Oomukou Ryokan in Hakuba

We had an amazing experience staying in the Oomuko Ryokan (January 2026). It is a very traditional room, which we highly enjoyed to have a true Japanese experience. The owner is very attentive and sweet and helped us with arranging a reservation for a diner place with only 8 seats. The breakfast is delicious (Japanse authentic one as well as western) and the onsen are very clean and the best way to relax and warm up after a day of skiing. Location is also perfect, only 10 minute walk to the gondola and 5 min walk to the bus terminal where you can take the buss to other ski resorts as well as to Nagano. 10/10 experience.

The rules are very simple. First, if you arrive early, luggage storage is only available after 9:00 AM. Second, check-in is strictly after 3:00 PM. Lastly, after check-out, you can no longer use the facilities.

Apart from these three rules, this place is a gem. It’s conveniently located: 4 minutes’ walk to the bus station, 5 minutes to Lawson, 2–3 minutes to all the equipment rental shops, and about 19 minutes’ walk to Evergreen Ski / Snowboard School and the chairlift. What more can you ask for? There’s also an onsen available on the property. Will definitely book again next time ;)

Stayed here in winter 2024 during the ski high season, luckily got the last room at a great price! The ryokan is within walking distance from the train station and not far from the ski area, with a beautiful view of the Japan Alps.

The room has a cozy vintage feel, very comfortable futon (three layers!), and a warm table which is perfect for winter. There’s a small but nice onsen in the basement, separated by gender.

The best part was the Japanese-style breakfast so delicious and beautifully served. The owner is super kind and helpful, speaks some English, and even helped us book taxis and restaurants. Guests also get a discount at Woody ski rental nearby. Totally worth it and highly recommended! ⛷️❄️

Totally walkable distance to Lawson and Hakuba bus terminal. On-site onsen is really great and clean. The well prepared breakfast which you can choose Japanese or Western style are a good start for a day.
Really nice place to stay for budget traveler, one of the best ryokan I have ever stayed in Japan.
I book on Booking.com in about 8 months ago and it seems I luckily get a larger room with private restroom and large tatami met.
Only downside is the mirror in the room are too low for me and there is no humidifier in the room so be careful not to turn on the heat for whole night unless you are Waterman.

I booked this place as I thought it would be fun to experience a more authentic accommodation in Japan. I stayed at this place for 3 nights in February 2019. When I checked in, I was assigned to a large room (206) and later on I got to know that this had been done as the hostess felt a bit bad as she could not provide breakfast on my last day. It was not that easy to find this ryokan by the way as there are no signs (at least not in English) on the front of the building. I basically had to google it to check out the photos to see that I had found the right place. I arrived to Happo one on the bus from Nagano and the ryokan is only a short stroll away from the bus station.

When I first entered there was no one there. Being a traditional place, you should leave your shoes by the entrance. My hostess arrived after a couple of minutes and I got an introduction to the place and she took me to my room. The room was big but not a lot of content. There was a mattress on the floor, a low table with a large beanie bag pillow and TV on a stand. There was a small room next to this, separated with only paper-thin sliding doors, and this contained two chairs and a low table and a rack for hanging clothing. In a small basked there was a robe and a small and large towel. The bed was comfortable to sleep on and there was a nice thick duvet and a blanket to keep warm at night.

The room was heated by an aircon in the main room but I also got told that I could start a heater number 2 if that was needed – but the remote was all in Japanese so it was not that easy to figure out this. With a bit of help from Google translate I managed to get it running. There was also a heater under the low table and the concept was to lean on the beanie pillow and stick your legs under the table to keep warm. In general, it was quite cold in the ryokan.

The internet at the ryokan was in general quite good and the connection was fast.

The room was up the stairs from the reception area and there is no lift. The toilets and wash room were on the ground floor and again these were cold rooms but the toilets have heated seats (and all the gadgets that comes with Japanese toilets). The shower area was in the basement – one area for the guys and one for the girls. The showers were Japanese style meaning that you sit on a stool and use a handheld shower and there was soap and shampoo. There was also a hot tub that was big enough for 4-5 guys maybe and it was very hot (about 40 degrees).
Breakfast was served on ground level and each day you could indicate when you wanted to have breakfast and if you wanted western style or Japanese breakfast. I chose the western style and got a bit of fruit, cereal and yogurt to start with followed by egg, bacon, salad and bread. A very good breakfast indeed and a bit different each morning.

The location of the ryokan is quite good as well. It is only a short stroll to ski rental places and there are also restaurant in the area. I walked up to the Adam gondola each morning and that takes maybe 10 minutes in a slow pace.

All in all I enjoyed staying here but it is of course a different experience to have bathroom and toilets on different floors. But it was fun to finally get to stay in a more traditional place in Japan! Thanks to the hostess Yuko for the great service!

A lot of rice comes out. Perfect for recovery after skiing or climbing. The bath is a hot spring, but it is narrow.

Wonderful food, great location and outstanding hospitality!