Right in the middle of the Tazawako / Nyuto Onsen area only a few minutes drive to the ski resort and just up the road to the local onsens. Plaza Hotel's outdoor onsen is very atmospheric. An old wood building surrounding a stone open air bath looking out to a snowy forest. Dinner was a buffet with many local dishes and sake to try. Make sure you try the Kiritanpo Nabe (Local Hot Pot)! The current Corona Virus measures are a little excessive like plastic gloves and all tables facing one way but this will only be temporary and is something I saw in many hotels during my trip.

The dining hall has large windows along one side with a view of the mountains outside. In winter however, the curtains were kept closed. I looked out through the curtain and the views were lovely, even with the snow piled up. I think the hotel should keep the curtains open, it would vastly improve the atmosphere.

The room was very spacious, and the evening and morning buffets offered a wide variety of choices. All the little touches, like complimentary snacks and late-night noodles, made the stay even more special. And of course, the Onsen was a highlight! The free shuttle service is a great convenience, but be sure to book in advance. The hotel is perfectly located to join Nyuto Onsen.

The hotel is very spacious, and there is quite a bit of walking between the room, the restaurant, and the baths. The decor is somewhat old-fashioned, but not to the point of being bothersome.

The services offered for the price were quite good! I think I paid about 70 dollars per night for three nights, with all you can eat breakfast, unlimited onsen, nice tatami room & yukata. After a long day of hiking, it was nice to come back to the very nice staff

nothing much—I find what others complained about to be trivial, considering the low price.

Loved that there was plenty of information on onsen etiquette in English - but only at the indoor onsen. The family room was spacious. Loved the interactive art in the main corridor - a great way to spark conversations with other guests (even with language barriers). The hotel had great "bones" with a 1980s luxe feel.

The bathroom was tiny and very dated and in need of upgrade. Given that the indoor onsen required bathing before and after use AND there was a shared shower facility on each floor the room's bathroom update could easily be to get rid of the bath/shower and just retain a toilet/bidet and wash basin. There was no map available to support local walks (even though further up the mountain there were signs indicating walks close to the road suitable for families).

Amazing baths, inside and outside. The staff were so extremely helpful. We called down to the front desk to ask a question in English and the staff member must have then sprinted to our room with google translate pulled up and ready to help. The buffet was comprehensive with lots of local specialties featured.

A bit of a task to get to without a car, though there is a shuttle bus at scheduled times. Relatively little to do immediately nearby without a car

Breakfast and dinner buffet are AWESOME. You do get the same menu everyday, but there are SO many varieties that you won't get board. Coffee is good, soft serve ice cream is excellent, and there is the option of nomihodai sake. They even had a FREE late night tantan men during our stay. I was surprised the the tatami rooms were quite spacious and the futon was comfy. The heat was centrally controlled, which I thought was odd. The temperature was comfortable for me, but for my friend it got a bit hot. Onsen and rotemburo are a bonus. The bus stop is right in front and you can easily hop on a bus to get to Nyuto Onsen. It doesn't run often, so ask the hotel staff for a bus schedule. Worst case, you can hike back to the hotel... there are walking paths. It would be quite a haul though.

The location worked for us because it was right in front of the bus stop, but it's not the best location in the area for convenience. We didn't walk the grounds, but didn't seem to be much around.

I stayed here last year and found the hotel better than last time. They have renovated and enlarged their restaurant and expanded their choice as well. As always the location is perfecter local skiing!

More menu rotation needed. I stayed for a week and a half and would have appreciated a changing menu though no complaints about the quality!!

An older example of the grand Japanese hotel. I was surprised to find this style of hotel up in a quiet mountain area. The location is great, near an excellent local ski field which quite impressed me and the staff were very accomodating. And a great Onsen facility too. If I'd known about the quality of the hotel and ski field I would have booked for a longer period. I'll definitely be going back.

The breakfast service let the hotel down a little but the food was still nice.

hospitality of the staff, the food, free shuttle

none

We were upgraded to a mountain view suite as booking.com stated "mountain view" and initially we were to be given a room without a view. I showed this to reception and wow! Takami samurai suite, lovely. Great buffet. Onsen large and lovely. Unfortunately outside onsen was closed.

Outside onsen closed