Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel

Beginning of Tokachi-gawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel Hosyu-tei and Toyo-tei

Tokachi-gawa Onsen was discovered and developed by Hosyu Hayashi who is grand father of the former president Fumiaki Hayashi, and Hosyu Hayashi was passed away on 1935, at the age of 47. He started boring in 1931, discovered hot spring and built Tokachi-gawa Onsen Hotel in 1932. In 1934, he built Kangetsu Hotel at the fountainhead; however, he let go of the hotel during the war when it was a period of great turbulence.
In 1930, he built the first Onsen Hotel named Kofukan at the Shikaribetsu Lake in the Tokachi; however, he sold the hotel in order to devote all his energy to develop Tokachi-gawa Onsen.
Besides running the Tokachi Mainichi Shimbun Company (Dairy Newspaper Company), he put more effort on tourist development such as incorporation of a national park in Higashi Taisetsu area that contains Shikaribetsu Lake and succeed that the Karikachitoge Pass to be a one of the “New Eight Views of Japan.” In recognition of his services to the tourist development, a monument of honor was set up at the entrance of Tokachi-gawa Onsen and the lakeside of Shikaribetsu Lake.

History of Tokachi-gawa Onsen

The oldest record of Onsen was written in 1874 (Meiji 7) as the “Hokkaido topography” and it has said “There was a hot spring in Otofuke-gawa-yu, Kato-gun, and quality of spring was unknown.” In those days, the whole area was scattered with a small swamps and many reed grew thickly in the wetland. There were small marshes-studded in these areas and lukewarm spring poured out all the time; therefore, it had never frozen in the winter and became the rest place for birds and wild animals. Because of that, Ainus have been told that the warm spring was “hot spring of medicine.”

In 1990 (Meiji 33), Kimpo Kahei drew natural gushing out lukewarm water into a box of 1㎡, and used it with neighbors by boiling water. That was the beginning of a hot spring. Yuzaburo Maeda from Honbetsu foresaw the value of Onsen and drilled by hand-digging construction in 1913 (Taisho 2), a hot spring of temperature between 30 and 36 degree celsius blew out. Then, he started full-scale hot spring management and built a two-story hotel (70 tsubo). The hotel was the predecessor of Sasai hotel. In 1928 (Showa 3), Amemiya Konpei carried out a boring by the mechanical construction method and succeeded in digging hot water at 42 degree celsius rich in hot water. It was reported on the Otaru Newspaper at that time. It was called “Shimo-shihoro Onsen” at first, then it was changed the name called “Amamiya Onsen.” At the beginning of Showa era, it became “Tokachi-gawa Onsen.” Around 1934 (Showa 9), there were 4 hotels such as “Sasai Inn,” “Amamiya Inn,” “Tokachi-gawa Onsen Hotel” and “Kangetu,” and a spa town was formed with restaurants, variety shops, and gift shops. It was possible to come and go from Obihiro by bus service or a ferry from the opposite bank of the Tokachi River.

Getting worst of the world economy, during the war, management of Onsen was very difficult; however, it recovered from the war and it was used as a designated facility at “the National Recreational Meeting” held at Obihiro in 1950 (Showa 25). In 1954 (Showa 29), the Showa Emperor visited “Tokachi-gawa Onsen Hotel” and it was honored with the stayed place. Then, the name of hotel was known across the nation and developed with boom of Onsen.

※Source: “Otofuke Hyakunen-shi”