The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort

Lake front hotel

The Lake View Toya Nonokaze Resort works well as a base for the nearby Mount Usu crater trails, but the hotel stands out on its own too: lake views, a strong buffet, and an open-air onsen that's hard to beat. Combined, it's worth the slightly higher budget.

Imposing glass platforms run throughout the hotel, giving direct views of the volcanic caldera of Lake Toya, Nakajima Island, and Mount Yotei. Behind the hotel rises one of Japan's youngest active volcanoes, the stratovolcano of Mount Usu, which last erupted in 2000.

An infinity open-air onsen facing Mount Yotei

The hotel's main draw is the rotenburo on the top floor: a large open-air infinity bath that lines up almost perfectly with Mount Yotei across the lake. Timing a soak around sunset is worth planning for — the light on the water and the mountain's near-symmetrical cone make this one of the better onsen views we've had in Hokkaido.

A buffet that outshines most kaiseki dinners

Hotels usually mean a buffet dinner, while ryokans serve kaiseki, a multi-course meal brought to your table. At Nonokaze, the dinner buffet includes a sushi chef slicing fresh sashimi to order and a separate grill station turning out steak cooked properly to temperature, the kind of execution that's uncommon for a hotel buffet. The dessert table was just as well kept up, and breakfast the next morning offered an equally wide spread of hot and cold dishes.

No view downgrade, even in the standard rooms

At many resorts, booking the entry-level room means giving up the view. Not here: every room category, including the standard rooms, looks out over the lake. That removes the usual "should we upgrade" question that comes with booking.