[Access] About 45 minutes by car from Asahikawa airport
[Webpage] Asahidake Onsen Yumoto Yukoman-so
Ever since I started visiting Higashikawa-town – located at the foot of Mt. Asahidake, the highest mountain in Hokkaido -, Yumoto Yukoman-so in Asahidake Onsen has been one of my favorite places to stay, whether as an overnight stay or a day trip. The tepid water of the sulfate hot spring feels really good, and since I am used to coming here many times, I often fall asleep :). I always look forward to the dinner called “Yushoku-zen” when I stay there.
Most of the time I use Japanese-style rooms, but today I had a Western-style room. There is a twin room with Asahikawa furniture from Takumi-kobo, and this room is also decorated with woodwork from Higashikawa town. So it looks like the hotel is slowly being updated. Today, I couldn’t enter one of my favorite public bathhouse called “Kamigami-no-yu”, because it is currently under renovation. I really hope they will keep the original atmosphere.
At Yukoman-so, there’re “Kamigami-no-yu”, “Yukoman-no-yu” and “Shikoro-no-yu”, each of which has several different types of hot springs to enjoy. Personally, I particularly like the bicarbonate of soda spring (in the middle of the upper row in the photo) and the sulfate spring (not shown in the photo, but in the “Kamigami-no-yu” which is under renovation). Both of these springs are lukewarm, so they don’t put too much stimulus on the body, and you can really enjoy like forever. The sulfate spring bath in “Kamigami-no-yu” has a characteristic black bathtub with a rugged wooden surface, which also has a nice atmosphere.
The “eye drops spring” (upper left in the photo) and the “saline bitter spring” (in “Kamigami-no-yu”) are very beautiful when there is sunlight, because the hot water looks pale. It is a little strange that there is no white hot spring that smells of sulfur here, although Mt. Asahidake is raising sulfur-smelling fumes.
I’ve had “Yushoku-zen” many times. One of my favorites during the summer season is “Local Melon and Vichyssoise”. It is served as an appetizer, and it is as large as it looks. However, I can easily finish it since it’s just delicious. Another dish that makes me unconsciously happy every time is the white wine stewed ripe tomatoes, elegantly sweet and chilled to perfection. Even the pure white coffee jelly served for dessert is a familiar dish, but I really never get tired of it.
From Asahidake Onsen, you can take the ropeway up to the middle of Mt. Asahidake, and from there you can not only enjoy climbing Mt. Asahidake but also a light hiking course that takes about an hour to complete. Today, I had a little time before my flight back home and the weather was crystal clear with almost no clouds, so I took this hiking course. The scenery was truly spectacular, and there were many alpine plants in bloom, as well as small animals, including the occasional fox, and rare insects, making it easy to lose track of time.