Chalet Ivy Jozankei

A Private Hot Spring Behind Every Door

Chalet Ivy Jozankei opened in 2019 on the banks of the Toyohira River, in the Jozankei hot spring valley less than an hour from central Sapporo. Its twenty-six suites range from 67 to 137 square meters, and every one of them comes with its own observation-deck hot spring bath rather than access to a shared bathhouse down the hall. The five-floor building is designed to sit quietly inside its forested surroundings, and the lobby, called Yukimidai, opens onto wide windows framing the valley. The whole property is built around a simple idea: let guests experience Hokkaido's four seasons through sound and steam as much as through sight.

Why It Works

The hotel reads as a modern ryokan rather than a Western-style luxury box: tatami, shoji screens, and lightly finished wood sit alongside clean, unfussy design rather than maximalist decoration. It earned a place in Small Luxury Hotels of the World in October 2021, barely two years after opening, and it has a sister property in the Hirafu ski area with 78 rooms, a cocktail lounge, and its own Japanese restaurants. That combination, a serious small group rather than a single stand-alone inn, is why it made this list over other onsen properties with higher review counts but less consistent execution.

Why This Location

Jozankei Onsen takes its name from a nineteenth-century Buddhist monk, Jozan Miizumi, who discovered the springs while proselytizing in the area, then stayed to develop it, founding a temple and running a lodging house for bathers himself. The valley is still heavily forested, with two lakes nearby and the Mount Yuhi trailhead at the edge of town, and it feels remote even though Sapporo is under an hour away. Niseko is about eighty minutes by car, Otaru around an hour, and wineries in Yoichi, Niki, and around Lake Shikotsu make for easy day trips from the hotel.

Fast Facts

• Price: €€€€

• Vibe: a modern ryokan built around private onsen suites, quiet and design-led rather than resort-scale

• Rooms: 26 suites, 67 to 137 square meters

• Best For: travelers who want serious onsen culture paired with serious dining, not a budget hot-spring inn

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the private, naturally fed hot spring bath in every suite

• Dining: kaiseki restaurant ZUI led by a chef formerly of Kyoto's Nadaman and the Japanese embassy in Singapore, plus a teppanyaki counter

• Amenities: shared open-air hot spring bath, Spa Nikur with Ainu-inspired treatments, 24-hour gym, bar, restaurant, nearby ski access

• Attractions: the Jozankei Onsen valley and its trails, Mount Yuhi, day trips to Niseko and Otaru, wineries in Yoichi and Niki, Lake Shikotsu

Cooking That Could Stand on Its Own

Restaurant ZUI is led by chef Takuya Ito, previously head chef at Nadaman in Kyoto and a cook at the Japanese embassy residence in Singapore, and his kaiseki menus blend Hokkaido's seasonal ingredients with Western technique rather than staying strictly traditional. A separate teppanyaki counter handles grilled local seafood and meat for guests who want something more direct. Either way, the cooking is built to stand on its own rather than simply support the hot springs, which is unusual for a property this focused on bathing.

Named for a Monk Who Chose "Beautiful Spring"

When the Meiji government later required Jozan to take a surname, he chose Miizumi, meaning beautiful spring, and the valley he developed has carried that character ever since. Steam still rises visibly along the riverbank in winter, and a short walk up to the Mount Yuhi overlook gives a clear view of the hotels strung along the water below. It is a small, specific piece of local history that most guests at a design-forward hot spring hotel would otherwise never hear.