Tazawako Lake Resort & Onsen

Excellent location, just right at the entrance of Lake Tazawa - the starting point of the lake road. It has its own car park with ample parking spaces. The staff who served us were very good. The public outdoor onsen was very good. Both the buffet breakfast and buffet dinner were of good quality, with a good balance of Japanese and western food. Our room was in the main building, looked a little old but clean in general.

The room was spacious and well kept, and the facilities were perfect. However, what I found the best about Tazawako Lake & Onsen Resort was the staff. We spoke very little Japanese and used a translation app, and even then, a wonderful gentleman at the front desk spoke excellent English and accommodated us with such kindness! Our main reason for staying was to be able to attend a fedtival in Kamihinokinai. We hadn't realised the trains stopped running and nearly gave up hope, but he helped us organise a taxi from the hotel and back again. We had all but given up on being able to get to the festival, but he was incredibly kind and patient and worked beyond expectations to help us attend! The staff were wonderful and made the experience 100 times better. Also, the breakfast buffet and view of the mountains in the snow were 10/10.

The onsen is super nice and big and clean with outdoor bath. Be aware that opening hours is 5-9am and then 3pm-midnight. Room super spacious with fridge. You can have free cold and hot drinks at the lounge. Lounge have a smoking area, microwave vending machine.

Both breakfast and dinner were buffet style, with a wide variety of foods to choose from. That said, the food wasn’t always top-notch, but I never left unsatisfied. However, be aware that you should allow yourself an hour for grazing, so try to show up near the beginning of your time slot. They had 2 sittings, one at 5:30 pm and another at 7:30 pm. They close it down from 7 to 7:30 pm to prepare for the 2nd sitting. We showed up at 6:30 pm the first night and were turned away due to lack of time, so we had to rebook for the 2nd sitting. Another thing I liked was that they had both indoor and outdoor baths. I liked the outdoor one especially, because I was able to look at the sky and relax more in the water.

The dinner and breakfast buffets were really great, the staff attentive and very friendly. The surrounding mountains are impressive and the onsen bath with a relatively big outdoor part is great.