Ski-in/out resort
 

I am looking for ideas on ski-in / ski-out resort hotel. Although adults are skiing also, the primary purpose is getting our inexperienced kids to ski. So doesn't have to be a mega ski place, although a decent terrain would still be a bonus. We want convenient access from the hotel to ski area. I would've loved to take my family to Zao, but I don't think there's a ski-in/out hotel there.

Our criteria:
- Within 4 hours (via train+bus) of Tokyo
- Hotel is decent and clean
- Hotel has onsen

Would like:
- Ski area not too packed (we're probably skiing 25~27 Dec)
- Well-organized ski school
- Ski area has at least 5 or 6 beginner/intermediate runs longer than ~800m for us adults.
- Resort has some additional recreational stuff beyond skiing and onsen (such as kids' play area).

So far I'm considering the following, but each has drawbacks:
- NASPA Yuzawa New Otani (ski area almost too small even for our purpose, probably pricey)
- Prince Naeba (not a fan of Prince hotels and the hotel reviews support my fear, inadequate onsen facilities, prob crowded)
- Tanguramu Furumi Tokyu Resort (I've never been there, which makes me wary)
- Joetsu Kokusai Green Plaza (haven't been there in a while, but I'm reading reviews that the hotel has deteriorated).

Would appreciate any suggestions. So far I'm leaning towards NASPA, but they may be too expensive for us.

Also open to hotel resorts that are not ski in/out as long as they offer frequent shuttles or something that make it super easy and quick (<5min) to get to the ski place.

I was going to suggest NASPA. There are a couple of decent runs in addition to beginner stuff. Also Kagura is pretty close. Transportation is super easy.

Thanks a lot. I will wait to see what New Otani's rates are like when they open up their rooms for Dec reservations. It just seems like NASPA is our best bet. If the prices aren't outrageous, I will probably go with them unless anyone has other recommendations.

I checked out Kagura, but it sounds like the closest hotel is Prince Naeba. If I'm booking Prince Naeba, we're probably staying put at Naeba and skiing in front of the hotel. But the hotel reviews are not great there.

Nozawa Onsen maybe? It's definitely not ski-in, ski-out, but there's a regular shuttle bus every 20-30mins that goes round the village and drops you off right at the base of the ski lifts. In my experience the bus is normally not at all crowded.

Nozawa Onsen is a great spot. If I didn't have kids to deal with, I'd definitely go for Nozawa Onsen or Zao or places like that. But with kids, convenience trumps terrain, apres-ski, snow quality, everything. So I sort of need a place where lobby, ski school, ski rental and slopes are all within a few-minute radius.

Check out Hakuba Cortina. Hilarious bubble era relic of hotel at the base.
http://www.powderhounds.com/Japan/Ho...a-Cortina.aspx

Adults can maybe drive over to Happo One for one day of skiing, which is 30 min away.

I went there once when they supposedly got 50 cm of snow while Happo got 20 or 30. However, it was like cement, so can't call it powder skiing.

Thanks. Great suggestion. Forgot about this one. I've looked into it and will continue to consider it. Rooms not yet available for booking, so I'll have to see what the rates will be like.

Comparing this one vs the other Green Plaza at Joetsu Kokusai:
- Joetsu Kokusai is much easier to get to from Tokyo.
- Hakuba's GPH is rated 4.3 on Rakuten, Joetsu Kokusai 3.9. That's a significant difference in Hakuba's favor.

I didn't stay there but I went inside because I got a lift ticket special that included lunch. It definitely had that "things have gone down hill since 1989" feel that you often find in Japan. This was in 2012.

The hotel is enormous so you should get a good deal. Well, maybe not during Xmas.

What about the Mominoki Hotel? It's not exactly ski in out, but is across the road, and has the rental company co-located. Evergreen is the english language snow school and also across the road.

OP here. More and more hotels are starting to take reservations for this Dec. Plus I'm finding out that kids ski free at Prince resorts. I'm trying to do this without breaking the bank (New Otani NASPA ridiculously expensive), and so it's really come down to two choices: Prince Manza vs Prince Shizukuishi. Prices pretty comparable overall.

It's been a long time since I've been to Manza (and I didn't ski there), and I've never even been to Shizukuishi. I doubt anybody here has been to both places to be able to compare the two... but I'd appreciate any feedback from those who have been to either, whether it's about the hotel or skiing.

Again, I don't need great powder and massive terrain. All I want is clean ski-in/ski-out hotel with onsen, and organized ski school. Hotel has to be clean and decent, which is something you don't always get at Prince.

These are the prices I'm getting right now for 2 nights for family of 4 in late Dec (wish I could do 3 nights, but can't afford it at these prices). Lowest-priced packages that include breakf & dinner.

Manza Prince is really the only one I can realistically afford in this group. But I'm just not keen on Manza as a ski place based on what I've read. Hakuba Cortina seems great, but it's too much. Kids ski free at Shizukuishi, so that's the one I've booked thus far. If anyone's been, please provide feedback on the mountain, ski school and the hotel.

Hakuba - Hotel Green Plaza 104,000yen
Joetsu Kokusai - Hotel Green Plaza 80,000yen
Alts - Hoshino Resort 115,600yen
NASPA - N/A at this point (was like 150,000yen before.. WHY IS NASPA SO EXPENSIVE?!!!)
Shizukuishi - Prince 83,000yen
Manza - Prince 61,000yen
--------------------(started looking into Hokkaido, as well)-----------------
Kiroro - SPG Tribute Hotel 157,000yen
Niseko - Niseko Hilton 190,000yen (or 616,000 pts lol)
Sahoro - Club Med 533,000yen lol
Rusutsu - N/A
Tomamu - N/A (Hoshino Tomamu Tower avail if 3 nights for 306,000yen)

For Kiroro, Tribute still needs a 5 min bus, Sheraton is truely ski in/out.

Oh really? Thanks, I thought Tribute was ski in/out.
Tribute is too expensive anyways, and Sheraton's not even avail (and I'd imagine even more expensive if it were available).

We started looking beyond our original criteria of within 4hr of Tokyo, because I was told that there may not be snow in late Dec down around Gunma/Shinshu region some years. But forget Hokkaido. Prices up there are laughable.

I skied Shiga quite a bit in the past. Used to stay at the New Yokote Lodge. Website http://www.new-yokote.com/ is Japanese only but they have a lot of foreign guests. Right on the slope. There are quite a few similar lodges in the area. Okushiga Kogen Hotel is more upscale and in a different part of the mountain. Thinking about this, Shiga may be your best bet. 1:20 on the train to Nagano and then another 1:20 on the bus.

I'm guessing New Yokote might be something like 8 to 10k per person per night. Okushiga would be 12 to 15k.

Thanks. Had a look at both New Yokote and Oku-Shiga Kogen. Neither one has real onsen, so I'll have to pass. I'm also looking for something a little more upscale. Shiga Kogen does not seem to be an onsen area. Not many places with real onsen. Previously I looked into Prince Shiga Kogen, but they don't have real onsen there, either.