Accommodation

Zao Onsen Accommodation Zao Onsen was an onsen resort town long before it was a ski resort town, so rather than having towering hotels like some of the purpose built ski resorts (e.g. Naeba, Appi Kogen), Zao Onsen is a charming traditional Japanese settlement with lots of ryokans, lodges and pensions, many with their own onsens. Zao also has a handful of Western style hotels, and more than half of the lodgings have some degree of English spoken, so Zao Onsen is a convenient destination for English speaking travellers.

Zao Onsen Accommodation Locations The village of Zao Onsen is somewhat spread out and there are a number of different base areas with lift access points. Check out this Zao Onsen village map for some orientation.

The main base area is centred round the Zao Base Centre Jupia and the Zao Sky Cable station on the Uwanadai slope. Here there are various ski-in ski-out lodges at the base as well as a few hotels dotted up the ski slopes such as Hotel Jurin. This area could be a good location for families as it’s close to the English speaking ski schools, ski rental, various beginners’ slopes and night skiing.

There are lots of accommodation places on or near the main tourist street, Takayu dori. These are well located to access the shops, restaurants and izakayas, but most will require a 5-10 minute walk up to the nearest lift. Near the upper reaches of town is Miyamaso Takamiya, an old ryokan that has been lovingly restored. This delightful Japanese inn has lots of onsens and five of the rooms have private outdoor baths.

Near Zao Chuo Ropeway are a few hotels. The Hotel Lucent Takamiya is really close to the ropeway and offers quality accommodation in a variety of rooms including Western, Japanese and combination Western/Japanese rooms. Hotel Lucent has its own onsens (both indoor and open air) and the meals are absolutely exquisite. See our Hotel Lucent review for more information.

A little further along the main road is the Zao Ropeway Sanroku Station, with various lodgings situated near here such as the western style Takamiya Rurikura Resort, the only tower hotel to be found in Zao Onsen.

Zao has a pension village that is located a couple of kilometres from the main town and the ski resort. These pensions are generally more budget oriented than the properties that are more conveniently located, but you’ll still be looking at about ¥8,000 per person per night. The pension owners provide a transport service to and from the ski area. Some of the pensions such as Pension Apple (that has an outdoor hot spring and homely hospitality) can be booked via the Zao tourism office. Some of the others such as Pension May and Pension Stella can be a fraction more challenging to book. You can use google translator to translate their Japanese websites and then email them directly, but it’s a hit and miss affair as to whether they’ll be able to reply to you.

Prices for Zao Onsen Accommodation Various budgets are catered for at Zao Onsen, although some accommodation seems over priced for what you get. In regular season prices range from ¥5,900 per person per night including breakfast for a simple pension or ¥8,000 with dinner as well, up to ¥27,500 per person with breakfast and dinner. During peak holidays prices rise significantly, with some properties tripling their rates.

At most Zao Onsen accommodation it is optional to include dinner in the accommodation package, but there are a few lodgings where the only pricing option is to have dinner included.