Saw some very negative reviews of this joint and wanted to make sure they had a fair review.
We reserved through Hotels.com and 6900 yen included dinner and breakfast.
Hotels.com advertised a 6 person room but the room was for really for 4 and was ...cozy.
Location is very convenient next to Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski resort...which is NOT at all recommended for boarders and Snow scoots or bikes are banned altogether.
The staff were very friendly and flexible though not fluent in English. There were a lot of foreigners other than us staying and communication did not seem to be a problem.
The dinner was an all you can eat Chicken HotPot “nabe” and was very delicious and filling. The breakfast was simple but sufficient (check the pic). The best part was the Rice which was very delicious. The best rice in Japan “Uonumasan Koshihikari” is from this area so it should be no surprise.
The facilities are VERY RUN DOWN and scary if you look close...so don’t, but the “home built” effort to decorate gives it character and is not bad.
This is the type of place that the younger generation can cost effectively hang out with sufficient modern conveniences...running hot water, heated room, good food, etc...
For the price we had a memorable experience...like staying at a Hitchcock movie set or the Adams family mansion.
No mention of being cash only on hotels.com. Dirty rooms with bugs. Stained sheets and blankets. Staff seemed put out by having to talk to us. I don't expect them to speak English but a little patience with my Japanese when you need me to pay $380 cash would be appreciated. The smoking area is in the door of the lobby, so you have to put your shoes on/off with loads of smoke. Being a ski destination this means lacing up boots in a smoky area. Gross. Paper thin walls means hearing everything from everyone and everyone hearing you too. We weren't offered food and were not welcomed or encouraged to eat there. I think they were disappointed to have us stay. It was the saddest part of our new year's weekend.
I could have gotten over the run down state of the place if the staff were more hospitable. But I was really disappointed.
The building was pretty run down from the outside, but inside wasn’t as bad. The bedding was very inadequate as far as padding: we did not have much between us and the hard floor. The other guests on the second night were EXTREMELY LOUD, slamming doors and yelling in the hallways and stomping around until well past midnight. We heard every bit of it. The location relative to the ski resort was great and even though the food wasn’t excellent, it was enough just to have something at the end of the day.