Hanakagura

“Lovely mountain lodge with excellent onsen & tatami rooms”

We wanted somewhere traditional, comfortable and slightly off the beaten track with a good onsen...and that's exactly what we got! We self drove in the middle of huge winter snow and had no trouble at all getting there with the GPS. It's a few minutes out of Hagashikagura, just up in the woods an… more

We wanted somewhere traditional, comfortable and slightly off the beaten track with a good onsen...and that's exactly what we got! We self drove in the middle of huge winter snow and had no trouble at all getting there with the GPS. It's a few minutes out of Hagashikagura, just up in the woods and it's got a lodge/spa feel to it. Mostly frequented by older Japanese seeking out the lovely onsen (only about NZ$7 per visit!) and the odd ski group of tourists, such as ourselves. Staff are very lovely and a couple speak a little bit of English. No worries, you can easily get by! The big spaces inside make it feel very spacious and comfortable. Minus 12 degrees outside (!) we were very cosy inside. Our room was a tatami mat room for 5 but there were only 3 of us - highly recommend that you do this so you don't fall all over each other. Ensuite bathroom with deep bath and floor shower plus separate toilet was included. Yukuta come with the room and you are welcome to wear them all the time throughout the building if you want. We doubled our futon mattresses because we are softees :-) and that made for an extra comfy night. Small fridge and kettle were appreciated - bring your own tea-bags/coffee if you want anything other than Japanese tea. We slept soundly after skiing all day. One morning we awoke to our snowy rural view and as we looked, a huge eagle alighted in the silverbirch tree right outside our window! Magic. Breakfast was included and it was a nice Japanese style buffet with a few western options. Only hot coffee served, not tea. Dinner options are a cheap and cheerful meal ordered via a vending machine (!) but freshly cooked upstairs, which has a nice range of meals but not very much in the way of vegetarian. Or you can pre-book for a Kaiseki meal of multiple courses downstairs - do NOT eat lunch that day or you will not manage it all! It's a masterpiece of presentation and flavour. There are vending machines all over the show so you can get a beer, juice, mystery drink, whatever, at any hour of the day or night. The onsen is a real highlight of this place. It has the usual changing areas with baskets and lockers etc and inside are multiple washing stations with soap, shampoo and conditioner. Be sure to do the expected wash before you bathe. Pools are wonderful. A couple of temperatures (including a cold plunge pool!) are available and outside the magic of two pools awaits. Surrounded by rocks and plants and under the stars it was perfect. We had heavy snow all around and that just added to the bliss. Only comments are that mixed outdoor pools would be nice (so our family could bathe together) but we could have booked a family bath inside if we wanted. Also, the amenities in the changing rooms were very basic. No body lotion or cleansers for women which is quite unusual for Japan, but you can just bring your own. Overall, this place was great for our ski trip to Furano. We drove about 50 mins to ski and children up to age 12 are FREE! If you don't want to go that far, there is a small local ski field called Canmore only 10 minutes away from Hanakagura and it's very good. There are restaurants in Hagashikagura and the hotel has a map - but it's all in Japanese! We managed with it anyway and found a FAB little Napolitano Pizzeria in town where the pizza was excellent and the owners spoke a bit of English. Overall we had a brilliant 4 nights and would not hesitate to recommend this place. We hope to return some day.

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