Smile Hotel Kushiro

Twelve floors above Kawakamicho, Smile Hotel Kushiro delivers a reliable business-traveller base in eastern Hokkaido's port city, where winter temperatures regularly drop below minus ten and the Kushiro Wetlands stretch out twenty minutes by car.

Rooms are compact but practical — carpeted, with private bathrooms fitted with bathtubs and bidets, plus desks and suit presses suited to corporate stays. The in-house restaurant handles breakfast; vending machines cover late-night drinks. A 24-hour front desk and key card access mean arrivals on late fishing-charter schedules are manageable.

The address on Kawakamicho puts guests within walking distance of Kushiro Fisherman's Wharf MOO and the city's izakaya strip along Kita-Odori. Parking is on-site — useful given that Kushiro's sights, including the crane observation centres at Tsurui, require a car.