Shirakaba

Shirakaba descritpion

Hotel Shirakaba sells fast on our site. Just 350 feet from Nozawa Onsen Hot Spring Street, Shirakaba offers traditional Japanese-style rooms with a tatami-mat floor, futon bedding and an en suite bathroom. It has an indoor public bath and serves breakfast and dinner.
Rooms at Shirabaka Hotel are heated and offer views of the surrounding hills. A low table with cushions and a TV are provided, and the private bathroom includes a bathtub.
Located 2,650 feet from Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort, the hotel is a 20-minute drive from JR Togari Nozawa Onsen Train Station. Free parking is provided with an advance reservation.
The hotel sells ski passes and provides a drying room for ski equipment. Guests can receive a 30% discount on ski rentals from the on-site shop. A coin-operated washing machine can be used, and the lobby has free Wi-Fi.
A Japanese breakfast and dinner are served at the dining room. Advance reservations are required.
This property is a ryokan, which is a type of traditional Japanese Inn. Learn more

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Facilities of Shirakaba

Ski ：Ski Storage | Ski Passes Available

Pets ：Pets are not allowed.

Activities ：Skiing

Food & Drink ：Bar

Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in public areas and is free of charge.

Parking ：Free!Free private parking is available on site (reservation is needed).

Languages Spoken ：Japanese | English | German

Reviews for Shirakaba

Review 1：The one of 白樺Hotel staff(man) is very kind~ He introduced the Nozawa's hotspring site to us! There are so comfortable to wear the 'yukata'(Japanese traditional cloth) to walk to the hot spring site! By the way, because we are 白樺's guest, to lend snow appliance have discount, it's so nice~^O^~

Review 2：Having to carry all our luggage up to the 3rd floor. The check out time is 10am which is no good if you want to ski the morning, and they where not flexible with the check out time.

Review 3：Great location to everything in town. Friendly and helpful staff. If you want a Japanese experience this is the place for you. There is a great coffee shop right next door (this is part of the hotel) that makes the best coffee and the staff are helpful and friendly.

Review 4：No option for dinner, private hot spring very average and small in size, way too simple breakfast, online booking price higher than walk-in price, which printed on local guide booklet.

Review 5：Nothing impressive

Review 6：We wanted a traditional Japanese experience rather than a western style hotel - that's exactly what we got! It was basic but the reviews and descriptions were clear about this before we booked so no issues.

Review 7：Warm host, delicious homecooked breakfast, easy access from Chuo Bus Terminal and food outlets. Facilities though basic were adequate. No lifts at this property but they helped us place our luggage in the room, though we brought them down on our own. Rooms are small, compared to other properties in this village. We had a private bathroom but it was very basic compared to the usual Japanese toilets, we didn't mind because it was functional and very clean. If you were staying on the 3rd floor, the bathrooms were on the 2nd and 1st floors, which can be a pain running up and down. Washing machine in the basement, only need to pay for the dryer. This property is not centrally heated so corridors and stairways are cold, not an issue for us at all. We really enjoyed our stay.

Review 8：Service fair Hard to get used to Japanese pillows

Review 9：Lovely views , enjoyed the onsen style bathing room Nice Japanese rooms with traditional sleeping arrangements Good location to the village and bus stop Traditional breakfast served

Review 10：Bit of a hike to the ski lifts but location to town and Onsens was great.

Review 11：A nice place to stay. Big rooms. Staff were helpful and friendly. Wifi worked well.

Review 12：In the morning, we could only use the public bath from 7 to 9 am. Then can use from 16.00 on. Wish it would be available the whole morning.

Review 13：Great Japanese breakfast, please make sure to book in advance. Nice view on the village and the mountains. Great location. Friendly staff.

Review 14：nothing :)

Review 15：wonderful time to vista Nozawa: no snowboarders, lots of time to talk to locals! beautiful scenery and nearby to interesting places like Zenkoji and Obusei

Review 16：Great location, friendly staff and a lovely view of the town and hills from our room. It felt like an honest experience of Japanese style sleeping, we thoroughly enjoyed our short stay.

Review 17：Cozy & clean. Owner is very helpful . The whole building assimilate well with the nature as many wood were used instead of cement ,plastic or glass .

Review 18：WiFi was only available in the hotel lobby. It's always nice to have WiFi in your room. Although, having said that, it meant that we didn't waste away time in our room on our electronic devices!

Review 19：Overall our stay was lovely. The room was clean and we chose the traditional room with our own private bathroom. The bathroom was very basic.

Review 20：No WIFI in the room.

Review 21：Simple but nice Japanese breakfast. The place is cozy. The owner is helpful though she does not understand much English. But communication is not a big barrier with sign language.

Review 22：Quite poor english considering how it advertises to a western clientele Wifi next to useless even in lounge area Didn't make up the bed while we were there and if staying for three nights that's not on Not sure if it's worth the money but it's in a ski/onsen resort things rarely are!

Review 23：Friendly Very nice Japanese breakfast

Review 24：Wifi is very poor - really needs sorting. Would have been nice to have room cleaned (but this may be our inexperience with staying at ryokans). Owners are super friendly and helpful but have limited English - patience is required.

Review 25：Excellent breakfast. Friendly atmosphere. Great location. Discount at Shirakaba's hire shop which had friendly, helpful staff and a decent range of skis (if you're not too tall!).

Review 26：Wifi reception is only good in the lobby but no big deal

Review 27：This place made our Nozawa Onsen experience so magical. Has such a cool authentic vibe and the staff is so friendly & helpful. Location is perfect just foot steps away from all the action and short 10 min walk to the slopes. Loved it!!

Review 28：Sleeping on futons after a hard day on the slopes, wifi only in the lobby area, nowhere to sit in a western-style chair.

Review 29：Very helpful owners, clean, arrangement with the ski shop of the same name so we could hire with discount and store our gear there at the lifts.

Review 30：Rice pillows and futon beds took a little while to get used to, rooms are very small, wifi only in lobby, sometimes difficult to attract attention as front counter when collecting room key

Review 31：Kind hosts, loads of local restaurants, authentic japanese guest house feel, good heater, room we chose had a private toilet and shower. Great value for price!

Review 32：We would have liked an alternative to the (no doubt) very authentic, grain-filled bag which served as a pillow. None of us slept well on this so possibly a western style pillow option would have been nice to have as an alternative. Also it would have been nice to have wifi in the rooms (not just the lobby).

Review 33：Loved the Ryokan experience of sleeping in tatami rooms, the hot pool communal bathing, excellent Japanese breakfast, central location and ski storage on the mountain. We booked late so didn't get one of these rooms - but it seemed there were some rooms with lovely mountain views and individual bathrooms. Next time we would try for one of those. Friendly staff members (all family owned and operated) who were happy to advise us on restaurants for dinner and book us in.

Review 34：Wifi though fast, limited in areas mainly around reception, but no big deal. Onsen bath downstairs very hot for most westerners, but takes getting used to and there are many others around town to choose from.

Review 35：The family run warm hospitality, great recommendations for dining and places to go. Ayumi...you are awesome! Rooms are very traditional, beautiful views of village. Close to Yu road, and walking to most good dining /shops. Linked ski rental to Hikage, great to leave gear up there each day. We'll be back.

Review 36：Sleeping on the floor takes some getting used to but it's a Japanese experience afterall!

Review 37：I've stayed at Shirakaba on both visits to Nozawa Onsen. The location is just a short walk to the base of the moving walkway, the staff are extremely friendly and accommodating, they also possibly own the best rental facility on the mountain. The best thing though would be the communal vibe you feel when staying in their ryokan.

Review 38：Limited Wi-Fi, restricted to reception area. Not difficult to remedy and a very minor gripe, considering everything else.

Review 39：Relaxed atmosphere, comfortable, and friendly owners. Great traditional optional breakfast. Just outside centre of village location, 2 minutes. Excellent value for money and free storage of skis and boots right on the piste offered.

Review 40：very comfortable bedding and a great location. the staff was great and very helpful. the stay included a 30% off on rental snowboard or skiing gear from shirakaba snow gear rental plus you can buy your lift tickets from the hotel.

Review 41：We felt the towels and sheets could have been changed more frequently.

Review 42：Our room was beautifully decorated and spacious. The Japanese breakfasts were delicious and varied every day. The staff were welcoming and helpful.

Review 43：Can be a bit noisy and not as comfortable as you might be use to. Everything you can expect from Ryokan accomodation though.

Review 44：Good location only a small walking distance to the main street and chair lift about 10min walk. Staff extremely friendly and helpful. Gave us some great dinner recommendations.

Review 45：food was delicious and the owners were sooooooo lovely and accomodating. They went out of there way to make our stay enjoyable, we left feeling like we had been staying with friends.

Review 46：The bathroom drain was semi blocked, so the drain water always back flow, which leaves bathroom a bit mass. The room is very small, and really low value for the charge. Might be ok for solo traveller, but not recommended for family.

Review 47：Close to the ski resort

Review 48：Shirakaba written in English somewhere on the outside of the building but it doesn't matter now as we know where it is.

Review 49：Very friendly, very clean and in a perfect location. Extremely good value. Good wifi in the area near the desk only which was a good thing. Breakfast was good and different everyday. 30% discount on ski rental.

Review 50：Loved the traditional Japanese accommodation experience. A bit daunting at first but when you settle in, it was unique and rewarding. Their set menu dinner was AAA. A short walk to everything and was downhill from the slopes at the end of the day.

Review 51：Couldn't quite get used to the small pillows which seemed to be stuffed with rice?? But we asked for traditional...so we got it!!

Review 52：Loved the delicious traditional breakfasts, kept us going for ages. The traditional rooms were very, very simple, but lovely. It was very quiet and the onsen came as such a relief after a days snowboarding. Friendly staff and free use of the washing machine. Shirakaba is also linked to Shirakaba ski / snowboard hire up at Hikage. Book online to get your discount. Such friendly guys, and the equipment seems to be brand new.

Review 53：Not much at all... be prepared for some "stair climber 2000" walks up the hill to the ski slopes.

Review 54：Traditional Style Japanese accomodation, fantastic friendly staff. Our first visit to Japan with 5, 8 and 10 year old children. The hotel staff put up with the loudness of our kids. Bonus.

Review 55：The place has a homely feeling, probably because it's the owner who attended to us personally, even for the preparation of breakfast. It was a good experience for a simple traditional japanese breakfast.

Review 56：Getting off the futon, hard to get up with bad knees Pick your time to visit the town was barely open, no people around.

Review 57：Location, easy walk to town Breakfast was included and very good Staff were friendly, very little English so lots of sign language. Clean and comfortable Washing and drying facilities

Review 58：very helpful staff. delicious japanese breakfast

Review 59：Friendly, helpful staff. Close to village centre & ski fields. Great views from rooms. Hot Onsen in hotel.

Review 60：check out at 10am. poor breakfast no facility poor wifi poor value for money

Review 61：location

Review 62：Fish for breakfast every day

Review 63：Staffs are great and close to the shops and restaurants.

Review 64：Very friendly helpful staff who also own a great cafe and bar right next door. Great location

Review 65：Bad wifi connection, had to sit next to the router.

Review 66：Lovely staff who were very helpful and friendly. Great Japanese breaky and bath. Highly recommend.

Review 67：Na

Review 68：Good location.

Review 69：Nothing!

Review 70：The room was amazing , very spacious with a gorgeous garden view. Food and service were also 10/10.

Review 71：wifi in room was weak

Review 72：the friendly lady owner, good breakfast.

Review 73：the location was ideal, the staff were helpful and wonderful, breakfast was yummy!

Review 74：Poor wifi. Rooms are small

Review 75：Rooms are clean and owners are helpful and friendly

Review 76：First time on futons! Surprisingly comfortable! Location great. Staff fab!

Review 77：No wifi in room

Review 78：Location was great. The staff was helpful.

Review 79：Kind, patient and helpful family-run hotel.

Review 80：Traditional ryokan in very good central location.

Review 81：There is no onsen in the hotel. Only public onsen nearby outside the hotel. Can't really go with yukata especially in winter.

Review 82：no bad points

Review 83：I can't emphasise enough how good an experience we had staying here. You would be crazy to stay anywhere else when in Nozawa Onsen

Review 84：could have had a few toiletries in the room but that's not really much of an issue.

Review 85：the people, staff, location and the cleanliness.

Review 86：Staff spoke good English and were very flexible. Rooms were typical Japanese style. Great location. Good storage and drying area for skis etc.

Review 87：The family that runs Shirakaba is incredibly hospitable and go out of their way to help you.

Review 88：nothing.

Review 89：the discount in the ski rental shop and we could leave the gears at the slope.

Review 90：Very hospitable staff, family owned operated which made us feel very welcomed. Great location, 1 min walk to most of the restaurants/bars. Would definitely stay there again when I go back to Nozawa.

Review 91：That we did not stay long enough. We had booked two accommodation stops in Nozawa and enjoyed Shirakaba more.

Review 92：Comfortable and homely. Warm heater and hot shower. View from room and the friendly hosts. Close to food and the shops. 'Awesomely Japanese experience' . Futon bed was a new experience and really enjoyed making it each evening. The discount ski rental and lift passes offered by Shirakaba and being able to leave the ski equipment at the slopes was very handy.

Review 93：The room service was a little sporadic but there was always fresh hot water and green tea.

Review 94：The room was lovely and relaxed and the breakfasts were excellent. Due to train delays we didn't arrive until midnight but the lovely staff waited up for us, the futons were made up and there were steamed buns and hot tea in the room. The location is great, just near the bus stop and the central street with restaurants and bars and a short 5-10 minute walk to the moving walkway to the slopes.

Review 95：Be aware that the shared bathing facility is open/communal (onsen style) divided into male and female bathrooms. This didn't worry me and I found I always had it to myself anyway, but some of our group preferred to book a room with their own attached bathroom. The pool was very very very hot but the showers were nice!

Review 96：Lovely staff. Clean rooms. Nice little onsen and laundry in the basement. Good information available at reception and discounts on lift tickets and ski hire, with storage of rental equipment at the hire shop at the base of the slope. Wifi worked well at reception with comfortable seating area. Rooms were warm. The village is small and good for walking around so the distance to the ski area was fine for us, just leave enough time if you have young kids with small legs as it is uphill and lots of interesting things to stop and look at on the way.

Review 97：Wonderful staff, who were always more than happy to help out. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and we enjoy staying in the Japanese style rooms. Nozawa is an incredible place, and we shall be coming back to this hotel again next year!

Review 98：Tiny private toilet/bathrooms. Lobby had uncomfortable, awkward area to remove and put on shoes.

Review 99：Good easy access to cute town and bus stop to Nagano. Discount ski rental and lift tickets at hotel front desk.

Review 100：The breakfast is cold and little. Not really used to it. Futon looks a bit old and dirty.

Review 101：Staff is very friendly and attentive. Felt very relaxed in this ryokan. Full of warmth and family feel. Had left my hairband in the room when I checked out of hotel. Staff found my hairband and hung it at my bag when I came back in the evening to collect my bag.

Review 102：The fact they let u leave ski fear on the snow it's a massive bonus. Katsu so helpful his mum is a delight. We had no Japanese they had little English but we got along like a house on fire at nozawa fire ice festival. Breakfast traditional Japanese. Amazing!

Review 103：The room is tiny, barely enough room to put our bags on the floor. The included breakfast isn't that great.

Review 104：The staff are friendly as always in Japan. The hotel is very clean.

Review 105：An English sign out the front would be a good way to identify hotel as it is in Japanese and people were always asking is this Shirakaba? More choices at breakfast would have been nice as there was only a Japanese option, although a lot of effort was put into breakfast not everyone is happy with sardines, etc for breaky.. Bedding not comfortable, needed more cushioning, Walls were very thin and you could hear everything in the next room.

Review 106：The owners were very friendly and helpful and the hotel was in a excellent location, close to everything.

Review 107：The traditional rice pillows, our bathroom drain blocked up but we used the onsens so not a prob.

Review 108：Location, friendly staff, good facilities, great discounts on hire gear! Perfect place to stay if there during the fire festival.

Review 109：The lobby was very very cold and there was no wifi in the rooms.

Review 110：The atmosphere of the entire ryokan was very homely and the staff werevery friendly. Both dinner and breakfast served were great and of superbvalue. The room was very spacious and the hotel onsen was very clean andcomfortable. Staying at the ryokan also gave us 30% off snowboard rentalat their shop on the Hikage slopes which made it the cheapest rentalwe've ever gotten yet.

Review 111：-Family owned -Staff were extremely friendly and treated us like we were part of their family -Facilities were very clean -The breakfast and dinners were excellent! Awesome presentation and taste! -Located steps from the main bus station to the train station!

Review 112：The english was very very limited but most other travellers spoke english so we were able to work things out. Most restaurants in the area required a dinner booking a day before.

Review 113：The room was very spacious for Japanese standards. It was in very easy walking distance to the ski fields.

Review 114：A bit of a yomp from the ski lifts. Men's change room for the onsen needed a bit of TLC.

Review 115：Despite the language barrier, staff went out of their way to be hospitable and helpful. Included breakfast were delicious and plentiful.

Review 116：I wasn't sure what to expect when I booked this place for two nights over Christmas since it was listed as "one star" or "budget" accommodation on most Nozawa Onsen guides. However I was surprised by how excellent it was. The location was perfect - 100m down a straight road from the bus stop or information centre. The hospitality and welcome was warm - I arrived before check-in time, but the room was ready for an early check-in. I found the hot public bath downstairs more appealing than the well-known, crowded public baths. They also provided discounted ski gear rental and lift passes, which was my main reason for visiting Nozawa Onsen in the first place. The nice lady behind the counter isn't that strong in English, but I wouldn't expect it any other way since Nozawa Onsen is an authentic Japanese village. I'm sure her English beats my Japanese any day. Anyhow for what I paid and expected, this place ended up being perfect.

Review 117：It's a lovely warm Ryokan with exceptional views of the village and the mountains. Breakfast is a sensational spread of traditional Japanese food and the common hot bath is clean and inviting. Excellent location only half a block from the bus station and the centre of town, and 10 minutes walk to the moving pathway up to the ski fields. We took advantage of the 30% off ski hire and the equipment was great quality. Ski passes are also a little cheaper if you buy them from reception.

Review 118：Nothing. This place is perfect!

Review 119：Great location, minute walk from bus stop to train station and gondola. Room is spacious, plenty of space for your luggage and plenty of cupboards. Breakfast is excellent (traditional Japanese) and included with room charges. Hotel has its own onsen for you to soak in after a long day on the slopes. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Best of all is that you can get 30% off their standard ski rental. Their equipment are really good quality. They have their rental stores right at the Hikage Gondola. You can leave all your stuff in their dry room before/after skiing without any charge. No hassle to carry all your gears up the slopes everyday! Best value in Nozawa. Will be back again for sure. Huyen & Patrick.

Review 120：breakfast is cold japanese , bed is hard

Review 121：nozawa is a fantastic ski resort better imho than nisseko or gwando korea easy travel , bullet train will get even closer in 2013..friendly japanese style hotel, travelled to nozawa via shinkansen from tokyo to nagano, at the station take the lift to street level on the left are several stops . look for the nozawaonsen stop , you pay when you arrive at nozawa , there is no booking . at nozawa walk across the cross walk it is 2 streets away on the left hotel writing is in japanese. 3rd flood room has a lovely snowey view of the hill if you are stuck check out sora nozawa owned by a couple from Perth wa , they spend winter there and perth winter in erradale their margaret river property

Review 122：We really loved the warmth and hospitality that the Kono family provided. Always eager to lead you in the right direction. Sons Katsu and Naoto seem to never stop working - whether at their ski/board shop (30% off rentals when staying in their place) on the base of the resort, or whipping up the incredible (if enormous) breakfast. Highly recommend. Not the fanciest ryokan in Nozawaonsen but, would only stay with them from now on.

Review 123：I was allocated to a top floor , a bit too many steps to catch the hot bath where located in the basement. 4 floor to climb.

Review 124：friendly staff good location, excellent dinner

The Fine Print

To eat dinner at the hotel, a reservation must be made in advance.Please note that only Japanese meals are available at the property.Guests with a tattoo may not be permitted to enter public bathing areas and other public facilities.Please inform Shirakaba of your expected arrival time in advance. You can use the Special Requests box when booking, or contact the property directly using the contact details provided in your confirmation.