Villa Ichinose

First off, the staff are lovely. Even with a language barrier they were friendly, and the reception man was kind. I've stayed at Villa about 4 times now, but this was the first time in about 11 years. Sadly there is a lot that needs to be fixed. The pricing has increased heavily since I was last here. Whilst it is very close to the ski lifts of Ichinose Family, this is a budget accommodation. But I would still expect it to be cleaned more regularly. The rooms are fine, but the hallways, and common areas look very dated and have paint peeling, cracks showing, carpet is old, worn and dirty, and nothing would imply it is being maintained.We never had dinner here, but breakfast was a buffet style, and whether it's worth it to you or not is a personal thing.The convenience store downstairs is only open at night times, and not every day. I remember the restaurant at ground level facing the road served excellent gyoza, ramen and beer. Sadly it's been closed for a while and used as storage.I don't want Villa to become like the rest of the hotels in Ichinose, only for school groups or super expensive because of their proximity to the ski lifts, but it really needs to have some money invested in the property, replacing old and damaged decor, and carpets professionally cleaned yearly.But thank you to all the staff for being lovely and kind people.

Very nice cosy hôtel with ideal location for skiing. Feels a bit like a mixture of a Ryokan and Austrian style ski hotels. This hotel does not offer ski equipment rental though, so maybe try and stay around Alpina Ski Rental if budget is a concern because Snowcan rental next door is twice as expensive.

This is my second time to stay in this hotel. Frankly speaking, if you want ski-in-ski-out hotel, with public bath facilities and big big room for two people. This is definitely the right choice. Moreover it is fairly good deal. Please take their breakfast as well. It is Japanese style with bread, salad, fish, sausage, omelette, all kinds of drinks and coffee/tea. Totally complete set. I ski back to the hotel from the backyard, very convenient. The staff is friendly and helpful. There is a convenient store in the building where you can’t have similar convenience in any other hotel. Do remember to ask hotel for ski pass discount too.

Stayed here for a weekend trip to snowboard on Kurohime Kogen. It was my first time staying at a traditional Japanese hotel and I could not have had a better experience. It is only a 2 minute walk from the slopes and relatively easy to access. The room was a decent size for 2 people and was extremely clean. There is no shower or bath in the room. However, there is an onsen on the 2nd floor which is also very clean and really relaxing after a day on the slopes. If you don't like traditional Japanese hotels you may want to try somewhere else. But if you do, you will have a great experience here.

We arrived very late at night after catching the chuo taxi from Narita Airport. ||The keys were available for us as promised. We were promptly shown to our room.||||We had booked traditional japanese style room with the tatami mats. While they are not super soft there were a few more mats in the wardrobe - my friend had three and I had four piled on top of each other and that worked a treat. We did feel like the princess and the pea which seemed common after chatting to a few other people staying at the hotel.||||We had breakfast included in our stay which had either traditional japanese option or the boring western option. Can't rate the quality of a japanese breakfast high enough!||||We absolutely maximised our time in the onsen. While it didn't have an outdoor option it still worked a treat soothing our weary muscles after a day on the slopes. We had a morning and evening onsen. So so good :)||||The staff at Villa Ichinose were fantastic! So helpful in their beautiful gentle manner. Nothing was an issue or a bother. Sure the property is a little tired but everything is clean and coupled with great location and staff it's all you could ask for.||||The communal area in the main reception is a great way to chat to other guests and get an idea of where to go and what to do or what not to do.||||I loved the location of Villa Ichinose - literally a 5 min walk from the door of the hotel to the slopes. No hassle getting around.||||Food options around Ichinose are great but there aren't loads of options. And it's worth noting that if you want to dine later than say 6pm then you must book. Most places take walkins around 5:30pm but that was for groups of 2 or 3. Anymore and you are pushing the friendship.

I'm most impressed by the first class service provided by all the staffs. It made us felt very welcomed and assured that we are being taken care of in a foreign country. The good service started when we are enquiring about the place through email. Yuichi-san responded very fast to us. He provided good suggestions for us when we were looking for ski rental and ski class. He even helped us booked the ski class at no extra charges. At the hotel, the staffs drove us to the rental shop to pick up and return the equipment, and helped to carry them too. It would otherwise be very taxing and slippery walking on the road. ||The location is perfect as it is just a few metres away from the bus stop. This is a lot of convenience especially if you have a lot of luggage. Yuichi-san greeted us at the bus stop upon arrival and helped us with our luggage. ||The room is clean and spacious even for three persons. ||The food served at the restaurant are delicious. We loved the ramen, gyoza and fried rice. The chef and staff even kindly allowed us to bring the food back to our room as one of us was not feeling well and couldn't eat.

The hotel is just a 5 minute walk (or skate) away from the Ichinose area ski lifts. They can give you a slight discount on 2-day passes if you buy from the hotel. Hotel itself is fine. There is an onsen for soaking and showering (no showers in the rooms). Nice open area for relaxing on the main hotel level with a fire place. Breakfast and dinner can be included as well. A nice place to go if you plan on hitting the mountains hard.

Great Japanese style hotel. Extra futon mats in the room, so sleeping on a tatami floor was very comfortable. Clean and spacious rooms, hot showers, good food and cozy lounge area. The fireplace in the lounge area is a great place to gather with other guests, relax and meet new friends. Super close to ski areas, and free shuttle bus to take you anywhere in Shiga Kogen for guests. I enjoyed my stay and will be sure to come back!

Small family run hotel with decor that is charmingly stuck in the 1960s. According to the very nice Yuichi Sato san who mans reception, it opened in 1964. The Japanese rooms are basic and roomy, with the usual tea sets and light futons and quilts. They do breakfasts and dinners, which I would highly recommend you take on as the town is pretty sleepy for a big ski town. (And just in case you're a Pokémon Go addict, bad news - closest Pokestop is at least 10 minutes walk away at Ichinose shrine and the place is a The breakfasts and dinners are very generous spreads in the traditional ryokan fashion, with a hotpot dish, pickles, cold appetizers, hot rice and miso soup as well as a platter of deep fried/grilled items. Later in the week when the crowd builds up, they might do a buffet spread instead of the individual set meals. There are the usual male/female segregated onsen baths which is very good after a full day of snow activities. Besides skiing, you can grab a bus to the Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park which is well worth a day visit. Considering the stay cost us about SGD$110 per head per night, including 2 meals a day, it was probably the cheapest ski place I've stayed at in Japan.