Chimikepp Hotel

“Gourmet dining in fairytale forest”

We stumbled upon this tiny hotel when our plans to stay in Shiretoko for two nights changed. How lucky we were! It is similar to a fine Japanese ryokan, but it has a blended Japanese and western style. We opted for a Japanese style room and were given a spacious suite on the first floor over loo… more

We stumbled upon this tiny hotel when our plans to stay in Shiretoko for two nights changed. How lucky we were! It is similar to a fine Japanese ryokan, but it has a blended Japanese and western style. We opted for a Japanese style room and were given a spacious suite on the first floor over looking the lake. There was a large genkan, a bath suite with a modern furo, separate toilet and basin areas and a large tatami room with a sitting area over looking the lake. The windows could be opened to let in the cool night air. The meal was French in style and served in the dining area. It consisted of many small courses featuring local and imported ingredients. We were served Saroma scallops and Tsubetsu beef as well as a foix gras course. The meal was prepared by an ambitious young chef who has trained in France, Switzerland and the U.S.. He previously had worked at Benu in San Francisco's Soma district. Several of the courses included dishes that had been frozen with nitrogen which created intriguing textures and flavors. The morning meal was a traditional Japanese one, but it appeared that you could also request western food, as one Japanese gentleman was served eggs and breads. The small staff was professional and very friendly. The woman who helped serve dinner took great pains to describe each course and explain as well as she could to us in our limited Japanese and her limited English. However, delicious food doesn't need too much explanation. It appeared that you could rent canoes and other recreational equipment. We went on a short walk and discovered a forest track starting just across the gravel road and meandering through the trees. It was well marked and had signs with the names of different trees in katakana. This place is expensive, but on par with a similar experience in a top ryokan.

less