Mid March 2014
A pleasure to stay at Tsuruya. The staff provide a wonderful service and are fantastic. If i get the chance to go to Zao Onsen again I will definitely stay here. Tsuruya provide a transit service to the ski lifts and there is a drying room at the hotel, making it extremely easy to get to the snow. The accommodation was great. Zao Onsen is a wonderful location. While I have been to other locations in the Japanese slopes, I really enjoyed skiing here and enjoyed myself immensely. I have attached two photos – one of the mountain, and one of the room we stayed at
Robert
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Early January 2014
apan Snow Accommodation provided an excellent service in arranging our accommodation on our behalf. They were timely and friendly and we experienced no troubles at all. The traditional accommodation of Lodge Tsuruya was amazing and the staff were very helpful, even lending us their own personal snow boots one night!. I would not hesitate to recommend this service and this accommodation to my friends.
Eugene
Mid January 2014
Its nice to talk to you again. Below is my review, hope it helps I also attached a couple of photos for your reference. The stay was wonderful, hotel was great, staff were very friendly, equipment rentals were very easy and just across the street from the slope, which was about 2 minute drive using the hotel's excellent shuttle bus. The slope access was easy too, there are many different pricing schemes for the ski lifts and the staff were more than helpful in showing which is the best scheme for you, be sure to consult the staff on which scheme so you don't end up buying the wrong card. The hotel is literally across the Zao bus station which we arrived to by the 40 minute bus from Yamagata, nice ride, didn't feel like 40 minutes at all. There is also a ski school which really helped us to capture the basics quickly in their 2 hour lesson. The hotel does not offer western breakfast, so if you don't like Japanese food for breakfast there is a small restaurant down the street that serves French Toast and its very good, the lady and the cat (yup, a cat called Hana) are very welcoming. Japan Snow Accomodation provided the great service and arranged the stay for us and payment was convenient through paypal. Had a blast, definitely going back!" Thanks Hisae, really appreciate your service.
Kind regards,
Omar.
Date
Tsuruya is absolutely SUPERB...!!! I'm really regretting that I only stayed there for one night only. I already mark another day next year to go there.... What is the best thing about Tsuruya? Let me describe it: 1. GREAT hospitality....!!! Almost every staff there checking our group condition and schedule with genuine concern. Seriously, they always remind us to be ready for dinner, breakfast, and the trip to snow monster. When we were wandering inside the hotel, everyone try to offer their help without hesitation, even offer to take a picture of us together when they see us with camera...!!! It's the most memorable thing about this hotel. Although they dont speak english, they really try hard to explain things to us. 2. WONDERFUL room...!!! It's the most japanese ambience room we had so far..., complete with the traditional futon and yukata. It feels really japan here, and that is what we are looking for. It is very spacious with great big window view while the facilities are modern enough. 3. PERFECT location...!!! When we took the bus from yamagata station, it feels like we're entering the mordor valley because of the big snow storm at the middle of noon...! But right after we put our feet on the ground, somebody asked us where do we stay. When we said, "Tsuruya", he's so surprised -- as well as we surprised -- and show us that it's exactly located in front of the station, only ten steps away.... Nice! 4. SATISFYING meals...!!! We spent almost two hours to finished-up our dinner. We were stuffed and sated...!! And we got a private room for dinner and breakfast. Very unexpected... 5. BEAUTIFUL onsen...!!! We got free private onsen. It's more than enough for us who feels a little bit shy to join in public onsen. It's really an additional value for Tsuruya to have these private onsen... All and all, 5 stars!!! I cant wait to get back there...!!!
Ganda
Date
We had a great time staying at Tsuruya. Location is good as it is located right opposite the bus station. No fuss in getting to and from the station as we just need to walk across. The staff were very warm and friendly even though we can't speak Japanese. Breakfast and dinner were included and we had choices with varieties. Not the same food everyday. Food tastes great as we love Japanese food. The pictures on their website are accurate in showing what they serve. The onsen is not too bad, though the outdoor pool is a little small. It works fine. There is also a choice to use the private onsen for a fee. All in all, we would recommend this hotel to other travelers. If we were to visit Zao again, we will stay at Tsuruya.
Snowowl