I thought it was a really nice mountain lodge. It really lives up to its reputation as one of the largest! The facilities were clean, and the food was delicious. It was cloudy that day, so I couldn’t see the views everyone raves about—I’d love to visit again.

I was worried that, since it’s supposedly Japan’s largest mountain lodge, it might be packed to the brim with people, but that wasn’t the case at all (lol). It was also nice that the staff at the front desk were all so friendly, even though there were probably a lot of guests. Maybe because everyone was spread out throughout the building? It felt relatively quiet, which was also nice. Since we had to give up on going to Hakuba Yari Onsen due to the weather, I think we’ll be staying here again, so we look forward to your hospitality.

We stayed in a private room for two. It was only 2 tatami mats in size, but it was plenty of space to rest. The pork miso soup really hit the spot after a long day… The food was absolutely delicious. We really appreciated having a drying room.

When I made the reservation, I booked a large room that accommodates 40 people. On the day of my stay, however, I was shown to a small room that accommodates a maximum of 8 people. On top of that, the guests who had arrived before me were hogging the room, which was very inconvenient. Given these circumstances, I should have booked a different room from the start. This defeats the whole purpose of making a reservation.

It's a comfortable cabin, and the restroom is very clean.

Since it’s essentially a mountain lodge, I’m very satisfied with Hakuba Sanso. Although I requested a dormitory room, if I had one minor complaint, it’s this: since the COVID-19 pandemic, personal space in dormitory rooms has generally been expanded, and even in slightly cramped rooms, partitions near the face are now the norm. However, here there were only futons about shoulder-width wide—similar to the space in old Mount Fuji mountain huts—and I was a bit surprised to find myself coming into contact with my neighbor multiple times while sleeping. Staying in a dormitory room is one of the joys of a mountain lodge, so I’d appreciate it if they could reconsider this a bit.

A relative of the founder explained the history of the mountain lodge to us, and we had a truly enriching experience. I was having trouble putting on my crampons for the first time, but that person patiently and thoroughly showed me how, which really touched me. Thanks to the patrol members keeping an eye on us, we were able to make it down the mountain safely. Thank you very much.

Since we arrived late, we asked to switch from the regular dinner to beef stew. Even though the deadline for changes was 4:00 p.m. and we were 15 minutes past that, the staff still asked the kitchen to accommodate us, and I was really happy they were able to make the change. And just as everyone says, it was absolutely delicious. The mountain lodge itself was very clean, and the view of the mountains from the Sky Plaza was truly magnificent.