IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 19 hotel brands with more than 6,300 hotels in over 100 countries. In Japan, IHG Hotels & Resorts currently operates about 47 hotels under seven brands from Hokkaido to Okinawa (as of March 2024). For this interview, we asked Yuji Shiraki, general manager of the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Chitose, about the attractions of the Sapporo area.
Name: ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Chitose
Location: 2-2-1 Hokuei, Chitose-shi, Hokkaido
–How did you come to work at the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Chitose?
I was originally in Osaka, but in 2018 I was transferred to ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Chitose, where I worked for about 3 years until the end of 2020, and then I returned to ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Osaka, where I will serve as both general manager of Chitose and Osaka from 2022. When I was a student, I once traveled around Hokkaido by bicycle for about two weeks, and Hokkaido has been a place of my dreams since then. When I was asked if I would like to go to Hokkaido for a transfer, I remember saying “I would be happy to go” in two words.
–What kind of hotel is it?
Belonging to IHG Hotels & Resorts, which operates more than 6,300 hotels worldwide, the hotel is conveniently located 10 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport, the gateway to Hokkaido. With 438 guest rooms, a 1,000 m2 banquet hall, two restaurants, and a sports bar, it is the largest hotel in Chitose City. It is used by a wide range of customers from business to leisure.
–What is the unique experience of the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Chitose?
Shikotsu offers robatayaki, which is rare for a hotel, and is based on the concept of “a restaurant where guests can enjoy Hokkaido ingredients with drinks from around the world. The restaurant has an aquarium and serves not only oysters from Atsukishi and other Hokkaido seafood grilled over charcoal, but also live hairy crabs, button prawns, and scallops served as fresh sashimi. We hope you will also enjoy seasonal ingredients such as sugarcane and asparagus.
–please let me know if you have any personal favorites tourist spots or restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel.
In summer, you can buy morning vegetables from the fields that stretch all over the city. In autumn, I recommend the Chitose Aquarium, the home of salmon, where you can see the salmon run-up from the bottom of the river, and Lake Shikotsu, which boasts the highest transparency in Japan.
Also, the “Red Roof Soft Ice Cream Shop” and “Yonchome Soft Shop,” which are only open in summer, serve excellent soft ice cream made from milk freshly picked at the ranch. You won’t find them in any guidebooks, so be sure to go there.
–What restaurant menu do you recommend?
Chitose has such delicious water that it has been selected as one of the 100 best waters in Japan. The original “Chitose Highball,” made with carbonated water from groundwater and Hokkaido’s Nikka Whiskey, can be ordered at any restaurant, and is a must-try. We have many regular customers who always order it.
–What souvenirs do you recommend?
In summer, we recommend the morning harvest of corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and other vegetables sold in the fields. Although not every day, we also sell them in the hotel lobby as part of our green tourism program, in cooperation with local farmers. In the fall, you can enjoy a luxurious salmon roe bowl by making salmon roe into ikura (salmon roe) at home. It is surprisingly easy, so please give it a try.
© Source travel watch
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