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There are many hot springs in the Tohoku region that are said to be secret hot springs, but among them, Sugayu Onsen is famous for its large mixed baths. It was a hot spring I wanted to visit at least once. I also went to the Hiba Thousand Baths, which were smaller than I expected, but I was able to take a slow bath with only a few men in the mixed bath. Women can only bathe from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. and in the morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., so they won't dare to bathe in the mixed time. Also, the room was Room 333 in Building No.3, but it was treated like a business hotel with a toilet and a sink. The hotel was beautiful, and the hallways were so well maintained that they shone brightly. Even in terms of food, dinner was served slowly in a separate room, divided by room. Breakfast is buffet style, but it will be crowded, so you'll probably get a seat if you go as soon as it opens.
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Date of stay: July 2024
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed here on the fourth day of my 9-day, 8-night trip to Tohoku's hot springs. The main purpose was, of course, the Senninburo bath, but I was also attracted to the Sukayu Onsen Ryokan, located on a plateau on the way to Mt. Hakkoda, which is filled with the atmosphere of a hot spring resort. When I passed by here before, I was eager to stay there next time. The Senninburo is a mixed-gender bath, but there are times when it is only for women, and there is a partition so my husband and I could bathe together.
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:青森の冬は避けて、春のサクラ時期や秋の紅葉時期がやはり綺麗です。
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you are a hot spring lover,this is the place. Because of snowfall every day for 3 days, I could not go out for a walk.But I could enjoy taking two kinds of bath. One is a large mixed bath. The other is a male only bath. Both have good quality water. Food is full of varieties,both from mountains and the sea -traditional local Japanese cuisine and very healthy. Rooms are all Japanese style and toilet is outside the room.You cannot blame them for that because it is an old wooden buildig. Service is good. The staff,especially ladies serving food have good sense of humor. Some people say it can be overcrowded.So avoid New Year, Golden Week and August Obon holidays. You can enjoy hiking in warm seasons and ski in winter. It will provide a unique experience.
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Date of stay: March 2012
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Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:Talk to the reception first. There are two kinds of plans. One for tourists. Another for long...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed in a 8 tatami room on the first floor of the Touji room. They must have forgotten to clean the room, as the floor was covered in hair, and there was a sticky substance on the tatami mats that looked like dumpling sauce that I stepped on without realizing it. The walls of the room were dirty, the windows were covered in mold, and the room smelled very much like cigarettes. The bath towels smell like cigarettes. It was well-maintained the last time I came, but this time it was terrible. I stayed for three nights and it was painful. The hot water was very good, but the changing room was very dirty. It was not cleaned properly despite the large number of people coming and going. It was really dirty. The food was not bad, but it was worse than last time. 13,000 yen per night for this content is a rip-off. The content and the price do not match at all. Why should customers have to clean their rooms? Please train your employees properly and improve. I will not be using this facility for a while. Please give me half my money back.
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Date of stay: September 2023
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Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:汚かったら直ぐに宿に伝えましょう。
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Overnight stay in January 2014 -- just driving there was a blast, because snow was neatly piled over six feet high on the roadsides. Thank goodness for the Google maps app on my iPhone! As an early arrival, I was directed to a mat-covered day room to bide time until check-in. The hotel staff was friendly, conveying the necessary info via gestures and good-enough English about baths, meal times, heater operations, etc. My room was the traditional tatami setup as expected. The steamy onsen was fun and memorable for its great character. Dinner was brought to the room and was very good, and the dining hall breakfast was OK. All visitors to Japan should experience at least one traditional ryokan onsen, and Sukayu is a fine exemplar.
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Date of stay: January 2014Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I recently enjoyed three days at Sukayu Onsen, Aomori Pref., May 2013, so early Spring, and found it a wonderful place. The ryokan is about 300 years old and the sulphurous baths are antique, all wooden and authentic. Access is easy, by bus on which you can use your JR Pass, from Aomori Station or the Aomori Shinkansen station. We arrived there after spending a couple of days further north, at the tip of Aomori, on the Shimokita Peninsula, a sacred Buddhist site beside a crater lake. There was still a lot of snow around Sukayu Onsen, and on Hokkoda-san volcano nearby. But that didn't stop us, there is a scenic bus service that takes you over the mountains to Lake Towada, that, again you can use your JR Pass on. We spent a day hiking the beautful Oirase Valley, surrounded by Spring flowers and much new green growth in the forest, with the river and waterfalls gushing with snow melt that had caused Towadako to overflow, i.e., we walked southward, upstream to Towado crater lake, then caught the bus back to Sukayu. Another day we took a boat across Towada Lake. Sukayu is a special place, and we received much kindness from our host Taro-san, who speaks English. Dinner each evening were traditional ryokan spreads served in our tatami room, featuring much seafood, probably sourced from Aomori Bay. We recommend this unique experience, and hopefully next time we can return in the summer or autumn when we can perhaps climb the surrounding volcanoes.
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Date of stay: May 2013
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:The rooms are 300 years old, spacious and traditional tatami mat rooms with futons, but do not...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The ryokan room has seen better days. But make no mistake that it's very clean. Just that furnishing and parts of fixtures are worn out. After all this place has a long history. The big bath onsen is mixed with exception of women only at 8-9am and 8-9pm. However there is a separate smaller onsen separated. All onsen are indoor type. Dinner and breakfast portion and selection were not as wide as those we've visited at Nyuto Onsen area (disclaimer: this is only our 2nd onsen ryokan visit).
Arriving in winter can be a hassle as last bus departs train around noon. We Took a cab which came up to JPY8200 for the 60mins journey. Hotel provides a shuttle bus back to train station after checkout.
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Date of stay: December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Located few minutes away from Hakkoda Ropeway, this large historic ryokan is a guaranteed experience to Japan in its purest traditional element.
Each room is a tatami room where doors are sliding and where slippers must be removed before going in. There is no bed and guests have to install their futon by themselves to sleep on the floor. The room is equipped with a tiny TV and a safe. There are green tea leaves, cups, and a hot water pot that is changed everyday. The water stays hot until at least the next morning. Toiletries consist of a towel, a small towel (that I saw people bringing inside the onsen), a bathrobe, a toothbrush and a razor. They are changed everyday.
The room is cold in the winter, especially the floor. I recommend to bringing extra thick socks. I was also wearing my beanie at night. There is a gas heater in each room; it is efficient but temperature was dropping quickly once turned off.
There is neither toilet nor sink nor shower in the room. Toilets and sinks are located on each floor. They are not new, but they are clean. They are separated by gender. Disposable sanitary papers are offered to cover the toilet seat.
Shower is possible in the 2 onsens : The first onsen is huge and mixed gender. The water is very hot and white colored. Men and women are bathing in the same area, but it is large enough to not see the opposite sex. The room is quite dark and there is steam in the air. You know that there is a person, but cannot see the “details”. Two hours are reserved strictly for women every day at 8:00 AM & 8:00 PM. It is not possible to use soap in this onsen; you can only rinse your body.
For real washing, there is a second onsen that is separated by gender. It is a lot smaller and the water is not as hot. The problem is that both onsens are located at different places. So if you want to use both, you need to dry yourself and get dressed to switch before undressing again.
The evening meal is fantastic with a lot of variety and several Japanese delicacies. If you don’t like something, there is no problem since there are many other plates to eat. Service is impeccable. I personally found the traditional music annoying, but it is part of the experience. I suspect that the ryokan has different price grades because the number of guests during the evening meal was very limited compared to breakfast.
The breakfast is a buffet and is served quite early in the morning. There is a lot of choice and the apple juice, speciality of the region, is delicious.
The building is made of wood and is very old; it adds to the atmosphere of the ryokan. There are vending machines for drinks and there is a souvenir shop for snacks. Wi-fi is strong at the lobby, but I could barely receive a signal in my room that was on 3rd floor. There is also a kiosk for backcountry guided tours. As anywhere else in Japan, service is courteous and ultra polite.
A free shuttle goes daily to Hakkoda Ropeway at 8:20 AM, with return at 12:40 PM & 4:00 PM.
If you are ready to go off the beaten track, Sukayu Onsen Ryokan will certainly bring you a unique experience. Like it or not, it needs to be tried ! It is also possible to visit the onsen during the day without staying overnight. In my case, I loved it and will surely be back next winter.
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Date of stay: January 2016
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Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed one night at Sukayu (after cabbing it from Aoni - also highly recommended). Before our stay, we did a 5 hour Hakkoda-san hike and we were sure ready to hit the onsen after that. (The hike by the way was probably the highlight of the whole trip, but very muddy towards Sukayu so watch out for that.) The big onsen is mixed gender, so be aware. It was definitely mostly men. We were told by friends to watch out for wani (gawkers) but I don't think we experienced any. The water was some of the best I've experienced. We went twice that evening.
Food was pretty good and service was good. Dinner was in the room but breakfast was a big buffet. Dinner was definitely better than breakfast.
Staff were nice but they deal with lots of people coming and going so the front desk does not have that personal touch.
Walls were paper thin so by 5:00 am we could hear a thunderous cavalcade of early risers tromping through the halls.
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Date of stay: October 2010
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This spa is fairly well-known for having a large mixed (male, female) spa. It was the busiest onsen I have been to. Many people coming and going most of the day. They have a new wing and old wing. New wing has a toilet and sink in the rooms, the old wing has a shared restroom. Either wing requires use of the spa for bath/shower. In addition to the big mixed spa, they also have separated facilities one for male and one for female, both using the same hot spring water (as the mixed bath). The hot spring water leaves your skin soft & silky. Now the inn seems to be under some construction but not sure if that is temporary or permanent. Breakfast was pretty meager mostly Japanese style (sausage, and toast but no eggs).
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Date of stay: August 2018
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Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Choose new wing for rooms with sink and toilet.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
"The rooms are 300 years old, spacious and traditional tatami mat rooms with futons, but do not have ensuites. However the charm of the place and fact that there are lovely onsen baths makes up for the lack of modern bathroom facilities. There are one or two other hotels in the Hakkoda region with more modern facilities, but then you'd be missing out on the truly unique and special experience of Sukayu Onsen."
Tokyo Prefecture, Japan284 contributions237 helpful votes
"Talk to the reception first. There are two kinds of plans. One for tourists. Another for long term stay for mainly taking hot spring. The latter is cheaper but the former has better views."
There are more places to choose from in the Aomori area.
PRICE RANGE
$126 - $254 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
JapanTohokuAomori PrefectureAomori
NUMBER OF ROOMS
52
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