Mountain View Hotels in Yamagata City

A wonderful place to stay in. The service was fantastic. The room was huge, much too large for just a solo traveler like me but it would have been perfect if I had brought my wife and child along. The onsen quality was great, albeit the fittings at the shower area were a bit old. The food was hands down amazing and featured great local produce. Honestly there was too much for one person to finish! What I especially liked was that they had a separate room on the first floor where if it was too early for you to check in, you could drop your luggage off, change, and then grab your gear and head to the slopes. Same thing if you intend to charge the slopes a bit more on your last day, just leave your stuff in the storage room, hit the slopes, come back and change out, hit the onsen for the last time, then go off. Definitely recommending this place to my friends visiting Zao.

Extremely nice staffs in the hotel, although some staffs can’t speak fluent English, there’s no problem in communicating as they are very willing to understand the customer by using translator. Breakfast and dinner were fantastic Japanese meals with no repeated dishes. Hotel room was spacious and clean. Hotel will drive you in and out to cater your itinerary! Wish I could’ve stayed longer!

The customer service of the clerk was very good and I had a good time talking. (Where to go from now on, what is delicious there, etc.) In addition, the Japanese atmosphere of the room and the tranquility around me were impressive. I can sleep very comfortably ．

I've stayed in over a dozen onsen ryokans of this type, but this one really missed the mark, especially considering the price of over 3000 yen per night. 1. The hot spring water itself is excellent, but any onsen in Zao is bound to be good. 2. The rooms don't have private bathrooms. Here's the main issue: the entire ryokan only has two small onsen pools. One has 2 shower stalls, and the other has 6. Imagine 8 men squeezed into a pool of about 2 square meters, then queuing to take a shower – what a scene! Plus, all these are indoor pools; the ryokan doesn't offer any outdoor baths. 3. The pictures show the public bath in front of the hotel, which I ended up paying a few hundred yen to use because the hotel's own pools were so disappointing. Overall, if you're looking to enjoy hot spring bathing, do not book here. If your main purpose is skiing, you might consider it, as it's only a 5-minute walk from the ski slopes.

Overall a practical hotel close to the slopes, room was simple but fine. Free shuttle provided which proved very convenient. Breakfast was good with different options both Japanese and western styles. Staff was helpful especially the Japanese personnel and the young lady in the breakfast room however there was one Indian-like man who was not really hospitable, never smiling and never talking (no hello, nothing at all) staring at you which made me uncomfortable.

After arriving at the bus stop, I found out that there are no taxis in the Zao Onsen area in the summer. I was in a pinch, so I called the inn and they arranged a free shuttle, which was very helpful! As soon as I got off the bus, a staff member greeted me with a smile and quickly carried my luggage into the inn. Once I arrived, all the staff were very polite and pleasant, leaving a very good impression! The man at the front desk was especially kind and warm, and his soft Yamagata accent was very soothing. The hot spring water temperature and quality were excellent, and the open-air bath allowed me to relax and unwind while feeling the nature. It was also very convenient to be able to watch YouTube and Netflix on the TV in my room. There was an event going on, so the menu was different from usual, but the food was excellent. Everything was delicious, and I was especially impressed by the large selection of fresh vegetables and the many options available, including one that catered to vegetarians and vegans! Overall, it was a wonderful inn, but there were some disappointments. Even though the room was renovated and comfortable, the unit bath was quite old and dated. Also, while soaking in the smaller of the two large (small) baths, the bath was so small that body soap and shampoo from people washing their bodies and hair kept getting into the hot spring, which was very unpleasant. It's a real shame to have such a wonderful hot spring bath only to be soaked in dirty water and soaps constantly seeping in. 😢 I really wish this smaller bath would be a private bath where only those who have thoroughly washed themselves in the larger large bath could enjoy a leisurely soak, eliminating the body soap and shampoo.