Hakodate, Hokkaido (北海道函館市) – Kappo Ryokan Wakamatsu (割烹旅館 若松) – Yachiyo (特別室 八千代) room tour Nov. 02
So, we’re back at the northern island of Hokkaido, but on the southern section, um the main city is called Hakodate and not Hokkaido, I mean Saporo. This room is Yachio, which is the top room at Capoan Wakamatsu. Um I’ll call it Wakamatsu. Uh moving forward, it’s the uh it’s a famous luxury dioan in Hakodate, which is a major port city on the southern tip of Hokkaido. And um this is a historic Dan. This is the uh the Yachio room. And it’s actually a reproduction of a room that Emperor Showa stayed at during his time in the area. Yachio is a 90 square meter tokubetsu which is VIP room or executive room whatever you want to call it. Um it’s extremely Japanese. The entire dioan is that way. Um, and it’s in the So, this uh Dioan used to be called Capo Yunohana onen Wakamatu, which is the name of the Onsen area around here, but they changed the name to Capo Capo Wakamatu. Capo means um kind of like a Oberish or high-end cuisine um establishment because it is known for that. So we are re actually returning here for the first time in 19 and a half years due to the fond memories we have here especially the cuisine. So it’s it’s um you can see for yourself whether the accommodations uh fit the bill. Um so the room I’m in right here is a just a open wisitu or the tatami Japanese style room. This is where um if guests choose to sleep in futons, they can roll it out. Um and there’s also a western style bedroom as well. So if if it’s just the two of you, you can choose futon or bed. If you have more than two people, then some people will pass the time in a real bed, a western bed or a futon in the uh tatami room. So it’s taped tastefully but extremely um muted. but with uh high quality touches. You can see the quality of the wood. So this is 90 square meters. This uh dilcon actually uh was closed for 1 year and two months uh during COVID and there was uh speculation that it may never reopen again. Um much to our uh relief and delight they have uh reopened and uh again that’s I I believe that’s when they got their um amended name Kapoor Wakamatsu. Um aesthetically it’s not much different from what we remember although at the time we were in a lower category room than Yachio. So the hot springs are very uh renowned. But here, so this is uh what we’re looking here is the Tsugaru straight. It’s the uh straight between Hokkaido and um Almori, which is a northernmost uh prefixure in um the main island of Hongu, or the largest island, should I say. Um, so that there’s a Shimokita Peninsula. There’s other small areas of Alorti that you can see in the distance. So all rooms face the street and uh so you you get good room uh good views from there. So, another look back here to the uh Japanese style living room and the Japanese tatami room intended for people who sleep in futons. So coming around this way, there are two beds for your comfort if futons don’t cut the mustard. And then uh circling back over here, there’s the uh there’s a free mini bar, tea, water, all that stuff over here. And then this is the bathroom. So one thing about the onsen again it’s they do have their own source. This area is called Uno onen. However uh the rooms don’t have hot springs. They’re just hot water baths um from the tap. Um the the true onsen which is free flowing and uh straight from the source and without circulation that is uh reserved for the uh public or the communal bath not public communal bath for the paying guests. And then there’s also one uh private bath that guests can rent in 45minut increments. So when you check in, you want to uh uh express your preferences as soon as possible. So again, the technology and and the uh it’s not, you know, a super Aman style luxury. There’s just a single sink. It’s a little bit dated. Uh simple in that regard, but I find it to be tasteful and very Japanese. Uh again, in this area, there is there are not many high-end options. There’s not like a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons or even a Marriott. So, um if you want to enjoy good food and have an good view and onsen, this is your place. So we when we stayed here 19 and a half years ago, the uh food was phenomenal. Now obviously I’ve we’ve tried different variety of food including Japanese food over the years and so we’ve uh our pallet has become more sophisticated. It’ll be interesting to know whether uh this Donan has uh held up over time against our ever rising standards of uh high quality Japanese food. Now, Hakodate is known for awesome seafood. most of Japan is, but this place in particular because of the straight and and the different currents that collide here, uh various depths of the uh straight as well as the temperature um and the min minerals in this area leads to an abundance of plankton and other things that fish feed on. And so the quality of the fish is awesome, including the tuna. So, we look forward to our stay and and experiencing the cuisine. And we’re going to actually go have our uh Onsen Hot Springs bath, which we’ve reserved um in a bit. So, stay tuned. This is the Yachio executive room, 90 square meters at Capoan Wakamatsu. Hope you enjoyed.
A walkthrough of Special Room “Yachiyo” (特別室 八千代), the top category accommodation at Kappo Ryokan Wakamatsu (割烹旅館 若松), a luxury onsen ryokan located in Yunokawa, Hakodate, Hokkaido Prefecture (北海道函館市湯川町).
There are 3 rooms in the original (“Honkan” – 本館) building of Wakamatsu, with the 90m² Yachiyo being the pick of the bunch. Yachiyo is a reproduction of the large room where Emperor Showa (昭和天皇) stayed in Showa year 29 (1954). The original room is now where the Shinkan New Wing (新館) is located (the New Wing was built in 1994), but they moved over many of the items from the original room to the current Yachiyo suite.
AloJapan.com