Lamp no Yado Aoni Onsen — Hotel in Kuroishi

One of the worst experiences me and my friends suffered and the staff were rude and unhelpful.

we made a reservation through a booking site which did not inform us that the road access to the property was closed during winter months due to snow, and that only the hotel shuttle service was permitted.

Unknowingly, we travelled to the property through a long, narrow, snowy, and un-lit 5km road but finally arrived safely to the destination. On arrival, the staff immediately made an issue about our arrival with the car and insisted that we had to call a tow truck (emergency services) to take our car out of the way in case that it got stuck in the ice on the way out the next day and possibly disrupt their shuttle service (as the road was narrow and could only fit one way). There is zero cell service in this isolated location, hence we were not able to make any phone calls nor check the internet for options, so we asked for their help using their hotel landline. However they were even un co-operative to help and initially insisted we use a coin operated payphone to make this phone call. obviously we also couldnt speak japanese which made it impossible for us to communicate with their local service, or have any translation available. It is also very surprising that despite this hotel serving many international guests (90% of guests that night was international), none of the staff could communicate in english and some were even terribly rude at not wanting to try, the manager in particular. after a lot of frustrating back and forth, we finally managed to convince the staff to help us make a phone call to the tow service using their landline, despite this being at their insistence in the first place.

i dont understand what's so difficult, and why they insisted we use the payphone (do they realise we are paying over $150 usd per pax for this 1 night stay?? surely a mere phone call they could assist with). In the end the whole arrangement took over 4 hours to negotiate and completely ruined our entire night. and they made us pay $160 for this tow service, ridiculous.

There was clearly a lapse in communication between the booking site (JapanIcan - who were also TERRIBLE at trying to help us resolve this issue, claiming it is our fault for not checking the original hotel site, even though there was zero mention or warning on their booking site) and the hotel, but what was most frustrating was how unhelpful both sides were, their attitude was...

Simple, no frills, comfortable ryokan set in a very secluded beautiful narrow wooded valley with a rushing stream outside the windows. Be aware: the smell of paraffin from the lamps is unmistakable, pervasive, catches in your throat, and your clothes will smell of it after you have left. Having got that out of the way, everything else is makes it a really special experience. There is no wifi, phone signal, no television, so you can slow down, relax and appreciate the onsen and the nature surrounding you. The meals were healthy and delicious, featuring fresh foraged ingredients. You will not go hungry. We requested vegetarian meals a few days in advance. Eating the meal in the tatami dining room in the lamplight and watching the light fading outside was beautiful.|You will make up your own futons and there are shared toilet and tooth cleaning facilities. Everything is spotlessly clean. |There are several baths: two with a view of a delicate waterfall, which are not very hot, so good for summer, a mixed sex rotemburo with times for women only, an ofuro in the main building, and 2 cypress baths in a cypress building with a view of the river, and the water is gloriously hot. Plus an outdoor footbath. All are lit with atmospheric lanterns. |There is a car park a short walk up the hill from the ryokan.|The old wooden main building is full of character and decorated with items of local folk art. There are some small areas of garden planted with native plants near the entrance, but the rest of the surroundings are just the area's...

Simple, no frills, comfortable ryokan set in a very secluded beautiful narrow wooded valley with a rushing stream outside the windows. Be aware: the smell of paraffin from the lamps is unmistakable, pervasive, catches in your throat, and your clothes will smell of it after you have left. Having got that out of the way, everything else is makes it a really special experience. There is no wifi, phone signal, no television, so you can slow down, relax and appreciate the onsen and the nature surrounding you. The meals were healthy and delicious, featuring fresh foraged ingredients. You will not go hungry. We requested vegetarian meals a few days in advance. Eating the meal in the tatami dining room in the lamplight and watching the light fading outside was beautiful.|You will make up your own futons and there are shared toilet and tooth cleaning facilities. Everything is spotlessly clean. |There are several baths: two with a view of a delicate waterfall, which are not very hot, so good for summer, a mixed sex rotemburo with times for women only, an ofuro in the main building, and 2 cypress baths in a cypress building with a view of the river, and the water is gloriously hot. Plus an outdoor footbath. All are lit with atmospheric lanterns. |There is a car park a short walk up the hill from the ryokan.|The old wooden main building is full of character and decorated with items of local folk art. There are some small areas of garden planted with native plants near the entrance, but the rest of the surroundings are just the area's...