The Windsor Hotel Lake Toya is located in the far north of Japan, on the island of Hokkaido. This sleek and contemporary hotel, resembling a cruise ship, stands with a view of Mount Usu, overlooking Lake Toya with its gumdrop islands, the largest of which is Nakano-Shima. Upon our arrival at the resort, Henry and I requested hour-long massages that were immediately produced at the hotel’s spa, Bloom. The relaxing aromatherapy massages and tea sipped afterwards in a calm room overlooking the Pacific Ocean relieved the stress of our train trip from Sapporo. As we had already experienced, placing ourselves in the hands of The Windsor Hotel, luxurious care was the norm. The staff could not have been more thoughtful, the service more impeccable, or  the facility more sumptuous. Grand spaces throughout the hotel provided us with a sense of peace and contemporary elegance. Our beautiful room was situated in a corner of the building with windows facing both the lake and the sea. What seemed like a mile-long hallway with warming heaters and glass-wall views of the sea, paved our way on carpet underfoot to the Japanese soaking baths, sansen, or onsen of elegant design. The grounds of the hotel were created to attract the healthy and sporty, with a private golf course overlooking the lake and the Pacific Ocean. I was told that the golf course, when covered with snow, becomes a winter paradise suitable for skiing, once the snows arrived from Siberia, the first flurries already in the air upon our arrival. In search of adventure and exercise, Henry and I walked around the hotel’s grounds overlooking the lake, and eventually rode a gondola that delivered us half-way down the hillside toward the lake for lunch. The delightful ski chalet styled restaurant, La Locanda del Pittore, an Italian restaurant with a wood-burning oven for pizza, must surely be popular with the skiers in winter. This restaurant had a marvelous view of the lake as it reflected the last rays of in mid-afternoon autumnal sunlight. Lunch was so enjoyable that we repeated it the next day, just to hear the greeting of “Buon Giorno” coming from the adorable Japanese staff.  In the evenings, a variety of  restaurants, offering many styles of cuisine, fulfilled every craving. Our choices, usually Asian, included Vietnamese cuisine as well as the sushi bar, so much so that we opted for sushi and sashimi twice. In fact, our second evening at Sushi Wakuzen, Chef Tsushima, confessed he had come in on his day off, especially to prepare sushi for us! Everyday, breakfast was available in four different restaurants, though Cafe Z, for obvious reasons, was our daily choice. We were not surprised to learn that The Windsor Hotel and Spa, Lake Toya, would be the site of the next “Big 8” Conference, July 7, 8, and 9th, 2008.

For more information: www.windsor-hotels.co.jp

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1. Jourdan on a bluff overlooking Lake Toya. Nakano-Shima Island stands in the center of the lake. 2. View of the mountainous island of Hokkaido from the golf course of The Windsor Resort & Spa. 3. Henry on  a walk around the grounds of the resort. Center: View of the gondola that ferries guests to the mid-mountain restaurant,  and skiers up the mountain during the winter ski season.   Right Column: 1. View of The Windsor Resort & Spa as seen from the golf course on the Pacific Ocean side of the hotel.  2. View of the snow-capped Mount Usu, aka “Little Fuji Mountain”  as seen from the golf course of the resort. 3. View of the trees framing the private golf course at the resort.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                            BACK TO MAP PAGE