Kushiro and Lake Akan Accommodation Overview: How to Choose Between Two Stay Areas 70 km Apart
The single most important point first: central Kushiro and Akan Onsen are not the same place to stay. They are about 70 km apart, a 1.5-hour drive over mountain roads, with no rail link and only a limited route bus service. Choose the wrong area and you add a whole extra round trip the next day.
Central Kushirosuits itineraries built around the Kushiro Marsh, Washo Market and robatayaki. Business hotels cluster around JR Kushiro Station and Kita-dori; you can board the Senmo Main Line to the marsh straight from the station, and walk to the harbor for seafood in the evening, with full conveniences and fair prices. If you want to ride the SL Winter Marsh train or the Norokko train, staying here is almost a given.
Akan Onsenruns on a completely different logic: the stay itself is the itinerary. Hot spring inns mostly offer one night with two meals, so after soaking you eat in the inn, and the next morning you take the sightseeing boat to see marimo and walk the mud volcano trail. Note that the Kushiro Marsh lies due north of central Kushiro and Lake Akan to the northwest, two routes in different directions, so staying at Akan is not on the way to the marsh.
Three core tips for choosing: first, decide whether tomorrow’s main plan is the marsh or Lake Akan, then pick the area; second, if you are not driving, the only way from Kushiro to Lake Akan is the Akan Line of Akan Bus (the inns have no shuttle departing from Kushiro); third, the high season in eastern Hokkaido is concentrated in summer and the autumn foliage period, and in winter Lake Akan also gets popular during the ice activities, so book early.
The prices below are actual off-season quotes at the time of checking; real amounts vary widely by date and plan, so please follow what each booking platform shows on the day. Also, from April 2026, accommodation in eastern Hokkaido carries an extra lodging tax: ¥200 per person per night in Kushiro City, plus the Hokkaido tax (¥100 under ¥20,000, ¥200 for ¥20,000-50,000, ¥500 for ¥50,000 and above), adding roughly ¥600-800 for two people for one night, usually collected on site.
| Hotel | Price level | Best for | Distance to main station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dormy Inn PREMIUM Kushiro (formerly La Vista Kushirogawa) | Mid-range | Those who want a hot spring bath and seafood breakfast | About 9 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Route Inn Kushiro Ekimae | Mid-range | Drivers and business travelers | About 2 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Comfort Hotel Kushiro | Budget | Budget-minded and solo travelers | About 2 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Super Hotel Kushiro Ekimae | Budget | Those who want a natural hot spring on a budget | About 1 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Kushiro Prince Hotel | Upper mid-range | Those who want Pacific Ocean sunsets | About 10 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Kushiro Century Castle Hotel | Mid-range | Those who want to stay beside Nusamai Bridge for the sunset | About 15 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| ANA Crowne Plaza Kushiro | Upper mid-range | Those who want full hotel service | About 15 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Toyoko Inn Kushiro Juji-gai | Budget | Chain business hotel fans | About 7 min walk from JR Kushiro Station |
| Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga | High-end | Those who want to try many kinds of baths | In the Akan Onsen town |
| Akan Lake Tsuruga Wings | Upper mid-range | Families and buffet lovers | In the Akan Onsen town |
| Akan Tsuruga Bessho Hinanoza | Luxury | Those who want a private bath in the room | In the Akan Onsen town |
| THE FOREST Akan TSURUGA RESORT (formerly Hanayuuka) | Mid-range | Those who want a lake-side room while keeping to a budget | In the Akan Onsen town |
| New Akan Hotel | Mid-range | Those who want a rooftop view hot spring | In the Akan Onsen town |
| Hotel Gozensui | Mid-range | Lake view and traditional inn lovers | In the Akan Onsen town |
| Onsen Minshuku Yamaguchi | Budget | Those who want a small family-run guesthouse | In the Akan Onsen town |
Hotels Near JR Kushiro Station: 4 Picks Most Convenient for the Marsh Train
This group is all within walking distance of JR Kushiro Station. What they share is that you can connect to the Senmo Main Line and Akan Bus right from the station, suiting itineraries built around the Kushiro Marsh.
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Dormy Inn PREMIUM Kushiro (formerly La Vista Kushirogawa)
A hotel right beside the Kushiro River, originally La Vista Kushirogawa and now renamed “Tennen Onsen Nusamai no Yu Dormy Inn PREMIUM Kushiro.” The hot spring bath on the 13th floor overlooks Nusamai Bridge, and the seafood breakfast is the signature, but note that breakfast is charged separately at ¥3,000 per person, a different way of counting from the nearby station-front business hotels that include free breakfast.
- Rate: official list price about ¥16,500/room/night room-only; about ¥22,500/room/night with the seafood breakfast plan
- Access: about 9 minutes on foot from JR Kushiro Station, near the Kushiro River and Nusamai Bridge
- Highlights: 13th-floor hot spring bath (view of Nusamai Bridge), seafood breakfast (¥3,000 per person, charged separately), wood-toned interior design
- Best for: travelers who want a hot spring bath and are willing to pay extra for breakfast
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Route Inn Kushiro Ekimae
A chain business hotel on Kita-dori with a large public bath and parking. To be clear, the bath is an artificial hot spring, not a natural one.
- Rate: official list price about ¥11,800/room/night (breakfast included)
- Access: about 2 minutes on foot from JR Kushiro Station (about 110 meters)
- Highlights: artificial hot spring public bath (not a natural hot spring), free breakfast, parking, within walking range of the station
- Best for: drivers and business travelers
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Comfort Hotel Kushiro
A chain business hotel on Kita-dori, simple and practical with free breakfast. There is no public bath in the hotel, so those who want to soak should choose another.
- Rate: official list price early-bird plan with breakfast about ¥12,600/room/night
- Access: about 2 minutes on foot from JR Kushiro Station
- Highlights: free breakfast, simple rooms, station-front location, no public bath in the hotel
- Best for: budget-minded and solo travelers
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Super Hotel Kushiro Ekimae
Right inside the Kushiro Station bus terminal building, about one minute from JR Kushiro Station, the best station-front location of the group; and it has a real natural hot spring public bath, “Hakucho no Yu,” with water brought in from Kayanuma Onsen.
- Rate: official list price about ¥9,780/room/night (breakfast included)
- Access: about 1 minute on foot from JR Kushiro Station, right inside the Kushiro Station bus terminal building
- Highlights: natural hot spring public bath “Hakucho no Yu” (water from Kayanuma Onsen), free breakfast, self check-in, compact rooms
- Best for: solo travelers, backpackers, and those who want a natural hot spring on a budget
If you need to catch an early train or bus, staying here lets you sleep ten minutes longer.
Large Hotels in Central Kushiro: 4 Picks with Harbor Views and Nusamai Bridge Sunsets
This group is the larger hotels in central Kushiro, located toward the harbor and Nusamai Bridge area, suiting travelers who want a comfortable stay and a sunset view.
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Kushiro Prince Hotel
The tallest hotel in Kushiro with the most rooms (according to Seibu’s official wording). Rooms are divided only into sea side and city side, and the sunset you see is over the Pacific and the harbor, not the Kushiro River.
- Rate: room-only ¥12,560/room/night (sea-side sunset room on the 10th floor or above, 23.1 sq m, actual value checked on the Rakuten Travel vacancy calendar for 2026/11/24)
- Access: about 10 minutes on foot from JR Kushiro Station, near Kushiro Port and Nusamai Bridge
- Highlights: tallest in the city, most rooms, sea-side sunset rooms, on-site restaurant
- Best for: travelers who want Pacific sunsets
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Kushiro Century Castle Hotel
Right beside Nusamai Bridge and the Kushiro River; a few steps and you can stand on the bridge for the sunset.
Kushiro Century Castle Hotel
Comfortable stay: Kushiro Century Castle Hotel is in Kushiro and offers family rooms with sea views, with private bathrooms and modern room facilities. Every room has air conditioning, a work desk and free toiletries. Dining: A family-friendly restaurant serves Japanese and European dishes, with breakfast options including continental, buffet, a la carte and Asian-style. Guests can also relax in the lounge and bar. Facilities and services: The hotel offers free WiFi, a small supermarket and free private parking. Other services include a 24-hour front desk, daily housekeeping, bicycle rental and luggage storage. Excellent location: The hotel is 24 km from Kushiro Airport, close to Kushiro Port (1.7 km), the Kushiro Tourism and International Exchange Center (9 minutes on foot) and Kushiro Station (1.4 km). There is also a skating rink nearby.
Book on Booking›
- Rate: Early Bird 90 plan ¥16,600/room/night (breakfast included, King Double 23 sq m, actual value checked on the Rakuten Travel vacancy calendar for 2026/11/24)
- Access: about 15 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by taxi from JR Kushiro Station, right beside Nusamai Bridge and the Kushiro River
- Highlights: location beside Nusamai Bridge, free guest lounge on the 1st floor (red wine 15:00-23:00, chef’s Ezo deer curry 19:30-21:00), spacious rooms
- Best for: travelers who want to stay beside Nusamai Bridge for the sunset
Where to Stay in Kushiro: ANA Crowne Plaza Kushiro
One of the international chain hotels in Kushiro with the most complete service standards, still operated by IHG and not renamed.
ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Kushiro by IHG
The ANA Crowne Plaza Kushiro is next to Fisherman’s Wharf, just a 5-minute drive from JR Kushiro Station, and offers modern rooms with free wireless internet, LCD TV and private bathrooms. It has 3 restaurants. The air-conditioned rooms at ANA Kushiro are fairly spacious by Japanese standards, decorated mainly in cream and soft tones. All rooms have a fridge, satellite TV and toiletries. Some rooms have sea or river views. The Crowne Plaza is a 4-minute walk from the Bunkokan, and Lake Harutori and the Kushiro City Museum are each only a 10-minute drive from the hotel. The hotel front desk offers luggage storage and currency exchange 24 hours a day. Dry cleaning and laundry services are available for a fee. The Del Nord restaurant serves mainly pasta for lunch and Western specialties for dinner. Kushiro Sky Hotel provides breakfast. Room service is available from 11:30 to 20:30.
Book on Booking›
- Rate: official list price room-only ¥25,000 / with breakfast ¥31,600 (per room per night, the official listed price, not an actual transaction price), but it posts the same price every day in November, so this is a list price rather than a transaction price, and the IHG website or member rate is quite likely noticeably lower; be sure to compare both before booking
- Access: about 15 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by taxi from JR Kushiro Station, near Nusamai Bridge
- Highlights: international chain standards, four restaurants and one cafe (The Kushiro Sky French restaurant on the 18th floor, Teppanyaki Fuji, Del Nord and Cafe de Ash; there is no separate bar in the hotel), spacious rooms
- Best for: travelers who want full hotel service
Where to Stay in Kushiro: Toyoko Inn Kushiro Juji-gai
A chain business hotel at the Juji-gai intersection downtown, with affordable rates and free breakfast.
- Access: about 7 minutes on foot from JR Kushiro Station
- Highlights: free breakfast, standard chain business hotel rooms, downtown Juji-gai location, parking ¥500 per night
- Best for: budget-first chain business hotel fans
If budget comes first but you still want to stay in the downtown core, this one almost never disappoints.
Premium Inns at Akan Onsen: 3 Picks Where the Stay Is the Itinerary
This group is all in the Akan Onsen town, sharing one night with two meals and lake-view hot springs, suiting travelers who want the stay itself to be the main part of the trip. A reminder that this area is about 70 km from central Kushiro, a 1.5-hour drive.
Where to Stay at Lake Akan: Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga
A long-established large hot spring inn at Lake Akan with 3 public baths. The 1st-floor Hogaden alone advertises 7 types of baths, and the 8th floor has an observation bath, “Ama no Hara,” and the open-air sky bath “Tennyo no Yu.” The formerly independent “Akan Lake Tsuruga Wings” merged into the main building in April 2024 and is now the “Wings Building” within it, so when booking please look for the main building; note that the Wings Building’s baths are open only 15:00-24:00, and the “24-hour mutual use of both buildings” circulating online is out-of-date information.
- Rate: about ¥19,541 and up per person (one night with two meals, off-season quote)
- Access: in the Akan Onsen town, about 70 km from central Kushiro; if not driving, take the Akan Line of Akan Bus (Kushiro Station front → Kushiro Airport → Akan Onsen, about 120-135 minutes, about 4 buses a day)
- Highlights: 3 public baths (8th-floor observation bath “Ama no Hara” and open-air sky bath “Tennyo no Yu,” 1st-floor Hogaden with 7 types of baths, Wings Building bath 15:00-24:00), private bath “Hanatachibana no Yu,” bedrock bath for an extra ¥1,100
- Best for: travelers who want to try many kinds of baths in one go
Where to Stay at Lake Akan: Akan Tsuruga Bessho Hinanoza
The top-standard inn at Lake Akan, with all 25 rooms having their own open-air bath, plus a public bath “Ishimuro no Yu Gin no Shizuku” in the building; few rooms and a high density of service.
- Rate: cheapest room type about ¥53,482 per person (one night with two meals)
- Access: in the Akan Onsen town; driving or a reservation-only shuttle is recommended
- Highlights: in-room private bath, few rooms, private-room dinner, high service density
- Best for: couples and travelers who want privacy
Where to Stay at Lake Akan: THE FOREST Akan TSURUGA RESORT (formerly Akan no Mori Hotel Hanayuuka)
Formerly “Akan no Mori Hotel Hanayuuka,” now renamed “THE FOREST Akan TSURUGA RESORT.” The name has the word forest in it, but what the official side actually promotes is the lake, and rooms come in two types, [lake side] and [town side], so read carefully when booking.
- Rate: about ¥16,456 per person (one night with two meals, off-season quote)
- Access: in the Akan Onsen town; by car or by the Akan Line of Akan Bus
- Highlights: free-flowing source public bath “Hanashizuka” (with sauna; the official spa page lists only this one bath), [lake side] and [town side] room types, one-night-two-meals plans
- Best for: travelers who want a lake-side room while keeping to a budget
If you want a lake-side room without paying Tsuruga main-building prices, this one’s location is just right.
Mid-Range and Budget Stays at Akan Onsen: 3 Budget-Minded Picks
This group is also in the Akan Onsen town at friendlier prices, suiting travelers who want to stay in the hot spring area without spending too much.
Where to Stay at Lake Akan: New Akan Hotel
A large hotel in the middle of the onsen town whose signature is the rooftop view bath area. Two things first: the whole hotel is closed November 12-16, 2026 for electrical equipment renewal work, so you cannot book those days; and its hot spring uses added water and circulating filtration, not free-flowing source water.
- Rate: about ¥22,000-24,200 per person (one night with two meals)
- Access: in the middle of the Akan Onsen town; by car or by the Akan Line of Akan Bus
- Highlights: rooftop view hot spring (added water, circulating filtration, not free-flowing source), a variety of room types, central onsen-town location
- Best for: travelers who want a view hot spring and value for money
Where to Stay at Lake Akan: Hotel Gozensui
A traditional Japanese inn in the onsen town, with some rooms facing the lake, open all year. The notice on the official website, “2026 season business information 5/26-11/3,” refers to the period of the Kamuy Lumina light show, not the hotel’s operating dates, so do not misread it.
- Rate: 8-tatami Japanese room about ¥27,500 per person (one night with two meals)
- Access: in the Akan Onsen town; by car or by the Akan Line of Akan Bus
- Highlights: lake-side rooms, hot spring baths, traditional Japanese inn atmosphere, one-night-two-meals plans, open all year
- Best for: travelers who like a traditional inn atmosphere
Where to Stay at Lake Akan: Onsen Minshuku Yamaguchi
A small family-run guesthouse in the onsen town, with the lowest rates in this area. It does not sell one-night-two-meals plans, only room-only and with-breakfast; also, from October to March there is a ¥300 per person heating fee, and credit cards are not accepted on site, so remember to bring cash.
- Rate: room-only ¥15,000/room/night, with breakfast ¥17,400/room/night; no one-night-two-meals plan
- Access: in the Akan Onsen town; by car or by the Akan Line of Akan Bus
- Highlights: small hot spring bath, family-run, ¥300 per person heating fee from October to March, no credit cards accepted on site
- Best for: backpackers and travelers who want to save money in the onsen area
If you want to save money for the sightseeing boat and shows, this kind of guesthouse is the best choice.
Choosing Where to Stay in Kushiro and Lake Akan, with Booking Reminders
Accommodation logic in eastern Hokkaido is completely different from a big city, and choosing the area matters more than choosing the hotel. Please think through the following four things before you press the book button.
The Key Question: Decide Tomorrow’s Main Plan First
Central Kushiro and Akan Onsen are about 70 km apart, a 1.5-hour drive, and the Kushiro Marsh is due north while Lake Akan is to the northwest, two routes branching off from Kushiro. So before choosing where to stay, first decide what tomorrow’s main plan is.
If tomorrow you will visit the Kushiro Marsh, ride a sightseeing train or see the red-crowned cranes in Tsurui Village, stay in central Kushiro and board right from the station. If tomorrow you will take the Lake Akan sightseeing boat or see the Ainu traditional dance, stay right at Akan Onsen and save the three hours of round-trip driving. If you want to do both days, the most sensible approach is one night in each.
Getting to Lake Akan Without a Car: The Answer Is Akan Bus, Not an Inn Shuttle
The Tsuruga group has no shuttle bus from Kushiro, Kushiro Airport or Memanbetsu; its only shuttle runs toward Sapporo (Wattsu / Minami-Chitose / Otofuke), three round trips a week, reserved 5 days ahead, ¥3,500 one way for guests, and it ended on September 30, 2026.
To get from Kushiro to Lake Akan, take the Akan Line of Akan Bus: it departs from Kushiro Station front, stops at Kushiro Airport on the way and ends at Akan Onsen, about 120-135 minutes in all, about 4 buses a day. Services are few, so we suggest checking the timetable before planning your itinerary; actual services and fares follow Akan Bus announcements.
When to Book: Early for Summer, Autumn and Holidays
High season in eastern Hokkaido is concentrated in summer and the autumn foliage period, and Lake Akan also gets popular in winter during the ice activities and light experiences. Hot spring inns easily fill up in these periods, especially high-end inns with few rooms and small guesthouses.
We suggest booking at least one to two months ahead, and earlier for holiday periods. In the off-season, by contrast, rates drop noticeably, but you take on the risk of weather and suspended transport, and in winter both buses and trains may stop running in snowstorms.
