Hakuba Landmark Iwatake Lodge

“Loved it!”

This was our first visit to Iwatake Hakuba Tracey & Paul were very welcoming and recommended great places to eat. The lodge is just a short walk to the Iwatake gondola which is great as you don't need to carry your gear very far... Breakfast provided at the lodge was nice - every morning was someth… more

This was our first visit to Iwatake Hakuba Tracey & Paul were very welcoming and recommended great places to eat. The lodge is just a short walk to the Iwatake gondola which is great as you don't need to carry your gear very far... Breakfast provided at the lodge was nice - every morning was something different. Our room was on the ground level and was decent size. Tracey was very helpful booking tours and calling taxis etc... The lodge is just around the corner from the Hakuba Brewery which offers affordable food and good beer. Iwatake doesn't have many food options so we found ourselves going in to Happo a lot which cost $15-$20 per trip in a taxi. There is a night shuttle which took us some time to work out but it is also handy - onsen drop off then a short walk back to the lodge. Overall awesome stay very welcoming and great service!

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“Great Great Great”

Everything about this place. . It was a simple bed and breakfast type small Lodge. The room was small but cozy, Very close to ski resort, The owners were so nice and pleasant, they even sent me some small souvenirs I left behind

“Could be better with a few improvements”

The hotel needs updating. It is in such a great location but a few things let it down. For example; Shuttles to and from other ski resorts and into town would be the BEST addition to the hotel. Yes there is a local bus but it is crammed and exhausting after a full day of skiing. Taxis are $30 some… more

The hotel needs updating. It is in such a great location but a few things let it down. For example; Shuttles to and from other ski resorts and into town would be the BEST addition to the hotel. Yes there is a local bus but it is crammed and exhausting after a full day of skiing. Taxis are $30 sometimes $50 FTP and from town. Also the rooms in my opinion need tvs and a mini fridge. For when you don’t want to go anywhere a movie is exactly what you want. Lucky we had our iPad but without it it would have been miserable. lastly the pillows, if you can fit your own pillow in your suitcase, do it. I ended up having to roll up a blanket to make it thicker then 3cms. The staff are lovely and helpful.

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“A good lodge to stay if you are skiing in Itawake Ski field”

I booked this lodge for 4 nights because our preferred Happo’s lodges/ hotels were fully booked during the New Year peak season. Location & Transportation This lodge is not close to the JR Hakuba Station but Paul came to pick us up from the station when we arrived in the evening. You will need to … more

I booked this lodge for 4 nights because our preferred Happo’s lodges/ hotels were fully booked during the New Year peak season. Location & Transportation This lodge is not close to the JR Hakuba Station but Paul came to pick us up from the station when we arrived in the evening. You will need to request if they are available as they have another accommodation in Happo hence may not have the time to do so. Paul made an effort to drop us off to the station when we were checking out, we appreciated the effort. There is a public hot spring nearby with10 - 15 minutes walk and 5 minutes walk to Iwatake Gondola & Slopes. There wasn’t many restaurants around [nearest was the Hakuba Brewery & Co which offered expensive western food], hence we had to travel to the town for local meals by taxi which added up to the costs making it even more expensive to our dinner in Hakuba. Unless you are only spending time skiing at the Iwatake Gondola & Slopes, it is quite expensive with transportation cost. The Hakuba Shuttle bus that takes us to Happo /Tsugaike Kogen Ski field (due to the lack of snow condition, we had to choose other ski fields) etc costs JPY500 per adult per trip. Taxi to Happo Bus Station or Hakuba JR Station was approx JPY 1,600 and we had to take taxi when the shuttle bus service finished around 4-5pm. The locals (lodges & restaurants staff) were always helpful to call a taxi for you if you request to do so. Amenities Coin washing machine and dryer were available, JPY 200 for the washing cycle (you will need to purchase washing powder from them separately for JPY200 and JPY100/30mins on dryer. Breakfast was included, all you need to do is to sit down and they will bring you the breakfast of the day: One day we had omelet on toast with small sausages, another day was French toast, then fried eggs on toast and the last one was hard boiled egg on toast with ham. The last day's toasts were cold so I didn't eat much. There were black coffee, tea, milk, juice and some cereals on the table. Lodge Room Rooms were spacious compared to other accommodation room’s photos online. I had itchy rashes on my both arms & neck on the first night hence reported it and requested to change pillows the next day [Also requested additional towels to place it as extra pillow case]. During the 4 nights stay - they didn’t change the bath towels, bed sheet, make the bed or even clean the bathroom for us. We requested new towels on the third day and they gave it to us upon request. I overhead Tracy told the travelers who just arrived that they only change the bed sheet after 3 days of stay [or on the 3rd day?]…… The old heater didn’t work sometimes but all you need to do is to turn it off and turn it on after a couple of minutes. Staff The lodge staff was friendly, quick response via emails and able to communicate in English. They were helpful too, always attended our request when we needed. Due to leg injury, we asked if we could move down to the ground floor room and they let us move in to the room that just checked out for the day. They also assisted to make reservation for the restaurant in town when we needed for New Year Eve/ New Year day dinners (when many restaurants were fully booked). This is a good accommodation if you are only spending time in Iwatake Snow Ski field but I would stay in Hakuba town or Happo next time because of the convenience to have different local restaurants, pubs, shops, convenient stores, ski fields and more activities to do.

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