I wanted to experience something that is a big thing in Japan - the minibreak at a huge onsen hotel in the mountains, and the Sounkyo Kankou fitted the bill perfectly. A nice big room, huge buffet restaurant offering excellent breakfast and dinner, and a laundromat which was very handy halfway through my holiday were among the good points. I was so glad I did a dinner + breakfast deal because, apart from one ramen restaurant, the only other places to eat in the village are the four or five other big hotels. The Kankou, incidentally, was just down the road from where I arrived on the the bus from Asahikawa, so if you are reliant on public transport you might face a stiff uphill walk with your luggage if you went to one or two of the other hotels. The ropeway is a short walk away, and the hiking opportunities are brilliant.

It might bother some people, arriving from Europe or North America, to be literally the only westerner in the entire hotel (and on my flight up from Tokyo) and I didn’t go to the onsen because I have on occasions been stared at in these big hot spring bathhouses if I have been there on my own. Onsens are a very social thing, anyway, so whatever your nationality, it works better to go with friends or family.

The staff of the hotel were amazing. We wanted to reconfigure our rooms, and Natalia at reception worked wonders to accommodate us, and very generously so. When I had trouble understanding the Japanese symbols on the television remote control, she came to the room and set it up for me, which I really appreciate being able to get news in English on NHK. The last day, I fell on a trail up on the mountain and cut my leg, and the receptionist on duty gave me antiseptics and bandages. This hotel is an amazingly good value at about 8,000 Japanese Yen per person per night, including a wonderful breakfast. And the outdoor owns and Hot Springs we're not only soothing but also beautiful.

Hard to think of anything that I did not like. But one one potential problem for Western Travelers is that the sign for the hotel is only in Japanese letters, and does not spell out k a n k o u in Roman alphabet, so we walked right by it at first.

Outside shared onsen was beautiful. Room was nice and the bed itself was comfy and cosy. Great location at the edge of the village.

The pillow was a bit strange and the duvet was quite short, but think it's just a traditional Japanese style thing - still slept fine. Air conditioning wasn't the best - struggled to cool the room down even on high fan. Breakfast buffet wasn't to our taste - quite poor quality in my opinion.

The large room with stunning mountain and river view! I didn’t want to leave. We also enjoyed the outdoor pool and played billiards. The staff were delightful and spoke English made it easier for us.

The buffet was adequate - hotels in the area host a large number of tourists which I can’t complain about since many people want to enjoy this beautiful part of the world.

LOVED the onsen! You could either use a private bath separated between men and woman or a mixed outdoor bath - swimsuits provided! The outdoor onsen is right next to the river so you can hear it nearby while bathing. The breakfast was buffet style with many options. Beds were very comfortable - and our room looked directly out into a mountainside where we saw deer grazing!

If you miss the dinner in the hotel, there are not many options nearby to grab something to eat. My friend and I just barely missed the hours, so we weren't able to sit down somewhere for dinner. Also, during check-in the staff do indeed copy your identification if you are foreign, so that is something to note if that bothers you.

Outdoor Onsen was well designed. It also had low, medium, and hot temperature bath. The room we stayed was spacious and clean. Breakfast was excellent with so many options including vegan menu. The view was good from our room. A staff saved our parking space with a cone when we went out. We were stunned by the service. Thank you

Having the reception at 5th floor was a bit confusing.

Really traditional ryokan hotel! Great breakfast included. Huge onsen! A bit more remote than other places on Hokkaido but still only 45min-1 hour from backcountry skiing. The Kurodake ropeway was closed for the slow season but if it was open there would have been skiing 10 min away!

No cold pool at the onsen.

Spacious and clean rooms. Onsite onsen which has indoor and mixed outdoor onsen. Back of hotel faces the river which has a nice scenic view and soothing sounds from gush of water

Dinner and breakfast buffet was so so. Many tour groups use this hotel so meal times are very crowded.

The hotel itself is obviously a bit dated, but our room was clean and had everything you need for a few nights. Breakfast buffet was excellent as long as you are not awaiting a western style buffet. All the japanese dishes were very tasty and there was plenty of choice. There were no big tour groups when we stayed there, so breakfast was also very relaxed. If you don't opt for the dinner plan be aware that (at least off season in March) there are no open restaurants for dinner near the hotel! Luckly there is a 7/11 and a Seicomart close by. The highlight of this hotel definitely is the amazing outdoor onsen. It's a mixed bath with swimwear (the swimwear is provided by the hotel), so perfect for couples or families that want to enjoy the onsen together. We had a very nice and relaxing stay, for a very reasonable price. Staff spoke very limited english, but we came along nicely.

The surrounding was beautiful and the price was cheap for such big room.

The corridor is smelly and the room is too hot. Fortunately we can open the window so that the air in the room is fresh and become not too hot. The onsen is great and huge, but the water in some pool is dirty