The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the mountain lodge was in the perfect spot to watch the sunrise, so it was great. It made for some wonderful memories!

On the day of our visit, the weather was clearly bad and cold. We finally made it to Hakuba Sanso, dropped off our luggage, and were checking in when we saw a staff member—apparently because another guest had left their luggage on a chair—roughly set down their backpack while angrily demanding, “Please don’t leave your luggage here!” Since he was directing his comments at us—who had nothing to do with the situation—I was honestly annoyed. At the front desk, there wasn’t even a simple “Thank you for your hard work,” and I found his attitude disappointing—perhaps because he was still frustrated with the guest who had left their backpack there. Hakuba Mountain Lodge is a large and famous lodge, but it was the most unpleasant experience I’ve ever had at a mountain lodge.

The pork miso soup for dinner was delicious. It really warmed my tired body. Flush toilets are the best. When I went to the restroom at 4:00, I noticed the used toilet paper was still piled up, so I thought it might be more pleasant to use the restroom if it were collected at night. The lecture on the 120th anniversary was also a great opportunity to learn about Hakuba’s history, and I really enjoyed listening to it. It’s a shame I couldn’t buy mauve’s 120th-anniversary ptarmigan pin because it was sold out 😢 I hope they’ll restock it❗️

The room in Building 2 was cold because of drafts. I was glad the restroom was clean. I had a lot of trouble because the water in the sink wouldn’t start running in the morning. Dinner was hearty and delicious, but one oyaki was enough for breakfast. It was a shame that the staff was generally unfriendly. The next day, I stayed at Asahi Cabin, where everyone smiled at me or chatted with me every time we passed each other—it was really nice—so it was a shame in comparison.

Even though it was a shared room, it was small and had a limited number of guests, so there was plenty of personal space and I was able to relax. The facility was very clean, and the restrooms were spotless.

The lodge was very clean—it was so nice that I couldn’t believe I was actually up in the mountains. The meals were hearty, and it was a very satisfying stay at the mountain lodge.

■Things I Liked The drying room was spacious, and there were plenty of hangers. Free drinking water was provided. The restrooms were surprisingly clean. The selection of souvenirs was excellent (the neck gaiters were a rare find). Even though it was breakfast, there was a wide variety of side dishes (I feel like many people couldn’t finish the oyaki; I took mine to go and ate it as a snack later). The room I stayed in wasn’t cold Plenty of stamps (though it’s a bit of a luxury, the ink for the stamps had dried up, which was a downside) ■Things I Was Dissatisfied With We were five people sharing a Japanese-style room, but it felt quite cramped because we were packed in tightly relative to the size of the room. As a result, I only managed to sleep for about two hours. ・Once the futons were laid out, there was no space to walk (I had to step over other guests when entering or leaving the room). ・Since the mattress was only about 165 cm wide, I was guaranteed to bump into the feet of the guest sleeping on the futon across from me 200% of the time. (A female guest mentioned the same thing.) ・There were absolutely no partitions, and because the room was so small, we were very close to our neighbors—so the snoring (loud as thunder) from the guest sleeping next to me echoed directly into my ears. If you want a good night’s sleep, it’s best to book a private room, even if it costs a little more. Since Hakuba Sanso attracts many hikers and groups who treat the trip like a vacation, the atmosphere feels almost like being back in the city. Overall, I didn’t feel like I’d definitely want to stay at Hakuba Sanso again. The lecture celebrating the 120th anniversary was interesting, though.

The reception staff were very friendly, which made me happy. However, the way they served the hot water was sloppy and unfriendly, and they didn't even fill the cup to 500 ml, which was unpleasant.

Since there is no bath, I cannot rate this.