The town of Oketo in Eastern Hokkaido’s Okhotsk Region completed building the five overnight rental trailer houses that were being constructed within the grounds of “Oketo Katsuyama Onsen Yuu-Yu”, the town’s only hot spring facility. The trailer houses will be available for overnight rental starting on October 1. The facilities will take reservations for October and November starting on September 10. This new tourism resource launch was prompted in part by outdoor activities growing in popularity out of the desire to avoid crowds in closed-in spaces amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and also in part by an expected continuation of the increase in families and individual travelers even after the pandemic subsides.

The trailer houses accommodate two people each. There are three Western style trailer houses and two Japanese style trailer houses. They all come with amenities including a shower, mini-kitchen, air-conditioning, and sofa. Campfire bases will also be installed.

There are already four cottages (for four and six people) with free-flowing natural hot spring baths on the Yuu-Yu premises. Renting for these cottages is going well, with operation rates from April to August of this year all exceeding their respective months from last year. About 80% of the overnight guests are from nearby areas like Kitami, and the Yuu-Yu management group has analyzed the situation as attributable to, “A rise in the desire to enjoy travel to nearby places even when refraining from travel that crosses into other regions due to the pandemic.” The group expects trailer house demand to be high as well.

Lodging fees will change with the seasons, but the general range is from 8,000 yen to 12,000 yen for one trailer house, without meals. Overnight guests can use the standard Yuu-Yu bathing facilities free of charge. Breakfast (2,200 yen) made with Oketo-raised yezo sika deer is also available upon request. Reservations are accepted via telephone or the Internet.