Owashi Lodge — Attraction in Kutchan

Worst place I have ever stayed at!! The close proximity to a chair lift is the only positive aspect of this oz snow owashi lodge!!! Not a single staff member could answer any questions about transport, rooms, amenities or ski/ snowboarding arrangements. The ski shop staff were more concerned with talking to each other than sizing up skis and snowboards correctly. A staff member also let another patron into my room to look for some of their items without our permission when we were not in the room!!! Completely unacceptable breach of privacy and safety!!!!! The staff members are simply there for a holiday and not to work. They also obviously want you to drink at the bar downstairs in the hotel but then the food offered for the “free breakfast” are eggs and cereal, which adds to the absolute feeling of nausea, along with the wet dog smell of the entire place. I also got glass in my mouth when having a drink at the bar as I was given a chipped mug!! The photos online are completely inaccurate with the bar area in the basement being cut in half compared to the old photos, the ski shop taking place of the lounge area etc. The cupboard in my room fell on me when I opened the door as it isn’t secured down properly. The locks in the showers did not work at all!! Wifi was down for over 48 hours. The floor of the bathroom completely flooded through a drain when having a shower, wetting my clothes, phone and towel. I could not get hot water to work on any of the fourth floor showers. There are no fridges or amenities anywhere, other than a terrible microwave and kettle in the laundry!?!? Floors constantly wet dirty and slippery. They ran out of half of the spirits they offer, no wine, no mixers other than coke and lemonade. Smooth stainless steel coverings at the entrances from the snow, which I saw multiple people slip on. Absolute hell hole of a location. Should be knocked down...

I stayed at Owashi Lodge for a week, and it was one of the worst travel experiences I've ever had. The room was completely different from what was advertised: an extra bed was crammed into the space, making it impossible to access the bunk beds (any of them). Absolute money grab. There was no storage, no space for luggage most people slept with their luggage in their bed, no options to lock your luggage anywhere, and the sink taps didn’t even function properly.

The security was appalling – the front door had a keypad, but the access code was written on a piece of paper right next to it, allowing anyone off the street to enter. Worse, the room door was left unlocked at all times because several guests had no keys. We were even asked by the hotel to leave the rooms unlocked as they didnt have enough keys for the everyone in the room. As the only woman in the room, this made me feel completely unsafe and vulnerable.

I raised these serious issues with the hotel and Booking.com repeatedly, but no one took responsibility. The hotel ignored me entirely, and Booking.com kept deflecting the issue, offering a laughable token refund that didn’t even cover the lock I had to buy to secure my belongings. No one from the hotel ever checked in or tried to resolve anything.

Location is great but honestly not worth the shitshow you have to endure at this hotel.

This place is false advertising at its worst, and the complete lack of care for guest safety is shocking. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone—especially solo travellers or women.

Do yourself a favor and...

I visited Owashi Lodge during the Snow Peak season of 2020. I am utterly impressed with the friendliness of staff who were a huge help throughout the check in process. I wasn’t able to check in till 0130hrs which they waited and arranged a pick up from the welcome Center. They also arranged a drop off when checking out. ||Rooms are warm, small and basic. The rooms are not sound-proof so ensure you bring a pair of earplugs. Beds are basic and hygienic. The shared bathroom is tidy and clean, which is also gender separated. |Kitchen becomes busy during peak hours but has basic facilities. The games room in the basement has basic spirits/alcohol being served, however it becomes very very rowdy. This can be said with the common room. ||I met some amazing people during this stay and was blessed with a awesome roommate. I recommend this for young solo travelers however wouldn’t recommend it for older adults. ||Close to the Hirafu Welcome Centre only a short 5-10 minute walk. Or a 15 minute walk with Snow Gear. Close to public transport if you want to grab a bus to Kutchan (400yen). A recommendation if you want Amazing Food, izakaya bars and drinks for half of the price...