Lake Chimikepp lies deep in the forested mountains of northeastern Hokkaido, well inland from the rugged coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk. Even among residents of Japan’s northernmost island, this remote enclave remains little known. But year-round it draws a steady trickle of visitors willing to brave the winding, unpaved and at times treacherous road leading to its shores.

For some, the lure is the region’s bracing winter snowscapes or outdoor summer activities. For others, it is simply to camp out under the stars and breathe in the pristine air. But in the last few years, a growing number have been making the trip because they know they will dine remarkably well.

Chimikepp Hotel is the sole building on the lakeside. For more than 30 years it has stood on its small promontory, looking out over the placid water. Erected at the peak of Japan’s bubble economy in the late 1980s, it is a modest, low-slung structure, faced in timber and stone, that has become a local landmark.