“Fantastic Traditional Ryokan, centrally located near food, bars, and shopping.”
Location was fantastic, right in the main village - We walked over from the bus terminal, even with luggage, we had no issues finding the property. The Ryokan is only a 1 minute walk to convenience store/liquor store, and a 1 minute walk to our favorite local bar (Balance) which also had video games and ping pong (kids allowed). Also a late night ramen shop around the corner. The Ryokan is very traditional with tatami floor mats/futon style sleeping. It has its own small onsen downstairs which at times got very hot (pro tip: add cold water to balance out the temp). We enjoyed a morning and/or evening dip before and after skiing - which was never crowded during our 5-day stay. You are also near several of the towns 'free" local onsens. These are very barebones and traditional. If you prefer an onsen with more amenities 'Furusato-no-yu' was a 3-min walk away, had a large indoor and outdoor - paid onsen, which we loved. Also about a 10-15min walk was a coed/mixed gender onsen (SPArena) that my daughter preferred (age 10). The front desk helped us with all our questions, and arrangements. We found quite a few restaurants needed reservations ahead of time, but some welcomed walk-in's right when they opened. Overall a great experience and we hope to visit Nozawaonsen again, and would absolutely stay at this property again. The Ryokan is centrally located, but is a bit of a steep trek uphill to the moving escalator and ski resort/gondola. We walked uphill in normal shoes/blundstone boots, and then rented a small locker (bring coins) to stash our shoes/any additional gear. No fault of the property, but should be noted; if walking up steep hills with skis might be an issue
NicholasVor 7 Monaten