Welcome Nozawa is a small ski lodge in the middle of Nozawa Onsen village, a three-minute walk from the Chuo bus terminal. Nine double rooms, a shared kitchen and lounge, and the lifts, the free public onsen and the restaurants all within a short walk.

What a lodge in Nozawa Onsen is like

Nozawa Onsen has hotels, traditional ryokan, apartments and lodges. A lodge sits between a ryokan and an apartment: you have your own room, and you share the kitchen, the lounge and the bathrooms with the other guests. It suits skiers who want a comfortable bed, somewhere warm to sit in the evening, and a kitchen for breakfast before first lifts, without paying for a restaurant they will not use.

Because the building is small, you tend to meet the other guests. Many of ours come back with the people they met in the lounge the year before.

The rooms

Every room is a Western-style double with one king bed or two singles, made up the way you ask. A third guest can sleep on a futon for a small extra charge. Rooms have a TV and heating; skis, boots and jackets go in the drying room. The bathrooms are shared and were renovated to a modern Western standard, with walk-in rain showers in private rooms you use one at a time.

Shared spaces

• Kitchen: fully equipped, with a large dining table.
• Lounge: a large TV with streaming, and board games.
• Ski storage and drying room: boots and jackets dry overnight.
• Free Wi-Fi throughout.

Where it is

The lodge is in the centre of the village at 9753-9 Oaza Toyosato. From Tokyo, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Iiyama (about 1 hour 40 minutes), then the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus to the Chuo terminal (20 to 25 minutes). We are three minutes on foot from the terminal, so you can arrive without a car. The Nagasaka gondola is at the top of the village above us, and the free public baths that Nozawa is known for are on the way home.

Who it suits

Couples and friends who ski hard and want a warm, quiet base. Solo travellers, who often say the lounge is the best part. Small groups, who can take several rooms and have the kitchen table to themselves in the evening. It is not a hotel: there is no restaurant, no room service and no reception desk staffed around the clock.

Prices and booking

Rooms start from ¥40,000 a night for two guests, with the price varying by date across the season. The season runs from 1 December to the end of March. Booking on this website is the cheapest way to stay: there is no booking fee, you pay a deposit by card and the balance is charged automatically before you arrive. Some dates over Christmas and New Year have a minimum stay.

Common questions

Is breakfast included? No. The kitchen is yours to use, and the village has cafés and bakeries within a few minutes’ walk.

Are the bathrooms shared? Yes. The showers are in private rooms, and there are separate facilities for men and women. The village’s free public onsen are a short walk away.

Can we book more than one room? Yes. Choose the rooms you want on the booking page and they are held together under one booking.

What time is check-in? From 15:00. Check-out is by 10:00.

Looking at other options too? Read our short guide to accommodation in Nozawa Onsen.