Toemu Nozawa

My partner and I booked our 2 week stay at Resort In Toemu about 7 months in advance. To be honest our primary interest was price (so affordable!). When we arrived we were blown away at the charm and service of this place. The room was super cool with tatami and traditional matting. The hotel has its own onsen for those a little more shy/tired from snowsports to walk into town. It is run by the nicest old lady in the world. IN THE WORLD. Frankly she works insane h hours everyday and still manages to be super duper nice to everyone. I'll level with you. The floors are polished wood. People in rooms next to you may be loud. They might walk loudly past your room. This is a traditional hotel. It's just something you will deal with. My advice is do what you came to Nozawa to do, and snowboard/ski so hard that by the end of the day your exhaustion means you will sleep soundly. As far as location it is very convenient. In Nozawa you can either stay close to town or close to the resort, but not both. Toemu is right in between town and the Nagasaki station. In many ways this works best. In the morning it's 5-8mins stroll up to Nagasaki but you're fresh and its not far. In the evening you get a light walk downhill to the hotel and then into town. Everyone staying in Toemu was super easy going. We had no problems with the dry room or common spaces. Our host gave us a very useful map on our first day of all the food nearby in town and gave recommendations. I know some Westerners night be reticent about tatami. I found them a bit hard for the first 2 days but soon after became very happy to collapse into them. I don't know what the Toemu doonas are made from but I have a theory it's clouds and miracles because it's like sleeping in a warm hug dream machine. Ultimately if you're on a bit of budget and want a warm home-like environment this place is for you. I would and hopefully will stay here again if I can get back to Nozawa.