Jozankei Onsen

Jozankei Onsen is a snowy onsen resort village near Sapporo that could be used as a base to visit various ski resorts. Jōzankei Onsen has a collection of ryokan and hotels that sit either side of the Toyohira River, and they all feature onsen baths, lovely Japanese cuisine, and many have traditional tatami rooms so you can fully get into the Japanese experience.

It’s not as cute as some onsen towns because it’s rather developed and some of the hotels are monstrous sized, yet there are also parts of town that are very attractive and have traditional Japanese architecture.

Where is Jozankei Onsen?

Jozankei Onsen is 28km southwest of the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido, and 43km southeast of Otaru.

Ski Resorts Near Jozankei Onsen

Ski areas near Jozankei Onsen include:

• Sapporo Kokusai is 29km to the northwest, a drive that takes about 20 to 25 minutes. This is a good pick for powder hounds. There are buses from Jozankei Onsen to Kokusai, although they arrive a little late if it’s a powder day.
• Fu’s Snow Resort is 11km to the east and is a little ski resort with a small amount of sidecountry.
• Sapporo Moiwayama Ski Resort is 21km northeast.
• Sapporo Bankei is 25km to the northeast.
• Asarigawa is 34km to the northwest (40 minute drive). This low elevation ski area can be ideal for stormy days when the larger resorts may have lifts on windhold.
• Nakayamatoge Ski Field is 20km southwest. This little ski area is usually only open in November or early December and April.
• Sapporo Teine is 47km to the north (1 hour drive). This is another good pick for powder hounds.
• Rusutsu is 49km southwest. This is a major destination resort.
• Kiroro Resort is 60km northwest (1:10 hour drive) and is also a key destination resort.

You can see the map of the ski resorts in the area via the icon at the top of this page.

Getting To Jozankei Onsen

There are hourly buses from the Sapporo Station bus terminal to Jozankei Onsen that take about 75 minutes, or there are buses from Makmanai train station.

Having a rental car will be beneficial to give you flexibility to get to a few different ski resorts, and to get there in time for first lifts.

Jozankei Onsen Hotels

The little onsen town has some big resort hotels as well as more traditional Japanese ryokan. Most of the hotels and inns have indoor and outdoor onsens.

If you want to treat yourself, you can stay at the Jozankei Daiichi Hotel Suizantei. We’ve stayed there in a spacious tatami room and enjoyed the different onsen baths, and the fantastic multi-course meals. This ryokan is one of the stops for the bus to Sapporo Kokusai. The other bus stop in the village is near Hana Momiji.

Jozankei Onsen Hotel Listings

Activities

Various ryokan and hotels offer day visitors entrance to their onsen baths for a fee. Fees range from inexpensive to ouch worthy, such as the Jozankei View Hotel Annex with its great view, or the Tsuruga Resort Spa with its lovely outdoor bath. Or you can use the foot baths around town for free!

Jozankei Shrine is located at the entrance to the onsen town, and is a scenic spot to wander around. In late January to early February, the Yukitouro/ Snow Candle Way event takes place where the paths are lit by a couple of thousand candle lanterns.

There are a few souvenir shops in town that sell some classic tourist wares.