Gujo Kogen Hotel

A cozy ryokan stay, and the kaiseki meal was lovely :)

Good onsen, and a nice view.

Great!

We went sledding, then spent time relaxing back at the hotel. With a three-year-old who didn't have much stamina, that was plenty. The ski resort being almost entirely to ourselves also makes this a nice place for a child to try the snow or skiing for the first time, before going on to Hirugano Kogen Ski Resort. We paid about 30,000 yen for two adults and one child, with two meals included. There aren't many places to eat late nearby, so including meals makes sense. The food was standard kaiseki, though, and even though we could choose a meal time, the tempura and other fried dishes sat out long enough to go cold. That was disappointing. Lunch was also unnecessarily expensive for guests, and the quality wasn't great. There weren't many Gujo specialties on the menu, maybe just Hoba Miso. I was glad they served sweetfish and amago trout. The hotel is built around the ski resort and seems geared mostly toward groups taking lessons. It's relatively inexpensive, and with meals included, I got the impression a lot of people stay here while skiing at other resorts instead. The building is old, and most of the staff were foreigners. They had some difficulty handling reception. Our room was Japanese-style, with its own toilet and bath, and there was also a large public bath. Since we were with a group of children, we avoided bathing between 5 and 6 PM. They were considerate enough to let us know about that time. It's an average hotel, but having the ski resort almost to yourself makes the stay worthwhile. Most of all, I was happy my daughter enjoyed herself.