【Hokkaido Trip – Day 9-10 · Final】Shiraoi & Kai Poroto | The Best Hotel I’ve Ever Stayed In, Black Hot Springs, Lakeside Onsen & the Perfect Send-Off

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Ten days in Hokkaido, and we saved the best for last. The final stop was Shiraoi — a small town on Hokkaido’s southern coast that punches far above its size in terms of culture, food, and hospitality. And at its heart: Kai Poroto, the hotel that may have permanently ruined all other hotels for me.

From Lake Shikotsu to Shiraoi

After one final extraordinary breakfast buffet at Mizunouta, we checked out and retraced part of the previous day’s route toward Shiraoi. I had three specific reasons for wanting to come here.

First: Shiraoi is home to Upopoy, Japan’s National Ainu Museum — a place I’d wanted to visit to learn about Hokkaido’s indigenous Ainu culture and history. Second: Shiraoi reportedly has the only black-water hot spring in Hokkaido, and I was determined to experience it. Third: I’d stumbled across a video of Kai Poroto on YouTube some time ago — a hotel sitting right on the edge of Lake Porot — and thought, “I have to go there.” And here we were.

Lunch: Amano Family Farm Yakiniku

Before checking in, we stopped for lunch at Amano Family Farm — a yakiniku restaurant in Shiraoi serving beef from their own farm.

It was outstanding. Kalbi (short rib) and tongue, both with that unmistakable quality that tells you the animal was raised well and the meat was cut to order. After days of seafood, eating exceptional beef felt like a revelation all over again. The best yakiniku I had in Hokkaido, without question.

Restaurant	Amano Family Farm (天野ファミリーファーム)
Area	Shiraoi Town
Must-order	Kalbi (short rib), tongue
Note	Please confirm opening hours and closing days before visiting

Coffee Break: Coffee & Whisky Kaiser

With some time before check-in, we found Coffee & Whisky Kaiser in town — a stylish café-bar with serious coffee credentials and, as the name suggests, an impressive whisky collection.

The coffee was excellent: carefully sourced, carefully made. The kind of place that would be popular in any city but somehow feels even more special tucked away in a small Hokkaido town. I’ll be back for the whisky side of things next time.

Name	Coffee & Whisky Kaiser
Area	Shiraoi Town
Style	Specialty coffee café & whisky bar
Note	Please confirm opening hours before visiting

Kai Poroto: The Best Hotel I Have Ever Stayed In

Check-in. From the moment I stepped into the lobby, I knew this was different.

The design draws from Ainu art and natural materials — geometric patterns, warm wood tones, deliberate calm. It doesn’t feel like a generic luxury hotel. It feels like a place that belongs specifically here. And through the windows: Lake Porot, still and silver.

The room was beautiful. Floor-to-ceiling views of the lake. Clean, considered design. And its own private black-water hot spring bath — a moor spring, dark with plant-derived minerals, silky on the skin, and wonderfully warming. I had barely put down my bags before I was in it.

Trip Ranking	★ #1 Hotel of the Entire Trip
Room	Lake view + private black moor spring (in-room)
Outdoor Bath	Eye-level with the lake — the sensation of floating in it
Dinner	Kaiseki (Japanese multi-course) — refined, beautiful
Breakfast	Kaiseki — equally memorable
Verdict	The best hotel I have ever stayed in

The Outdoor Bath: Floating on the Lake

The communal outdoor bath is one of those experiences that’s hard to put into words without sounding like you’re exaggerating.

The water level of the rotenburo is set exactly at lake height. Sitting in the bath, your eyes are level with the surface of Lake Porot — the boundary between water and water disappears. You feel, genuinely, as if you are floating in the middle of the lake. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

I used the outdoor bath that evening, again the next morning, and the in-room spring multiple times in between. I only left the water when food arrived.

Dinner & Breakfast: Kaiseki

Dinner was a kaiseki course: multiple small dishes, each showcasing a different ingredient, technique, or Hokkaido product. Restrained, precise, deeply satisfying. The kind of meal where each course makes you appreciate the one before it more.

Breakfast was the same format — elegant, unhurried, delicious. The kind of breakfast that makes checking out feel genuinely difficult.

Hotel	Kai Poroto by Hoshino Resorts
Area	Shiraoi, lakeside on Lake Porot
Hot Spring	Hokkaido’s only moor spring (black water, plant-derived minerals)
Rates & Availability	Check on Hoshino Resorts official website or Expedia

Upopoy: Closed (Of Course)

Here’s the one disappointment of the trip — and it was entirely my own fault for not checking more carefully.

Upopoy, the National Ainu Museum, was closed. I knew it was closed on Mondays. What I hadn’t accounted for was that when a Monday falls on a public holiday, the closure shifts to the following Tuesday. It was a Tuesday. Golden Week. You can guess the rest.

I’m genuinely disappointed not to have seen it — but as consolations go, “I have a reason to come back to one of Japan’s most beautiful hotels” isn’t the worst outcome.

Facility	Upopoy — National Ainu Museum & Cultural Park
Regular Closure	Mondays (and Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday)
Important	Always check the official website for opening days before visiting — especially during Golden Week and national holidays

The Perfect Send-Off: Uemura Farm TKG

After checking out, one final meal: Uemura Farm, just minutes from the hotel, known for all-you-can-eat fresh raw eggs served with rice — tamago kake gohan, or TKG.

It sounds simple. It is simple. That’s the point. Farm-fresh eggs, straight from the source, cracked over warm rice with a splash of soy sauce. The yolks were a deep, vivid orange — the color alone tells you these aren’t supermarket eggs. Rich, creamy, clean. The best TKG I’ve ever had.

Ending a ten-day Hokkaido food journey with a bowl of egg on rice felt perfectly right, somehow. No fanfare. Just extraordinary ingredients, simply prepared.

Name	Uemura Farm
Area	Shiraoi (near Kai Poroto)
Must-try	All-you-can-eat TKG (tamago kake gohan — egg on rice)
Note	Please confirm opening hours before visiting

Day 10: New Chitose Airport & Car Return

With plenty of time to spare, we drove to New Chitose Airport to return the rental car. The process was remarkably smooth — minimal waiting, efficient staff, straightforward paperwork.

From the rental car return area, a shuttle bus takes you to the terminal in around 5 to 10 minutes. That said, I’d still recommend building in at least 2 to 3 hours before your flight, especially during Golden Week or other busy periods — airport queues during Japanese public holidays can be substantial.

Car Return	Very smooth — minimal waiting time
To Terminal	Shuttle bus from return area, approx. 5–10 minutes
Recommendation	Allow 2–3 hours before your flight. More during busy periods.

Trip Highlights: The Full Rankings

Category	Ranking	Detail
🥇 Hotel #1	Kai Poroto (Shiraoi)	Black onsen, lake-level outdoor bath, kaiseki — the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in
🥈 Hotel #2	Mizunouta (Lake Shikotsu)	Private in-room spring + the #1 meal of the trip
🍽️ Best Meal	Italian buffet at Mizunouta	One of the greatest buffets I’ve ever eaten
🦔 Best Uni-don	Ajidokoro Takeda (Otaru)	The clear winner across 5 days of uni
♨️ Best Onsen Experience	Kai Poroto outdoor bath	Eye-level with the lake. Unforgettable.
🍦 Best Soft Serve	Yamanaka Farm (Otaru)	The best of the trip, no contest
😢 One Regret	Upopoy Museum (Shiraoi)	Closed for substitute holiday. Next time, definitely.

Day 9–10 Sample Itinerary

Time	Activity
Day 9 Morning	Final breakfast buffet at Mizunouta → check out
Day 9 Lunch	Yakiniku at Amano Family Farm (Shiraoi)
Day 9 Afternoon	Coffee at Coffee & Whisky Kaiser
Day 9 Afternoon	Check in to Kai Poroto → in-room black spring
Day 9 Evening	Lakeside outdoor rotenburo
Day 9 Night	Kaiseki dinner course
Day 10 Morning	Kaiseki breakfast course
Day 10 Morning	In-room onsen until check-out
Day 10 Lunch	TKG (egg on rice) at Uemura Farm
Day 10 Afternoon	Drive to New Chitose Airport, return rental car
Day 10 Afternoon	Shuttle bus to terminal → fly home

Final Thoughts: Ten Days Was Not Enough

Ten days in Hokkaido, and I came home knowing I’d barely scratched the surface.

The seafood in Otaru. The volcanic drama of Showa Shinzan. The white sulfur waters of Noboribetsu. The Italian buffet at Lake Shikotsu. The black spring and the lake-view bath at Kai Poroto. And everywhere, the sense that the ingredients — the fish, the beef, the dairy, the produce — are simply better here.

I still haven’t been to Upopoy. I still haven’t stayed overnight in Noboribetsu. I haven’t seen Lake Toya or Lake Shikotsu on a clear day. The list of reasons to go back is longer now than when I arrived.

I hope this travel diary has been useful for planning your own Hokkaido trip. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments. And if you make it to Kai Poroto — I hope the outdoor bath is as extraordinary for you as it was for me.

Thank you for reading. Until the next trip.