Jozankei Manseikaku Hotel Milione — the family resort where “the kids didn’t want to leave”
Picture this: the kids are having the time of their lives at the kid pool and arcade, the adults are soaking in an outdoor onsen at their own pace, and everyone comes together for a Hokkaido buffet dinner with 80 dishes — crab, sashimi and Wagyu BBQ unlimited. All of this for ¥18,000 per night including dinner and breakfast for two. That is exactly what Jozankei Manseikaku Hotel Milione delivers, which is why it has become Jozankei's top value pick for families who want a proper onsen holiday without compromise.
Jozankei Manseikaku Hotel Milione sits at Jozankei Onsen Higashi 3-chome in Minami-ku, Sapporo — about 70 minutes from Sapporo Station by Jotetsu Bus. Book directly with the hotel and you get a free shuttle from Sapporo Station at no extra charge. Jozankei is one of Hokkaido's most storied hot-spring resorts, set in nature with brilliant autumn foliage and snow-covered forests in winter. It is far enough from the city to feel like a genuine escape, yet close enough that the round-trip is easy to build around a broader Hokkaido trip.
"Families consistently say the same thing: the kids played all day without a single complaint, while the parents had the onsen completely to themselves. A place where everyone in the group gets what they want."
What makes Manseikaku Milione genuinely family-friendly rather than just claiming to be is the depth of facilities aimed at children. There is a shallow warm-water kid pool, a mini arcade game center, and a karaoke room — all free to use. Children are busy from morning to night, which means parents can actually relax in the onsen rather than chasing after them. The buffet dinner is built for all ages too: kids can load up on Hokkaido ice cream and sweets, while adults work through crab, sashimi, tempura, and Wagyu BBQ at will.
The onsen comes in both indoor and outdoor form. The outdoor rotenburo gives the full experience of bathing in the Hokkaido wilderness — particularly powerful during winter when the air is biting cold. There is also a mist sauna that many guests use after a long flight to ease jet lag and tired legs. With the onsen open 24 hours, there is no need to rush — a late-night soak at 10 or 11 pm, when the baths are quiet and the air is cool, is the kind of memory people bring home from Jozankei.
The dinner buffet is consistently the most-mentioned highlight in reviews. 80 dishes built around Hokkaido produce — zuwaigani crab, sashimi from local waters, tempura, Wagyu BBQ, and the region's famously rich ice cream, all you can eat. Combined with breakfast the next morning, the all-in ¥18,000 price is considered excellent value by anyone who has priced out alternatives in the area. You step out for dinner at your own resort, and you step out again for breakfast — there is no need to plan meals around the stay.
It is worth being straight about what this place is not. Manseikaku Milione is a large resort with 200-plus rooms, and the décor is classic resort style from the 1990s — it is not a minimalist boutique property or a contemporary ryokan with curated interiors. During the dinner service between 18:00 and 19:00, the dining room is busy and noisy with families and children. The onsen is shared public bathing, and very young children in a full public bath can sometimes be disruptive to quieter guests. If you arrive knowing this is a resort built around families, everything makes sense and represents outstanding value for what you pay.
A score of 8.7 from 3,320 combined reviews on Booking and Trip.com is not a fluke — it is the kind of consistent rating that only comes from guests who feel they got more than they paid for. Families travelling in groups of four or more get the most out of it: the family quad room works out to a per-person cost that would be hard to beat elsewhere in Jozankei. If you are planning an onsen trip to Hokkaido with family in mind, Manseikaku Milione belongs near the top of the shortlist.
The honest summary: if you are coming to Jozankei as a family with children and want onsen, children's activities, and a buffet dinner all under one roof at a price that does not require careful calculation, Manseikaku Milione handles it better than anything else in the area. Starting from ¥18,000 per night with dinner and breakfast included — finding another Jozankei resort that matches this package at this price is genuinely difficult.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Hokkaido buffet dinner 80 dishes included — no extra charge
- ✓ Kid pool + arcade + karaoke free — children entertained all day
- ✓ Free shuttle from Sapporo Station when booking direct
- ✓ Indoor + outdoor onsen open 24 hours, with mist sauna
- ! Large resort (200+ rooms) — dining hall is busy and noisy with children at peak hours
- ! Classic 1990s resort décor — not a contemporary or boutique design property
- ! Shared public onsen — young children can occasionally be disruptive to other bathers
- ✓ ¥18,000 including dinner + breakfast — best value among Jozankei resorts
- ✓ Sashimi, crab and Wagyu unlimited — guests are uniformly positive about the buffet
- ✓ Kid pool + karaoke means the whole family gets what they want in one place
- ✓ Free shuttle removes the stress of public bus logistics with luggage
- ! In-room bathrooms feel dated in some room types
- ! Buffet is good but not in the same league as a full kaiseki course
- ! Outdoor onsen paths can be cold and slippery in winter — watch your step
- 💡If you want a quiet, child-free ryokan atmosphere — this is a genuine family resort with plenty of children and noise around dinner time → consider Jozankei Daiichi Hotel Suizantei or Noboribetsu Sekisuitei for a calmer experience.
- 💡If kaiseki fine-dining matters most to you — the buffet here is very good but it is not a kaiseki full-course → choose a ryokan that focuses on multi-course kaiseki dinners instead.
- 💡If travelling with elderly guests who have mobility concerns — the resort is large (200+ rooms) with considerable walking between zones → check with the hotel about lift access and distance from rooms to onsen before booking.