Soratobu Usagi

The lodge was super clean and the food was amazing. They make every effort to help you enjoy your stay. We were given a beautiful sashimi and sushi dinner on our last night.

There was no pick up and we had to get a taxi to the lodge. Taking the shuttle bus with our heavy bags would have been awful.

I stayed in the dorm, so that is a cabin down the hill from the main building. There are 3 floors to the cabin; 7 beds (or cots, rather) upstairs, and 3 cots in the basement floor. Common areas (kitchen, toilet and shower) is on the middle floor, where the main door is (see more below). Facilities in the cabin were fine; heater worked as expected. If you run hot, perhaps request a bed in the lower level or prepare to crack open a window xD Kitchen was quite well stocked; lots of different dishes, cutlery and pans. Rice cooker, kettle, microwave, and triple-stove is available. Refrigerator and freezer is full-sized. As other reviews have mentioned, you will have many stinkbug visitors; I ended up just catching them and tossing them out the window. Maybe 2-3 per day? Of course, there were more; they are attracted to the ceiling lights so you can find some strategic way of minimising them in your space xD There weren't *so* many that my bed (or food) had any in them. I used the shower/bath in the main building because the cabin one easily gets clogged with hair. The main building also has (coin) laundry and kitchen facilities, if you need. The drying room is really spacious. Wifi was decent (see more below). FYI, the local bus doesn't actually take you all the way to Suginohara Gondola; and even if it did, it's not like it's beside the gondola either. It's actually closer to the pair chairlift that takes you up to the green run that leads to the gondola. So the bus will actually take you to Suginosawa Onsen, which then you would have to walk uphill for ~10-min. OR, be really nice (and look pitiful) to the driver... I think he's used to it, he will drive you a bit closer (where you would then walk a few minutes downhill to the main building). ALSO, btw... it's ski-in/ski-out, but it's not SB-in/SB-out. You need to 1foot-out. Not a bit deal, but just FYI.

[1] There is no wifi reception in the cabin. You need to be near/within the main building for that. [2] There aren't really any "common" areas, other than a few spots in the main building. [3] The beds are cots with basic thin mattresses; not the most comfortable. But they do provide many blankets. [4] Because the space is so tight and cramped, it's easy to feel overwhelmed with so many people. In my particular instance, there was a group of 5, so of course, their noises can easily dominate the space. [5] You have to pay 100 yen per bag to dispose of our rubbish. Since it's a dorm, are we supposed to each keep our own trash separated? Where is the space for this? Who becomes responsible when everyone is coming and going? This isn't a major issue, but for 100 yen, why doesn't the hotel just deal with it instead of creating complicated matters? [6] Kind of weird to only have 3 chairs for 10 people, right? Why not put in a bench? Or even a bench outside? [7] Check-in process was really minimal. Basically tell you where the cabin is, and you're on your own. Not such a big deal, but feels like quite a departure from other Japanese places. [8] They also don't have daily cleaning or anything; you are absolutely on your own in that cabin. So... best of luck that you get decent housemates.

Loved the location, staff, breakfasts, and dinners were superb. They were totally Japanese cuisine and exceptional value for money.