Hotel Taiko — Hotel in Myoko

The saving grace for this hotel is the open air onsen with a view of the adjacent tree-dotted hills and neighboring houses.

In the winter, it is heaven to sink in the comfortingly hot waters after that brief sprint from the shower area to the onsen, with powdery snow accumulated around the edges of the “pool.”

Another upside is the spaciousness of our triple room, Japanese style, which I prefer to a Western set-up. However, one night, we could hear people in the neighboring room making a ruckus in the wee hours of the morning. Hence, thin walls.

Other than that.. hmmm. This hotel is like a flashback from the 60s-70s. The first thing that stands out is the wall to wall carpet of the lobby, predominantly violet with huge cherry blossoms . In fairness, the lobby was lined with huge picture windows, letting in a lot of natural light.

All throughout the hotel, one can see it is outdated: fluorescent lighting, water stained ceilings, rotary dial phones, old bathroom fixtures, vintage furniture…

One thing that needs vast improvement is the dining options. Breakfast is the only decent meal you can have on site, with a wise selection of Western and Asian food, buffet style, included in the room price.

The Japanese restaurant offers only overpriced ( with small portions) of tempura and rice bowls. Such a letdown.

At the lobby, there are menu cards displayed on the tables and you order at the front desk: pizza, fries, fried chicken, gyoza, simple vegetable sushi,pork curry .. The thing is, there aren’t any viable dining options in the neighborhood and the hotel food left much to be desired, especially if you stay 3-4 days for a ski trip.

By the way this is not a ski in, ski out hotel. There is a one within walking distance, but easy slopes. Another one ( Akakura Kanko) is accessible via free shuttle , about 8 minutes away ( more choices of ski runs).

There were more Western guests (95 pct) than Japanese. I personally would have preferred one with a local vibe. I did a lot of research on different ski regions near Tokyo and it said Miyoko was more local than Hakuba.. not anymore..

The staff was friendly and at the reception, there was always someone who spoke English. Otherwise, at the in -house ski shop and bar, they were mostly Caucasian.

This hotel needs much improvement but the priority should be the food. After a couple of days, you run out of choices with the very...

I am writing this review, because I regret that I didn't pick this hotel when I went to Akakura the first time (Dec 2022) and picked one that has much higher rating around 4.8. I thought 3.5 is relatively low and I should avoid this hotel. However, when I went to Akakura the second time (Feb 2023), I had no choice, so I picked this. And the experience was so much nicer than my first stay in a hotel with 4.8 Google Review score. So I think Google Review score cannot reflect the true condition all the times.

Room: The room I got allocated is really nice, spacious with great views. The futon is very comfy. The heat is reliable. I have two very comfortable nights there. Their toilet amenities are nice as well. What I like most is its electric kettle. It's the always-on type that you can just press the dispense button to have hot water whenever you want. The things that I would like it to improve is its curtain and window frame. The morning light can't be blocked, so I can't sleep further more after 7am. The washroom of my room is quite old, with some stinky smell. The toilet bowl and seat is new, but the wall paper and floor tiles are old. Onsen: I have tried many onsens and onsen hotels throughout Japan. This is one of the best! Many non-staying guests just came to the hotel to enjoy the onsen. So the onsen is good, but it might be quite crowded during peak hours just before dinner. I went back to enjoy the onsen after I check out. Foods: I tried their sukiyaki dinner and it's yummy! Breakfast is buffet style and is nice! Ski pass: You can ask the reception for great discount on the ski pass. I save about 20-30% everyday by buying the pass from the hotel. Ski rental: I didn't rent from the hotel, as there is about 8-10mins walk to the slope. I chose to rent from those rental shops just next to the slope to save my energy. Massage: They have massage service at the top floor. I tried, but I think the style is not the one I like. The strength is not sufficient to release my muscle tension after one-day of snowboarding. But the ambience...

Just wrapped up a wonderful 5-night stay at Hotel Taiko.|| ||• Pros:||o Location – short ride from Myoko station. Easy walk to restaurants, bars, and multiple lifts in the town.||o Free pick-up from station. We were able to arrange this the morning of our arrival via email.||o Spacious, comfortable rooms. Stayed in a Japanese-style room with tatami mats and slept great! Lovely sitting area with gorgeous view in the room.||o Ensuite bathroom & shower—fairly uncommon for Japanese-style rooms in other Myoko hotels to have a private shower.||o Onsen – this was great! Inside bathing/shower area with hot pool and an outdoor hot spring. Separated by gender. Very clean. Wonderful after a day of skiing!||||• Cons:||o Ski rental – I paid to rent ski equipment as part of our room rate. In hindsight, wish I hadn’t. When we went to the rental shop onsite, we found the equipment to be old. Ended up renting from another shop down the street.||o Though clean, beautiful, and very comfortable, the hotel feels a bit dated (carpet looks old, rotary phone in the room). ||||Overall, really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Taiko. Would absolutely...