Lake Shikotsu Tsuruga Resort Spa Mizu no Uta

This is a quality property to visit on way back from ski fields. Stayed in room with private onsen which was great to use early mornings or night. The public onsens which also includes outdoor areas are great size and also great facility to use. Room is large, well thought out, and great facilities like a ryokan Food here, both the buffet and kaiseki were exceptional. We enjoyed two kaiseki evening meals with dishes changing each night and well worth the experience (the quality meals are probably half the accommodation cost )The property has nice central lobby area you can relax in. Venue is short walk to lake.

What could be improved: Hard to fault anything

Dinner was delicious with high quality food and service. Breakfast buffet had a big variety to choose from. The onsen had many baths and the outdoor bath was beautiful and relaxing. It was a treat to choose desserts from the patisserie and our room had pudding in the fridge. The marsh mellow BBQ at night was fun for the kids.

What could be improved: The room did not have yukata or resort wear in children size. The staff said they would give us but did not follow through. The night time staff at the BBQ seemed tired and not very friendly to children.

Loved everything here. The dinner and breakfast is sublime. The quality of the food served at the buffet dinner and breakfast is good, and there is a wide variety and options available. They turn their desserts into artwork and that pleasing both visually and gastronomically. The onsen experience was good especially the outdoor ones.

In the resort, they give you white socks to walk around, and that is the testament on the cleanliness level as the socks are still white after a night's stay there. We enjoyed having drinks at the bar near the hearth at the lounge, and just chilled to the talented harpist playing her tunes.

Wished we could have stayed another night, but there aren't many activities around the area during winter.

What could be improved: Nothing.

The room and resort facilities were very well maintained. The variety of indoor and outdoor onsen with different temperature levels was very nice. The buffet was excellent. Our son has food allergies and the staff provided a daily print-out of the foods to avoid even though the buffet was clearly labeled. It was a very thoughtful gesture. We also tried the special lake fish and sake from the dinner and drink menu and it was excellent. There was also a live harp performance each night that we stayed, which was very relaxing. The resort staff also suggested many hiking and lake activities for our family to do when we asked for their opinion and recommendations. We highly recommend the resort for the food, ambiance, and high quality onsen facilities.

What could be improved: We loved our stay. If we had to make any suggestion, maybe provide drinking water in the room.