Lake Toya – Gistihús

Andis Grikkland

Very friendly staff which made the stay worth it. They helped me with instructions on how to get to a specific place and held my luggage until I came back. The bed was very comfortable and the room was really nice! If only all hostels were like this!

Eelco Holland

Wonderful home with everything you need, full kitchen, view of the lake, lots of amenities, coffee, tea, etc! Tomihara-san is a great host and goes above and beyond to help.

Dyland Bandaríkin

Clean. Tastefully decorated - lots of lovely art. Very spacious for two. Much easier to find than others implied - Google maps was perfectly accurate. Not too far from Rusutsu for skiing or Lake toya. The lake view was decent as well, though we weren’t lucky enough to see the lake’s full glory due to the weather. The guest room is on the second floor; breakfast is served in the dining area on the first floor. There’s also a small elevator for moving luggage upstairs. Overall, hardware-wise it is hard to fault this place, especially at this price. What made us love this place more was the host lady. I think she embodies a lot of the things we enjoy in staying at a ryokan-type place - humble, loving, well-educated, and on top of all that, very knowledgeable about Japanese music and art. However, on lots of dimensions, she’s a standout and a personality we wish we had more time to connect with. We felt very fortunate to have booked this place. We would definitely come back next time we’re in the area.

cristina Kanada

Everything was perfect for us. However, upon talking to other people who were staying at the same location, we were shocked to find out that there was no air conditioning in their room. This made their stay extremely uncomfortable. We had air conditioning in our room. When I brought it up with management, they said that some rooms have it and some rooms don’t. It is then very important when you book to ask for a room With air conditioning, if that is important to you. 

Veronica Ástralía

The owner was absolutely lovely! The rooms were comfortable and we had everything we needed. The location was perfect for getting to the grand onsen, and wasn't far from several bus stops to get around Lake Toya. There is a coin laundry and a great sushi place next door. We were allowed to store our bags in the laundry on the day of check out, which helped up make the most of our last day. Would 110% stay here again

jennifer Ástralía

This is the only place we have stayed where there was an opportunity to put food leftovers into compost. It had everything we needed if we were better organised! The staff picked us up from nearby as we got lost!