I had breakfast at a buffet. There was a self-service bowl corner, so I had a seafood bowl with salmon roe, squid, and shrimp (the picture shows that I put too much salmon roe, so the squid and shrimp are mostly hidden). There was also a corner where you could enjoy fruit sandwiches, and the sandwiches made with bananas and pineapples were delicious.

I tried dried Atka mackerel for the first time. It was delicious with a good amount of fat. Highly recommended! Atka mackerel: https://www.zukan-bouz.com/syu/%E3%83%88%E3%82%AF%E3%83%93%E3%83%AC

On the second night of my trip to Hokkaido, I stayed at the Noboribetsu Grand Hotel in Noboribetsu Onsen. Before arriving at the hotel, I took a walk through the Noboribetsu Jigokudani, and seeing the Jigokudani up close was quite impressive. After that, I checked into the hotel. I actually wanted to stay at the Daiichi Takimoteikan, but since it was a tour trip, I couldn't be too picky. This hotel was also very nice, and I had no complaints. After taking a break in my room, I explored the hot spring town and enjoyed the hotel's hot springs. I was surprised by the variety of hot springs available, with different sizes and water qualities. It was a bit challenging to try all of them, including the outdoor baths. And then, it was time for dinner. Both breakfast and dinner at this hotel were buffet-style, and since it was a large hotel, meal times were specified. When I arrived at the buffet venue 10 minutes before the designated time, there was already a line forming, but once the time came, the line started moving and I was able to enter the venue quickly. I was amazed by the size of the venue. There were several islands (where dishes were lined up) scattered around a spacious venue with high ceilings, and it was elegantly arranged. First, I secured a seat and headed to pick up some food. It was a spacious area where you had to walk around to get an overview. The first thing I noticed was the grill corner at the far end from the entrance. There, they had tempura, steak, and Chinese cuisine corners, and I could enjoy freshly fried and grilled dishes. In addition, there were dishes like Jigokunabe (Hell Hot Pot), grilled octopus, seafood, simmered dishes, beef stew, shrimp miso ramen, desserts, salads, and the list goes on. What left a lasting impression was the "Tokachi Raclette from Hanabatake Farm." When you ask for it, the cheese becomes creamy and is poured over vegetables and potatoes. It might have been my first time trying raclette. There were many customers, but since the venue was spacious, I didn't feel stressed about picking up food. The taste of the food was not bad, and of course, Hokkaido ingredients were used. Many dishes were cooked right in front of you, and overall, I was able to enjoy the food. Lunch was also served in the same manner. It was in the same venue, but the dishes were just as good as dinner. Although there was no unlimited ikura (salmon roe), there were dishes like DIY seafood bowls, bread, oden, salads, etc., which were comparable to those at Hakodate La Vista. Since I tend to overeat during trips, I decided to have a lighter breakfast (though still more than usual). The buffet venue, the spacious table seating, and the arrangement of dishes were relaxed, and I felt like I could enjoy my meal relatively slowly compared to the often bustling atmosphere of buffets. Thank you for the feast~.

I went with my eldest son, who is getting married in August. We decided to go on this trip together because once he gets married, he probably won't be able to travel with his mother to various places anymore. We both love saunas, so we chose to visit an intense sauna as our last trip. The hot springs were really good, and the sauna was amazing. The buffet had a wide variety of dishes and was even more delicious than we expected. The photos are from the first round of the evening buffet and the morning buffet. In the past, I could have had seconds at night and finished with a dessert platter, but as I've gotten older, I can't eat as much. At night, I had seconds without dessert. In the morning, I was already full after the first round. I still wanted to eat more, but I enjoyed the food. It was a fun trip with my son.

This was my second trip to Hokkaido this year. I had lunch at the airport and then took a train and a bus to the hotel. It only took 3 minutes from New Chitose Airport to Minami Chitose on the Rapid Airport train. Then, it was about 40 minutes on the Limited Express Hokuto to Noboribetsu Station. From there, a 15-minute bus ride took me to the hot spring town. The hotel where I stayed was right in front of Noboribetsu Onsen Station. The baths here were amazing. There was a sauna called the Demon Sauna (set at 110 degrees Celsius), which was hotter than usual and very nice. There were also other baths with great water quality, including outdoor baths with natural hot spring water. The meals, both dinner and breakfast, were buffet style with a good variety of tasty dishes. The best part was the room. I stayed in a Comfort Twin room which was 27 square meters in size. It was very clean, well-organized, and well-maintained, making me feel very comfortable. I paid a total of 22,876 yen for one night with two meals included for two people (plus an additional 4,000 yen worth of regional coupons). It was a very affordable and great deal.

On the first day of my business trip to Hokkaido, we had a banquet. As expected, Hokkaido did not disappoint. The sashimi, meat, seafood grill, and king crab were all delicious! The beef stew was especially amazing. And let's not forget about the Sapporo Classic beer! It was so good! We also had plenty of Hokkaido sake, which was also really good. I definitely drank too much.

I enjoyed a Japanese course meal filled with crab dishes. Everything was delicious, especially the hairy crab which allowed me to taste the essence of Hokkaido. Other dishes also included crab, such as appetizers, steamed dishes, sushi, and sashimi, all of which were incredibly tasty.

I wanted to try a little bit of a unique sauna experience over the weekend, so I went to this place. It was discounted through a travel support program. The room seemed to be on a slightly renovated floor, giving off a clean business hotel vibe. The buffet area seemed a bit outdated, maybe they couldn't renovate it. Popular items included steak and tempura. There were various options like sashimi. The sauna was on one side, with odd days being for women. I went in the morning. The temperature was high, and you had to wait for the auto-loyly session every hour. It was all about how long you could endure after spending a few minutes inside. The reclining chairs near the waterfall in the cold water bath were quite nice.

It was a day trip to enjoy the hot springs in Noboribetsu. We left Sapporo late, arriving in Noboribetsu after 6 pm. Three hotels had already passed their check-in times and turned us away. However, when we asked at the front desk, they kindly said, "Although the check-in time has passed, since you came all the way from Sapporo, we will allow you to stay if you can check out by 8 pm." What amazing service! Even though we had been turned away by other famous hotels, we were thrilled to be able to stay here. The hotel has three types of hot springs - sulfur spring, salt spring, and iron spring - each with a different feel and fragrance. The men's bath even had a waterfall. We didn't have time to use the sauna, but there was a sauna supervised by a professional sauna expert, Matsuo Oshima. After bathing, we bought a special treat called "Kuriyose" at the souvenir corner, which is a delicious Japanese confection with a chestnut inside. It was the perfect accompaniment to tea. Next time, we definitely want to stay overnight and experience the sauna as well. Thank you, Noboribetsu Grand Hotel!

I arrived at Noboribetsu in about an hour from Chitose. Due to the shortened business hours during the pandemic, I couldn't make it to the bear ranch and went straight to the hotel to check-in. The renovated rooms were clean and I could relax. Dinner was a buffet with a wide variety of dishes, including Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine. The service was polite. There were fun elements like cooking steaks in the open kitchen and cutting Baumkuchen from a whole piece right in front of you. I ate to my heart's content and was very satisfied.

On September 19, 2020, I revisited the Noboribetsu Grand Hotel, where I had visited several times for day trips to hot springs. I used the GoTo Travel discount and enjoyed a cheaper stay. The hot springs had baths with added heat, which was a bit disappointing. The food was okay. After dinner, my wife and I had a modest second round at the hotel's izakaya. We had a good time.

I stayed at Noboribetsu Grand Hotel for the second night of the Noboribetsu Onsen two-night stay. The hot spring water was as good as always, very effective for warming up. The room was spacious and easy to use, thanks to the renovation. We had our meals in a private room, where we enjoyed crab, abalone, and the rare Noboribetsu beef. The private setting was nice for a relaxed conversation. Overall, I think it offers good value for money.

It has been several years since I last visited this grand hotel. Upon entering, there was a thermography device for temperature checks, and masks were required inside. The elevator had a limit of 5 people to allow for social distancing. I had high expectations for the food, but the dining room was not crowded, so I was able to enjoy a leisurely bath. The evening banquet course had a variety of dishes, but unfortunately, none of them were particularly delicious. The breakfast buffet had a wide selection of items, but there were not many options for self-service, as the staff were serving most of the dishes. Many staff members were present. Unfortunately, I was unable to take photos, but the general consensus was that the food was not as tasty as expected. It is unclear when the quality of the food declined, but based on this experience, I will be looking for another place to dine.

I stayed at the Grand Hotel in Noboribetsu using the "Doto Min War" discount. Due to the influence of the coronavirus, dinner was served in a set menu and buffet style. The beef stew in the set menu was delicious with tender meat. The buffet offered tasty dishes like curry rice, raclette, and shumai. The desserts, such as pudding, were also delicious. Breakfast was not particularly impressive, but everything was tasty and satisfying.

I went to the Noboribetsu Grand Hotel that I had reserved. The hot spring, after a long time, was amazing. I soaked in the hot spring, ate whatever I wanted at the buffet in my room, relaxed, and then soaked in the hot spring again! This is my fourth time here this year, but no matter how many times I come, it's always good. I used the 30-liter gasoline ticket I received from the hotel to fill up with high-octane fuel on my way back. Thank you for everything.

Dinner and breakfast were both buffet style with a wide variety of delicious options. The hotel was clean and had a milky white outdoor hot spring bath, as well as 7-8 other types of baths, which was great. The room was spacious. About a 10-minute walk away was Jigokudani Hell Valley, where steam rises from the ground and hot water flows into the river. On the way there, I saw the red and blue demons, symbols of Noboribetsu Onsen. The blue demon greeted me at the hotel entrance, and the red demon welcomed me in the lobby.

This was my third time using this longstanding establishment, and I was lucky enough to get a discount coupon for reconstruction. I stayed overnight for the first time in 5 years. I'll skip the hot springs, but the dinner buffet had a wide variety of dishes - Japanese, Western, seafood, and all-you-can-eat crab. Everything was delicious. If you're looking for a reasonably priced buffet in Noboribetsu with a lot of options, I recommend this hotel.

We stayed here to enjoy the Roman baths with sulfur springs. There is a newly opened sweets workshop where they make Baumkuchen. The buffet was quite crowded, so we had to make reservations for two time slots. The venue was spacious, but popular stations like the steak corner were busy. One thing that stood out was putting salted cod roe on buttered baked potatoes, which was really delicious. The dumplings were unexpectedly tasty as well. There were a lot of Chinese guests, so I thought they wouldn't serve low-quality food like dumplings, but they were actually really good. The live-cooked steak was also delicious. There was sushi available, although I didn't try it myself. The Baumkuchen at the sweets workshop was a bit dry, which was disappointing. I didn't try the other desserts, so I can't comment on those. Overall, it was a good meal.

I stayed at the Noboribetsu Grand Hotel Shin-Kan, which was featured in the Michelin Guide for the first time. The room was spacious and modern, with a unique bath. The meals, both breakfast and dinner, were buffet style. You could select your favorite dishes on a square plate with dividers. The cut steak and freshly fried tempura were a must-try for dinner. They also had raclette cheese in the top right photo. For breakfast, the salted fish roe and cod roe, which are popular and also available for purchase, were delicious. I enjoyed them with an Asahi Extra Cold beer in the morning. It was impressive to have such a cold beer served and available to drink in the morning.

We went to the Grand Hotel in Noboribetsu Onsen for a workplace momiji viewing party. This place is famous for its beef stew and croissants at the breakfast buffet. The potato potage was also very delicious. Unfortunately, the crab was frozen and not very tasty, so I ended up eating it on top of the "mushroom kamameshi."