретно в Японии.
25.48 I have never seen such a beautiful view in my life, lake with clouds as from a dream 🌛✨
The hotel lobby is spacious, yet warm and cozy at the same time because of the cedar construction. A perfect retreat for this nature lover.
that looked really interesting but it seemed to be difficult to travel there 3 hours in a bus is long
Another great video! Thank you so much 😊
Beautiful! It reminds me of the Shining hotel. Especially the lounge. I wonder if they have a winter care taker 😳
beautiful !!
Your videos are so calming. I like to sit and relax and admire the beauty of Japan. I find the bath culture to be so nice, I really wish something like this existed where I live.
Wow – just added it to my Want To Go list of Japanese hotels/onsen~! Thank you for sharing this video!
I like that there's a nature trail nearby. I wonder what that old pier was for… I mean, boats, obviously but how was it used before it fell into slight disrepair?
this place is beautiful….i think you have to visit again…during summer..when everything is green….it will be ''paradise''…!..I THANK YOU FOR THIS….greetings from GREECE
I need an onsen vacation.. we have hot springs in the US
This is a croissant you take at minute 27 of this vid. Google the story about croissants, it is a nice history on this. Thank you for take us on your journeys.
That was amazing
I had to giggle. In my part of the western world, we don't usually have a salad at breakfast. And I eat my bacon with my fingers, no utensils.
The lake up close was beautiful! I'm happy that you braved bears to take the walk to it.
14:02 – There was a face in the trees. Was Gaia watching you guys?
Anyways…I was impressed by the entranceway using no nails. Very impressive construction!
EDIT: Wait, hol' up…GIN soda?!?
The scenery is absolutely stunning, and what a beautiful hotel. Thank you for sharing your travels.
Silly question – why are the services staff (driver, hostess) wearing masks? I thought the reason (culturally) was due to illness but that does not make sense to me. I would appreciate your insights. 🙏🏻
Absolutely stunning and beautiful ❤
In Canada we have bears also. We are told when you go for a walk where the bears are make a lot of noise. :Lovely. I wish I could stay there.
What a beautiful inn. The entrance reminds me of the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone Natjonal Park.
I really loved this incredible place. 😮
I just discovered your YouTube channel. I have been interested in Japan for awhile now. This is a great video. Thank you so much. I would love to stay there when I get to Japan.
Spectaculaire se hall d entrée un vrai travail d orfèvres chapeau bas au charpentier ❤❤ un endroit vraiment magnifique et reposant mais aussi toute cette région qui a un petit côté mystique je valide totalement superbe expérience
The variety and quality of food that Japan offers is truly amazing. In no other country in the world do people pay as much attention to food preparation and presentation as the Japanese. Even though I am from the West, I would also opt for the Japanese style breakfast. It seems so much healthier and more balanced than the Western style breakfast.
👍👍👍
This place, landscape…so on are breathtaking🎉
Personally, I would be afraid to eat that egg. Just looks NASTY.
Thank you for sharing 🙂
My wife and i really liked your nails !
Greetings from germany
Beautiful place! It does look like it inspired the great moviemaker Miyazaki Hayao. It looks so peaceful.
Si je pouvais voyager, séjourner ici serait un bonheur !!!
Tout ce que j'aime !!! ❤Merci pour plaisir de la découverte 🙏✨🇫🇷
ЧТо за собака на входе, чем знаменита?
Клоповник в номерах развели)
Народ там чем, зачем едет? У озера в тишине посидеть?)
Почему у нас такие не строят…а где строят, то всё подряд сараями завалят и заборы понатыкают, а вот, чтобы здания с историей, тихие, уютные места….
Very beautiful, Thank you for sharing ❤ Best wishes from Finland 🇫🇮🙏🥰
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
The hotel seem less guest during your stay or you clear all guest for the video? I like the natural atmosphere and lake here. But it seem the hot spring inside or outside seem a little limited. I am much concerned this point for every stay. The dinner also good but it seem a little for my big stomach. I also bring some instant noodles or Japan local fruit for possible. Breakfast I will prefer Japanese style. Maybe can request for meiso soups or rice . I know you need to take both for us understand ing.
I will go Oirase Keiryu Hotel by Hoshino Resorts on July and stay for 3 day. Hope can also relax and enjoy the journey like you. Much impressive your video and stay experience. Looking forward next .❤
Wow that main building was really beautiful! I really liked this place, thank you for sharing ❤
thank you so much for sharing these videos, I love getting a glimpse into these beautiful places, your channel helps me relax and find some moments of peace 💜
زیبا بود ممنون ❤❤❤
دریاچه و هتل هر دو زیبا بودند 😍
فقط عجیبه که توی آلبوم عکس، درختان سرسبز بودند، اما در واقعیت تیره بنظر میرسیدند! بخاطر همین حس دلگرفتن و غم را به آدم انتقال میداد!
اگر سرسبز بودند خیلی زیباتر میشدند.
به هرحال ممنون 👍❤️❤️❤️👌
Beautiful!😍
まだまだ雪が残っていますが後一月余りで新緑に木漏れ日が宝石のようになります。昔はバスも国鉄燕の柄、荷物は先に子の口へ運んでもらいスケッチブック片手に。雲井の滝を、次に銀河の流れ、銚子の滝。連絡船で休屋迄湖水巡り。お泊りは湖の前、淡いピンク色の窓外を眺めつつ夕食。朝カ−テンを開けると雲海何も見えない…なんと朝食の間に快晴雲一つなしこの雲海がお天気を左右するみたいですね。再度訪れることができたのは幸せ。