Hotel Astoria (Nagano)

Our family of five thoroughly enjoyed the gracious hospitality of this hotel. From Nagano Station, you take a bus run by Nagaden Co. to the bus stop called Shiga Kogen Yama No Eki (about a 90 minute ride, 1700 yen per person). The bus runs 7 times a day (first run is at 0900 and last run is at 1725--from January 4-March 22, there is a 2100 bus). Once we got on the bus, we called Hotel Astoria and they picked us up from the Yama No Eki stop. They graciously let us order dinner even though it was after 7pm--an a la carte menu that was a lot cheaper than food on the slopes. We then made a reservation for both breakfast and dinner for the rest of our stay (excellent food, great price). They shuttle you whenever you would like to go the Hasuike lift and rental area--we rented snowboards and skis through the hotel and it was 2500 yen per person per day. This is a family run hotel and although their English is limited, they have an English menu and we communicated fine. It is in the middle of a wintery forest and after skiing it was great to relax in their onsen and eat their delicious food. There is no restaurant that you could walk to in the winter, but in the summer, the walk to the Yama No Eki stop is about 10-15 minutes and there is a small store and Mexican restaurant there. There is no Family Mart/convenience store in walking distance. We did not need a car because they drove us everywhere when we wanted to go (they have a large shuttle van). If you want a wonderful forest setting and hospitable service, I recommend this hotel. I look forward to returning here whenever we ski at Shiga Kogen (an awesome ski mountain with great snow and not as crowded as Niseko).