Hotel Iwatoya

A real backcountry Mecca, with heaps of routes to get out on. Seki Onsen is nearby too, a lovely little resort for powder chasers. The hosts are incredibly kind and make you feel completely welcome.

We came to the mountains to use the natural Onsen, and it was great. They welcomed us even though we arrived after 7pm. It's a lovely retro hotel, and I'm looking forward to coming back.

A lovely old hotel in a beautiful location, with excellent service and very kind staff. Some of the wallpaper is peeling, and the carpets are worn.

I'm writing this 10 years after our honeymoon here, which says a lot about the place. After a weeklong backpacking trip through the Japanese alps, we arrived exhausted, hungry, and dirty. We'd climbed two peaks earlier that day. The family at Hotel Iwatoya treated us with such kindness and grace, and served us a special sake for our honeymoon. We've kept the bottle all these years. The traditional Japanese meals were delicious, and the onsens soothed our tired bodies. The father of the woman who runs the hotel even drove us to a bus stop in the next town so we could head back to Tokyo, and took us to a shrine for ancestors on the way. This is a special place, run by a very kind family. We hope to return one day.