Toji Sanka 杜氏贊歌 at Windsor Hotel Toya (Lake Toya, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

We were all a little saddened to leave Niseko after a wonderful stay at Seshu (雪舟) but at the same time, were excited about what's in store for us in Lake Toya. It's about an hour and a half drive from Niseko to Lake Toya but first, we had an appointment at Toji Sanka (杜氏贊歌), a Japanese restaurant at Windsor Hotel Toya known to have one of the most stunning views of Lake Toya from up close.



Windsor Hotel Toya is arguably the most luxurious hotel in the area. Apart from its world-class accommodation, it also welcomes customers with nine different restaurants ranging from casual to fine dining establishments (Japanese, Chinese, French, Grill house etc.). My first choice was obviously their fine-dining French restaurant Michel Bras Toya but unfortunately, due to its fall closure (for lunch service), we had to settle for something a little more casual in Toji Sanka (杜氏贊歌).



This was exactly what we came here for - the jaw-dropping view of Lake Toya! It almost looked like Nakajima Island was right underneath our feet!



My hands were getting so tired from taking photos from all the different angles but I ain't complaining.



Almost every table here has a nice lake view thanks to the ceiling-to-floor windows.



Just when some of us were still working on our photos, the weather started getting foggy and the lake view disappeared. 



Toji Sanka offers two set menu and a limited a la carte menu during lunch service. The first set came with some sushi, tempura, oden and steamed rice with fresh salmon roes (3,500 yen).



The second set was more or less the same but served with a cold soba (3,500 yen).



Jelloman had the soba set and she said it was pretty decent.



It was pretty chilly today so I went with some soul-warming steamed rice with fresh salmon roes. 



I thought the sushi was pretty average (I don't like the fact that they sliced the fish way too thin). 



The bean curd ball served with a warm broth was pretty tasty.



Can they squeeze a little more tempura into there?



The grilled salmon was quite nice. My little nugget loves it~



The Grilled fish of the day (from the a la carte menu) was cod and this was much less successful than the grilled salmon we had just now. And what happened to the tiny portion there? I could easily finish it in one or two bites. Definitely not worth 1,700 yen if you ask me.



Each set came with its own ice-cream as dessert. Mine was a scoop of green tea ice-cream.



They have an observation deck just outside the hotel lobby where you can admire the lake view as well.



Look at the autumn leaves around the lake. Amazing~



I could get used to this gorgeous lake view.








Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 11/F The Windsor Hotel Toya, 336 Shimizu, Toyako-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido, 049-5722, Japan
Tel: +81 142-73-1111
Website: www.windsor-hotels.co.jp/en/restaurant/