Hotel Sunny Shiga — Hotel in Yamanouchi

Shiga Kogen is a well preserved ski resort area from the 1990's Don't expect the latest fancy tech or decor, but the facilities are great and you can't beat this well-run Japanese lodge/hotel. We took the local bus from the station at the bottom of the hill because the express coach was either booked out or not running - not to worry, it was perfectly fine and a nice trip. Our tatami mat room for 3 was a great size with a private bathroom. Floor too hard? Just pile up extra futons if your room has extra! We looked across the road to the chair lift and it was walking distance to several other hotels which had everyday restaurants. Food at Sunny was terrific. Every day we had a variety of Japanese and western foods for breakfast, but the dinner excelled. Hotpots to cook at your table and all sorts of Japanese loveliness...wonderful! We ate lunches on the ski-fields at one or other of the cafeterias. All the food and drink was very good. As always the onsen was a highlight. A nice big size with comfortable changing area. The lodge has ski rental downstairs (VERY handy) and a drying/storage room. The whole experience made skiing so much easier. Many ski runs were easily accessible from Sunny. Shiga Kogen is a place to go and ski not to party. Just ski in the day and relax in the evening in an onsen and sleep under a fluffy...

Let's start with the negative, the hotel is a little tired.

Now for the positives which far out weight the above.

First, the staff there were very helpful. During breakfast and dinner service they always had a smile. Food was really good too. It was authentic and changed everyday.

Second, while the hotel may not be the newest, the room we had was cute and had traditional Japanese decor. We slept on tatami mats, and while not the most comfortable, certainly added to the experience.

Third in terms of skiing, you can't beat the location with the lift right across the street.

My teenage kids were beginners and the hotel took care of all our rentals including jacket, pants, helmet and googles (we had to bring our own gloves).

We had an excellent experience which was also helped by a lot of fresh snow.

We'll definitely be back to Sunny Shiga and...

I booked this room because of the location to skiing and the bus stop. I also booked it understanding I had a private bathroom. It did have a bathroom but the shower doesn't work unless you pay extra. I found this out when I tried to use it and went to the front desk to ask but they were closed. Apparently, the front is not staffed 24 hours/day. The towels are very thin and look like the have been in service for many years. The showers available for use are in the baths and not made for taking a shower standing. The water cuts off after a minute and you have to hit the button again so you never really get hot water.

No tea kettles in the room; there is a station in the common areas to get.

The dinner was good but don't bother upgrading to the apple fed beef; nothing special tasting other...