Hotel Hoshikawakan

Super hotel just five mins walk from the train / bus station. Staff very friendly and helpful. Bathroom is probably the smallest I have ever been in but worked ok and even though the showerhead was a 50p temu plastic one, it was the best shower of our trip. Included food was more Japanese based than European but we managed. The Onsen was very nice too. We did message the hotel months in advance asking if the half board food had vegetarian options and did not get a response but presumed it would be ok as it is a heavily patronised tourist area. When we got to our designated table we were faced with two plates of raw meat. There were few veggie options and even the tofu looked like it had minced beef in it. But it is quite a Japanese style hotel rather so we rolled with it. As you do.

Amenities

Old traditional Japanese in central location nice onsen

clean large room, great buffet dinner, really nice private onsen

This hotel is a gem! Spacious, clean rooms, breakfast included, private onsen baths, and even karaoke! I would give this 5 stars but it is to be noted that this hotel is not a 9 mins walk from Shiga Kogen Ski Area… its a 40 minute bus. Very easy to navigate though. Would stay again.

Very dirty, moved rooms, still dirty, wallpaper peeling off the walls, covered in stains. En-suite was so old and dirty really gross. Staff were lovely, just a very neglected hotel. They do not even have the lights on in the foyer. Common spaces in the hotel are freezing. Good location just needs to have the whole thing refurbished.

Excellent value. Nothing too fancy, but for the price we paid we were very happy with our stay.

Breakfast was wonderful, staff was accommodating and kind.

Pros: The staff was very accomodating and friendly. There were plenty of staff around if we ever needed anything. The beds were comfortable and they refreshed all our bath linens without having to be asked. Cons: the place was quite outdated, which wouldn't matter in and of itself, but it wasn't very clean. The beds covers were dirty; one had obvious bloodstains and another had brown streaks, which I optimistically told myself was food.

The room was a great size for three people, especially when compared to other rooms in big cities such as Tokyo. The provided ribs and yukata really enhanced the experience making the ryokans bath houses and semi private Ibsen feel truly Japanese and unique! Then the location was great. A 10 min walk down a hill from the Yudanaka station made it easy walking with luggage there and a bit challenging on the way back. If you’re planning on exploring this nonsense village the snow moneys or go skiing, you should really consider this location.

The bed was very hard with only one pillow each the linen was very thin and hotel itself needs renovating if it wants to attract more international guests. The staff were freindly and helpful. The location was fine with parking provided. The breakfast was not the best with average facilites and options.

Staff was kind, helpful and efficient. Hotel is old and dirty and lots of mosquitoes. Housekeeping and maintenance are dismal.

this place is not suitable for international visitors. lack of english support. the aging female staff at the reception is too lazy even to use a translator to communicate despite me trying my best to use google translate to communicate. really backward customer service. her facial expressions tells us that she despise non-locals.

very rude 50 year old female japanese staff manning the reception. even though i do not speak japanese, her body language says it all.

Very well taken care of hotel, although an older property. Liked that we could use private bath on reserved time. Good breakfast and close to the train station

The hoyel was very quiet and the staff couldnt do enough for us. We used the private onsen which was lovely. A great Japanese restaurant next door. The breakfast was nice too. Mostly Japanese options but also croissants and fruit too.

We loved absolutely everything in this hotel and we've even decided to stay longer. Service: quality of service was what surprised us the most. The staff is very polite and helpful, they care about each customer and do their job very well. Outstanding! Dinner and breakfast: As a vegan, I had plenty options to eat and during the dinner they have prepared hot pot meal without animal-derived products for me. Room: spacious, bath could be cleaned better, but acceptable. Since it was winter, it took some time to warm up the room of this size for 1 air conditioner. Hot spring: in addition to public bath, they have absolutely amazing 2 open-air private hot baths that you can use freely, very easy to reserve, just take a time plate in the lobby. This was the highlight of our trip. Amenities: high-quality, product ops did a great job choosing amenities. They have very delicious and wide selection of teas and we loved female amenities: hair treatment, cream and lotion. There are a lot of stuff to rent for free, starting from extra pillows and blankets, ending with playing cards. Extra services: we've got a free 1 hour in karaoke, in the lobby there is free drink bar and even free hot oden soup during the daytime, which was a surprise and nice to have after we've spent a cold day outdoors in winter. Location: just 3-4 minutes walk from station, and 2 min. to the convenience store and drugstore. We will be visiting this hotel again and again in the future.

Able to use a private onsen was nice. Hosts speak passable English so that is helpful.

素晴らしい

The hotel is a 4 minute walk from the Yudanka Station (We grabbed a taxi cause of our luggage and the fare was 700 yen). The check-in was simple and we paid with our master card. Nearby was a Family Mart and American Drug convenience store. The hotel staff were kind but speaks very little English. There's 2 private onsen (open air) on the 3rd floor and public onsen separated by gender located on the 1st floor. There were massage chairs, books/manga library, drinks and ice cream vending machines, free coffee/tea station in the lobby. We got the breakfast package with our room and it’s a buffet style with a decent variety on the 2nd floor (from 7am to 8:45am) Our Room: fit for 4 people but it was just my wife and I. 4 comforters (pillows and blankets included) we just stacked it to add extra comfort. In room washroom and toilet with a bidet. Towels, body wash, shampoo and conditioner included. No tooth paste but free tooth brushes. What we didn’t like: in the corner of our room had a water spot/water damage and the carpet by the window were stained. A mini fridge that did not cool anything and we could not connect to the hotel wifi. The in unit heater was difficult to operate as there were no English text. Overall if you’re not spending the majority of your day in your room and don’t need a microwave or working fridge, it’s a decent place with very nice amenities.