Itoigawa Hotels & Accommodations

The hotel is located in Xiaogu Village, and it is very convenient to enter and exit the ski resort. However, you need to transfer multiple times to get to the hotel, so it is a good choice to stay for a few more days once you arrive and feel comfortable before leaving. It's very convenient to stay with the whole family, and the large bathhouse is also very good. There are relatively few choices in the hotel's restaurants, and you will get bored after eating there for a few days.

We stayed here as part of a Tripadeal Aus package and it was a classic - “you get what you pay” for experience. Hotel is definitely mid range but room sizes were ok. We stayed in a fusion Western / Japanese room with 2 singles and 2 futons on tatami mats which was fine. Smoking and smell of smoke was a bit of an issue as doors to the smoking room and karaoke lounge were left open most of the time.. so the whole place smelled. Hotel staff tried to help by offering us some scented spray and were friendly and accommodating enough (shout out to Otomo San who was very helpful through our whole trip) but the cigarette smell was bad. Being on the northern side of the valley, the hotel backs onto Hakuba Norikura Onsen and the trails were great for young ones and beginners and being ski in and out, was ideal. But you are bus rides from everything and other parts of the Valley like Happo, Tsugaike (next village) or Cortina Limited food but hotel breakfast buffet was ok but Japanese style with some mix of Western (croissants and sweet bread). We chose to eat Dinner at a local family run place instead (see other review) which was not far from hotel - walkable. Lunch at the Snow drops cafeteria outside the hotel was cheap and locally exceptional.. one of the positives. Our passes as part of the hotel deal was limited to Norikura and didn’t allow us to ski across to Cortina (fine print stuff - where as a normal Day pass should allow you to ski both of you bought it locally) or buy a Hakuba Valley pass which gives you access to all the resorts. In hindsight, we should’ve just invested in a Epic pass in Oz in 19/20 which would’ve gave us 5days skiing. Ski gear rental offered by the hotel was also pretty average with very old gear (I’m talking 10-15+ yrs old) and definitely not up to scratch if you’re expecting new-ish stuff.. we ended up organising our gear through another place in the Echoland village (see separate review) which was great. There is a luggage delivery service which was helpful to send our bags back to the airport without having to lug them around all over Japan and the trains. Hotel onsen was the saving grace and great to have it just “upstairs” after the end of the day and is segregated. All in all probably just ok.. but we stayed here for the “value” deal and local experience.

From the Shinkansen ”Kurobe Unazuki Onsen Station”, it takes about 30 minutes by hotel shuttle bus to arrive at Hotel Ogawa along the stream. It's a big hot spring inn rather than a hotel. Guests' names are printed on the newspaper-style guidebook. The room is in a very emotional location along the creek. It is really suitable for an inn. There is a natural cave open-air bath 5-6 minutes from the inn, and it is said to be one of the 4 famous hot springs in Etchu. For dinner, we serve only local dishes, such as firefly squid, hot pot vegetables of the original brand pork, and boiled rice with white shrimp. It is a hot spring inn that I would like to visit again.　

I was surprised because there is only wifi near the front desk, but it was good to be able to cut off my smartphone. Due to the deep snow, the truck got addicted to the inn and the return was late.

Petit Hotel Iris is located in Otari and takes about 80 minute by car from Toyoshina Interchange, near Hakuba Norikura Onsen Ski Resort and Happo-One Nature Study Course. Guests may borrow hair dryers and irons at no additional charge (please inquire at the front desk for details). Facility includes a communal bath. Pre-ordered breakfast is served on the 1st floor. The hotel possesses 10 guest rooms.

We (family of 5 – kids aged 18, 15 and 11) visited for 5 days just as the ski season opened in December 2023. We were on a Luxury Escapes 5 night/4 day ski lift package. We chose Lotte Arai as we heard it was an excellent place for beginners. Unfortunately our experience was not positive. Luxury Escapes were not transparent at the time of booking that we were right on the cusp of season opening, which would have influenced our booking decision. Weather was not favourable and unfortunately the snow was not sufficient to fully open on 15/12 as planned (not LE or Lotte Arai's fault of course). This coupled with a broken chair lift (which Lotte Arai did not disclose - we only discovered when we arrived) and another chair lift that couldn't run due to lack of staff, meant our ski options (as beginners) were limited to one 350m run. 4 days of limited ski options at top $ was incredibly disappointing and no way reflective of the quality experiences we had with LE previously. We stayed in a lovely room in the Lodge part of Lotte Arai resort. Spacious comfortable room, somewhat tired bathroom. The resort is a hodgepodge of different buildings that connect only on different floors (it seems the property has grown organically over 30+ years with no real thought to full integration). Navigating from the Lodge to breakfast and the onsen took some planning, especially as one part was almost outdoors, in freezing conditions. Meals were at the buffet styled Plate restaurant in Lotte Arai Hotel (a full 700m walk involving a lift ride, outside (albeit undercover) walk and flight of stairs from our room) which was more akin to 3/3.5 star standard. On the plus side the bus transfer to and from Joetsu-Myoko train station was great; we really enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Japanese restaurant Asahi and the outside onsen was lovely. The separately run Myoko Snowsports school is exceptional and the resort's ski hire enterprise rents quality gear. Plus our step count walking around the various buildings was high! Lotte Arai staff were warm and tried to help best they could. But truthfully for a resort claiming to be 5 star, staff were not as polished or proficient, as elsewhere on our Japan trip. Communication in advance to organise meals etc. was difficult - often multiple days' wait for response and sometimes no response at all. We did speak to the Manager on duty on our last day to offer feedback. He was pleasant and listened. He offered a bottle of wine and free access to swimming pool and indoor climbing wall. Luxury Escapes similarly listened to our concerns and offered a $300 voucher for next booking. On a $4.7k booking it felt more symbolic than significant. All in all the most disappointing days of our holiday. We spent A$6k incl. ski gear on a ”special deal” - it was by far the worst value on a 3.5 week holiday trekking around Japan.

Minshuku Misaki (Toyama) is located in Asahi and about 5-minutes walk from Etchumiyazaki Station, near Hisui Coast, Kurobe Dam and Mount Shirouma. Yukata are available for guests to wear during their stay. Guests may borrow conveniences such as hair dryers and irons at no additional charge (please inquire at the front desk for details). Facilities include a communal bath and a karaoke room. The hotel possesses 8 guest rooms.