10 February, 2025
As for our stay at Bandaisan Onsen hotel, we couldn’t fault it! Excellent value for money. Lovely rooms, very generous size. Helpful staff. Excellent buffet breakfast and evening, with plenty to choose from, traditional or western food. There were other eateries open during the day also. We were offered a shuttle service to nearby restaurants in the evenings, and told we could get vouchers to eat at these places instead of at the hotel, if we wished.
Great Onsen, and a large swimming pool, which I would have used if I had brought a swimming costume! Also plenty of washing machines and dryers to use, reasonably priced.
Great ski runs, but due to the excess snow, some were closed during our stay. We also had a late check out of 2pm if we wanted. Definitely would love to go back here again!
Elizabet Bryon
02 February, 2025
What a great ski trip this year. The most snow we have ever seen. But 'only' a couple of blue ski days, Fantastic. Not sure if we will see this next year. Was great to meet you at Bandai.
We were very happy with the location and facilities. Right at the lifts. It was unfortunate that one day, lifts were delayed due to excessive snow, and they had to dig out their chair runs. But can't complain about TOO much snow. A couple of runs were closed due to avalanche risks but that was common this year.
Would go back again - this was our first visit to this resort. We had to resort to alternative transport, again due to TOO MUCH snow, both getting there and leaving. Have never previously seen the amount of snow burying the cars in the car park, literally over the roof of a 4WD (with a car topper tent attached).
And the snow continued for the rest of our Japan skiing over the next 4 weeks! 🙂
John
7 February 2025
Thanks Hisae for organising a very enjoyable week at Bandaisan Onsen Hotel. Our package included a 7-night stay in a triple room with stunning views of Lake Inawashiro, (weather permitting) daily breakfast and dinner, and lift passes.
Arrival:
We arrived during a snowstorm, and it was one of the heaviest snowfalls we had ever encountered in Japan, despite visiting for 20 years! Usually, access to the resort is easy, either by train to Bandaimachi Station followed by a free resort shuttle, or by bus directly from Koriyama. However, due to the snow, both trains and buses were cancelled, and we ended up taking a taxi to and from the resort. While this was expensive and unplanned, it didn’t affect the overall enjoyment of our stay. What skier can complain about too much snow?
Skiing & Facilities:
The ski-in/ski-out access is very convenient, and skiing was really enjoyable with a variety of runs that suited our skill levels. Unfortunately, due to the heavy snowfall, the Nyalts link chair to Nekoma North wasn’t open, but there was still plenty of skiing available to keep us happy. The hotel’s facilities are of high quality, including a nice pool, onsen, ski storage room including a small drying room. We especially enjoyed the Japanese music and entertainment one night.
Dining:
The buffet dinner at Kisse Kisse was great, but the breakfast choice was quite limited. With only the Aizu Wappa rice breakfast or a very small selection of Western items like yogurt, bread rolls, and croissants, we were left wanting. We enjoyed the local dish a few times, but as we were staying for 7 nights, we would have liked more variety in the Western breakfast options. Perhaps some fresh or even canned fruit.
On-Mountain Dining:
On the mountain, there’s only one hamburger restaurant, The Riders. More food options are available at the base of the mountain, but these can be quite crowded around 12pm so we recommend eating early.
Other Amenities:
We loved the spacious lounge/bar area with free tea and coffee available. The front desk staff was incredibly helpful, even arranging a taxi for us on our departure day.
Ski Equipment:
While we bring our own ski gear, a friend who rented skis had some trouble finding suitable intermediate/advanced equipment.
Final Thoughts:
Despite the few hiccups with travel, we had a wonderful time at Bandaisan Onsen Hotel. The skiing was great, the hotel facilities were excellent, and the staff was helpful and welcoming. We would definitely consider returning.
Janne
01 February, 2025
We found Hoshino Resorts Bandaisan Onsen Hotel as a great option for this area.
- Hotel is ski in/out which is great.
- The rooms were large and comfortable for 3 individuals. Western beds are a treat after spending time on Tatami matts and futons!
- The restaurant meals were quite special with regards to quality and variety and staff happily greeted and served us with a smile.
- Some little extra’s were the free Miso soup served in the main foyer in the afternoons, along with free Sake tasting on particular days. Ice makers on certain levels of the hotel.
- The waxing/tuning room and all equipment provided is also nice to see.
- The Onsen was clean/modern and quite large, ie, never crowded. The indoor pool is also a nice touch.
- The deal with included breakfast and dinners in addition to lift passes for both Nekoma and Bandai mountain areas was quite reasonable and we will likely return again to do the same.
- The resort itself has many opportunities to explore with the added bonus of the now linking lift to the Northern side of the mountain. Great views of Lake Inawashiro from the top.
The only concern we had on this trip was that the resort doesn’t seem to cope well with significant snowfalls. The 2025 season was one such season where consistent snowfalls. Continued through our stay which was great but one particular night, received approx. 40cm and we were quite excited about the prospect of riding some area’s we discovered but unfortunately, the resort spent most of the morning dealing with digging lifts out and just didn’t open until much later and a massive crowd of people were just hanging around waiting.
Still, it’s certainly an area we enjoyed and will likely return to explore some more.
Regards, Rob
27 January, 2025
We have been skiing in Japan for 15 years and Wow we loved this hotel. From the moment we boarded the coach at Koriyama station the trip was great and the driver careful and skilful driving in the snowy conditions.
When we got off the coach and claimed our bags staff from the hotel carried our bags up to the main entry where we were greeted by staff. We could not go to our rooms until 4pm so we were told we could leave our luggage with Concierge down the ramp which we did and we went skiing.
Fabulous mountain with lots of variety and great food choices from quick snacks such as Pizza,kebabs,sanwhiches,crepes to a food hall where there are lots of choices of Japanese food. There are also vending machines where you can get drinks such as soft drinks coffee. There is a huge ski hire available and shop selling ski gear(high quality ),souvenirs and snacks.
The hotel was so lovely to stay . We were greeted on arrival and a staff member went to get another staff member that spoke fluent English to check us in.
Our room was large around 36 m and had stunning views of the slopes.The beds comfortable,mini fridge ,small wardrobe and plenty of space for all our gear.
There are also food breakfast was amazing with rice and lots of choices. Yogurt was available but no cereal or fruit. If I was to stay again I would bring some fruit. Dinner was excellent. Buffet including salads,steak cooked to order, tempura, sushimi,chicken,pork so many choices. Soft serve ice cream and cheese cake for dessert.
I would recommend this hotel and would return again. The friendly and helpful staff made our stay special.
We used Black Cat to send our skis from Northern Tohoku to Bandai Onsen Hotel and they were ready for us when we arrived.
The skiing has a lot of black runs but there are enough runs for beginners and intermediate skiers. The runs were fabulous when there was fresh powder.
I can’t wait until next year.
Please let us know when you have prices so we can book.
Regards
Narelle
Late January 2024
The hotel has a nice design and feel and you could see they keep an eye on the details to make your visit special. Eg Japanese entertainmennt at night with free drink, free coffee machine, free self service waxing, extensive buffet dinner. One thing I realy liked was the storage and changing area design. It wasn't just a row of lockers. It was an open plan with with plenty of space, great view and cool board/ski racks. Seperate drying room if you needed it, free coffee machine. it just worked so well. Maybe they could add a few more benches to sit down and put some self waxing counters in as well and it would be perfect.
The staff were very nice and remembered us from check in to check out.
The dinnner buffet was excellent with a lot of choice. The breakfast was a little too asian focused for us, but there were enough option to fill us up.
There seemd to be alot of asian visitors that may have just been there for the experience.
Snow wise we were lucky to get some good snowfall and had some excellent powder days. They didn't groom they runs as much as other resorts which was great. Unfortunately the lift over to the north side was closed on both powder days, but not sure why.
Overall I felt this was a very nice sized user friendly resort and I would definately go back!
Pete
January 2023
In short, the hotel is very nice. The facilities were very nice. The food was excellent, although non buffet options are needed.
The ski equipment rental standard was very low, especially for Japan. My 16 y/o is an advanced skier. Only beginner gear was offered and it was very old and worn out. There were top quality skis available to rent in another shop within the resort, however they didn’t offer ski boots. We had to taxi 30 mins away to get good boots.
We had two 11 year olds in the group who had never skied. It was very difficult to book lessons for them at the next door Alts Bandai resort. We were eventually able to book some group lessons but they were grouped with much younger children so were frustrated a lot. The lessons were also in Japanese, which wasn’t actually an issue. At the snow expo last May, the expectation regarding the rental and lessons was set to be very different. These aspects were the only downers for the stay, albeit they caused much angst, and wasted time and money.
To contrast, on this trip we also stayed at Naeba Prince Hotel. The rental equipment looked brand new, and there were ample lessons available, both private and for groups.
We made our decision to not bring our own ski equipment based on prior experience in Japan as well as the advice we got at the Aizu stand at the Snow Expo. Naeba lived up to expectation, whereas Aizu failed on the rental and lesson front.
Would I stay at Aizu again? Definitely. The ski runs are great, and the hotel is too. We would just not rely on the rentals there and would try to book lessons in advance.
Early Feb 2019
Thank you Hisae for organising this enjoyable week. We spent 5 nights at Alts Bandai in early February. Our package was for a western twin room that included breakfast, dinner and lifts. Access was easy from Tokyo to Koriyama and we caught a resort bus from Koriyama Station. First impressions were good with a lovely foyer, lounge area and smooth check in. Staff were friendly and helpful.
The hotel is modern, clean and well maintained. Breakfast and dinner were both buffet style and there was a good variety of delicious food. We especially enjoyed the local delicacies highlighted daily. A dinner reservation time slot is required to ensure you don't have to wait too long for a free table.
The resort is relatively new with modern facilities and there are plenty of lunch options at the base as well as equipment rental.
Unfortunately, we didn't get any fresh snow during our trip and the conditions were at times quite icy. Despite this we made good use of the sunny weather to look around, and made good use of the hotel's onsen and pool. Definitely worth a return visit though especially after fresh snow.
Janne
