Lake Shikotsu Tsuruga Bessou Ao no Za

Hokkaido's all-inclusive lake retreat: 25 suites of 100㎡ or more, each with an open-air onsen bath, and drinks from champagne to craft gin included — book a high floor, because the view from the cheapest rooms takes in the road

Ao no Za opened in May 2019 as the flagship of the Tsuruga group's 'Za' series: just 25 suites, all facing Lake Shikotsu, every one at least 100㎡ with its own open-air onsen bath and an indoor jet bath. It runs all-inclusive — the minibar, room service from 14:00 to 23:00 (champagne, wine, whisky, craft gin, snacks and light meals), drinks with dinner and in the bar, siphon coffee and a late-night snack — and free culture activities such as indigo dyeing and tea ceremony. Japanese guests rate it 4.65 across 50 reviews on one leading site and 4.54 across 38 on another, scoring the baths and rooms highest; they love the top-floor Suite Sky Resort rooms with their heated sunrooms and lake panoramas, the slippery 'beauty' water, and the teppanyaki counter where you can order as much king crab and Furano wagyu as you like. The weaker points are consistent: food and especially breakfast score lowest, several reviewers found service uneven or staff inexperienced, dinners can run past three hours in windowless private rooms, a national road runs right in front of the hotel, and the in-room baths are recirculated and chlorinated rather than free-flowing. Expect from about ¥185,000 for two with dinner and breakfast in a low-floor suite; one blogger paid ¥210,346 for a top-floor room in February 2025.