Toemu Nozawa Lodge

Good location although still a good uphill walk to the gondola

This place is more like a youth hostel. It’s entirely staffed by very young overseas workers in their hoodies and beanies. All friendly enough. However, they seemed happy to regularly argue about cleaning duties in front of guests which evidently resulted in place lacking cleanliness. Overflowing bins, foul smell in upstairs toilet, same rotting banana skins in the ski room for the whole week etc. Room was not at all like the photos. There are no robes / Yukata provided. No pillows to sit on next to the table. Bin wasn’t emptied all week and no offer to change towels or sheets. Room could benefit from some very simple additional amenities. A face towel, mirror, lamp etc

Breakfast was amazing. The staff were also amazing. Beds were super comfy and in-house hot bath was very nice. Would definitely stay here again. Close walking to everything. The staff arranged rides for us at great prices from the train station and to Myoko.

It's a walk up the hill to the resort. Definitely got my steps in.

The location is great, walking distance from the main chair lifts and village. The lodge has a lovely Japanese traditional style room with tatami mats and shoji and plenty of space in our twin room. The staff were lovely, mostly Australians and Canadian international workers who are English speaking and very friendly. They provided a free service to pick us up from the bus station which was very convenient and then dropped us back to the Shinkansen train station for a small fee too. The food hall is lovely, judging by the decor I imagine this was once a beautiful ryokan style lodgings in its hayday. The breakfast was lovely each day they made effort to make banana breads and omlettes, pancakes and other basics like croissants and cereals. Apples were lovely and fresh. The best thing was leaving in the morning to go skiing so we only spent the evenings in our room.

Our stay unfortunately started off on the wrong foot with our bedding being dirty. It was NYE day and it appears someone dropped the ball on the cleaning, when we arrived we lay on our beds to rest and realised they smelled funky, on closer inspection we noticed pubic hairs and stains on the sheets so the beds were not changed! It was very off putting to start off our holiday and I honestly looked at other options to leave immediately. However the staff were quick to change the sheets and supply clean pillows and gave us complimentary wine and a handwritten apology note. My only other feedback is due to there being so many intermittent traveller staff it seems there is not so much commitment or organisation - perhaps the owners need to invest more time and energy in management because it seems a bit "hostel" vibes rather than a hotel or lodge. Small things like providing tissue box and waste bin in the rooms and lamps for atmosphere. The photos on the internet do not match the amenities provided for example the photos clearly show navy blue bedding with extra blankets and towels with Yukata but these were not provided and when I asked about it, the staff stated that they do not provide this. I think there is only so much the staff can do when there is no investment or leadership coming from the owners - its peak ski season and the lodgings where fully booked for NYE and yet the hostel didnt appear ready - the lounge/waiting area appeared messy and disorganised, not very inviting and the shoes blocking the entry way were a mess. The showers and hot tub have black mould on the rocks the staff have been using alot of bleach spray to try cover the smell but it hits you in the face when you walk in. The other issue is the constant noise from the footsteps on the wood on the staircase and hallways, I couldnt wait to leave so I can get a restful sleep in a quiet hotel.

It had everything we needed - dry room, onsite onsen and basket and towel to use external onsens. The rooms were comfortable, and we liked the common area with table tennis, games and couches round a fire. Super friendly staff who went out of their way to help us. The breakfast was good too - freshly made pancakes and omelettes and a range of other yummy things too.

Big rooms and lovely breakfast