Shitaka小旅館(Petit Hotel Shitaka)

Very good hotel

Such a lovely family operated hotel right on Happo one. And ski in/out to on of the chairlifts. Upon arrival, they have shoes for you to wear inside as no shoes allowed. Most guests left their shoes in the shelves at the entrance. We took ours up to our room. We had a 3 single bed room and it was perfect. There was a desk, kettle, tv, 2 cupboards and a large couch, plus a balcony over looking town and the hills in the background. Beautiful views every morning. The bathroom was a little small, but it worked! Very deep soaker tub which I used. Towels were a little thin but did the job. In the lobby there is a microwave for guests to use. Perfect if you are grabbing a snack or meal from Lawsons and it needs heating up. Also on the ground floor is a laundry with 4 washing machines, no drier but we hung our clothes up in the room overnight and they were dry in the morning. Plus on a side entrance is the locker room for all your ski stuff. Each guest gets their own locker. We loved coming back after all day skiing to find room service had put the heater on high to warm us up! Breakfast was ok, it was the same everyday so did get a bit bland. You received a plate of scrambled eggs, either sausage or bacon (alternates), 2 slices of fruit (either grape fruit, orange, pineapple) and a small bowl of salad. Plus at the buffet there was a selection of croissants and rolls, miso soup, rice cereal and juice. Plus tea and coffee. We left full every morning. We didn’t use the chairlift near (it’s right there, no huge walk) the hotel as that run, although beginner looked a little steep. But the other chairlifts were so close (5 min walk to Evergreen ski school). The only downside was THE HILL. It was a climb every time to get back up the the hotel. There aren’t any restaurants right there so you do have to venture down. The shuttle stops are only a 5-10min walk down (unfortunately that means up in the afternoon!) but there are lots of places to eat down THE HILL. Would I stay here again? If I was to ski solely at Happo, yes, but there are so many different mountains in the area as well. English is not spoken by all the staff, but at reception there was one lady who did a great job and helped out everytime. Another woman would just jump onto google translate without hestitation!

Was the just what my adult son and I was looking for a 6 day ski trip. Ski-in ski-out lodge with an authentic japanese flavour - breakfast, onsen and traditional bathing rooms. The service from the host, hostess and crew could not be faulted, esp. when booking Izakaya restaurant. Thank you Akira!