Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel

Located near the entrance to the Oirase River, it is one of the best hotels in the area. It has a big reception area, a big lounge area, and basically a big hotel.Free flow of drinks and snacks are available in the lobby lounge. In fact there are two lounges in the hotel. We have a river facing room, though we can not see the river but seeing the forest. The room is of decent size, with separate shower and toilet. It is an onsen hotel so we normally take the bath in the bath onsen. There is a split type cool/warm air conditioner installed inside the room so you can adjust the temperature and wind speed to your liking. The room has a big window so you can see the outside forest very clearly. The onsen has a vast outdoor onsen area with no roof, so if it is snowing the snow will fall right on your head. There are only two restaurants in the hotel. A buffet restaurant where guests dine for breakfast and dinner. There is another a French restaurant for dinner only. We dined at the buffet restaurant only. The buffet restaurant, which is located on the ground floor by the garden, offers a wide variety of food choices and most importantly, good quality of food. Not to mention a very high standard of service staff at the restaurant. The hotel offers quite many activities, such as free shuttle along the trail of Oirase river, open top bus, star gazing tour, lamp making class, etc. The hotel even provides walking boots for the guests. When the weather is good, outdoor breakfast, afternoon tea are also available. You may have to reserve a consecutive of two nights with the hotel. Given the reasonable price tag, I strongly recommend Hoshino Oirase.