Journal | 2026
You may have come across the word "auberge" while looking for somewhere to stay. It sounds a little different from a hotel or a ryokan. Here we explain, in plain terms, what an auberge is and how to enjoy one.
What an auberge is
An auberge is a place to stay where the cooking comes first. The word is French, and it originally meant a house that gave travelling people a meal and a bed. In effect, it is a restaurant with guest rooms attached.
To eat what a place produces, in the place it comes from, and to stay the night in order to do so — that is where the auberge began. You come for the food, you take a drink with it, you stay where you are, and you wake up there. Not having to travel on afterwards is what lets you sink into the cooking and into a quiet stretch of time.
How it differs from a hotel or a ryokan
At a hotel, or at a ryokan — a traditional Japanese inn — the stay itself is the centre, and the meal is one option among several. At an auberge that order is reversed. The cooking comes first, and you stay in order to eat it. What the chef puts on the table is the axis the whole stay turns on.
For that reason most auberges have few rooms, and are run at a size where each group can be properly looked after. Not a large, busy building, but time spent quietly with the food in front of you — that is what makes an auberge an auberge.
Staying at an auberge in Hokkaido
Hokkaido is generous with both the sea and the hills, and that is exactly why auberges built around those gifts are found all over it. Seasonal ingredients, eaten where they are caught and grown. Hokkaido is a place that suits an auberge stay.
When you compare houses, look at the cooking, the location and how easy it is to reach, the way the rooms are made, and the price. A quieter house for an anniversary; somewhere close to the airport if you are stopping mid-journey. Choosing by what brings you there is the way to do it.
Mori no Auberge Mitsu as an auberge
Auberge Mitsu stands in the forest of Atsuma, in Hokkaido, and takes three groups a night. The building is a 120-year-old farmhouse that was moved here and restored, and dinner is a Japanese creative omakase course made from ingredients that reach us directly from the fishermen and farmers of Atsuma.
Every room has its own indoor goemon-style soaking tub, and there is no television in the rooms, so the quiet stays with you. It is about 30 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport. A night with the cooking and the silence at the centre, for you and someone who matters to you.
Frequently asked questions
What is an auberge?
An auberge is a place to stay where the cooking comes first. The word is French, and it originally meant a house that gave travelling people a meal and a bed. It helps to think of it as a restaurant with guest rooms attached.
What is the difference between an auberge and a hotel or a ryokan?
An auberge is somewhere you stay for the sake of food made from the ingredients of that place. You sleep there too, of course, but the meal the chef cooks is the centre of the stay, and that is what sets it apart from an ordinary hotel or ryokan.
Are there auberges in Hokkaido?
Yes, there are auberges across Hokkaido. Mori no Auberge Mitsu is in the forest of Atsuma, takes only three groups a night, and serves a Japanese creative omakase course that follows the Hokkaido seasons. It is about 30 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport.