Name: Oohira Hotel
Address: 825 Zao Onsen, Tendo, Tendo, Tendo, 990-2301, Japan
Rating: 7

Shopping on site

Elevator/lift

Smoke-free property

Heating

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General

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Fridge

Family room

Rooms

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Vending machine

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Free Wi-Fi

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Internet

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Transfer

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Bike rental

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Recreation

Offsite parking reservations required

Parking nearby

Parking

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Table Tennis

Sports

Massage

Sauna

Beauty and wellness

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Ski storage

Skiing

Winter sports

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

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Room amenities

Junmachi Airport

Sendai Airport

Oohira Hotel

Tendo

We went as a group of 5 to snowboard and the location was perfect, 7 min walk from chairlift 4, they also offer special deals for daily lift passes and nearby rental shop (Best Rental Shop) which was great! Fantastic onsen in the facilities open 24 hours every day (2 public and 3 private was available) was perfect for our aching bodies! 
The best part were the staff in particular a very cheery waiter who always delivers breakfast and dinner service with a smile! Food was delicious and showcased all the best seasonal local foods. 
While reception staff were not well rehearsed in english they tried their best to assist us as best as possible. They are slightly short staffed on front desk/in the shop but we were never really rushed for service and a bit of patience meant everyone is happy and you were eventually seen to! 
Our room was simple japanese style room with futons but very large for 5 people with nice views.
We would absolutely come back here it was a very enjoyable stay!

Great service with a smile

Oohira Hotel is located in the Zao highlands and getting can be quite challenging without a car. We drove all the way from Narita from 2pm and arrived around 8pm including multiple toilet breaks and snacks. The highway toll is quite costly so it is better to purchase the ETC package depending on how many days you are driving around in Japan. The drive there is amazing because we get to see autumn colours along the way. The GPS almost preciously except for the final 100 meters,, it said we arrived but hmm.. not quite. Try to drive in the day time because we saw a car hit a big size adult deer along the highway. Be cautioned that the sun sets around 4.45pm in autumn. Once we reached, we had to carry our luggage up to the Front Desk floor which is on the 2nd Floor. 
The rooms are clean and yes there are no private showers. Only private toilet in the rooms. Shared showers are located at the public or private onsen. The private onsens were small and located at different location around the hotel and its outdoors! We could enjoy the autumn foliage as we dipped in the private onsen. This is our first time enjoying private onsen. So it was amazing. Highly recommended to stay at least 2 nights there before moving on to Iwate or Aomori :")

Relaxing and Charming Place

Same as another review, I was initially a little apprehensive booking this place due to some negative reviews. However, my husband and I had no issues. There was a pickup service to and fro the Zao Onsen Bus Terminal. The staff is also able to ferry you to and fro the bottom of Zao Ropeway station. The price of the hotel is reasonable and food was nice. The room is a little old and the heater was constantly making a sound throughout. 

However, if anything at all, the private open air onsen experience during winter was amazing and makes it all worthwhile. There are 3 private open air onsen which can be used during winter and they are free for you to use anytime. You simply have to take a tag which belongs to each onsen from near the check-in counter and hang the tag outside the door of the onsen when you are using it. This informs others that the onsen is currently in use. Do not forget to drink a bottle of fresh milk (free) from the fridge along the corridor when you are finished with your bath/onsen. It tastes wonderful!

Private Open Air Onsen Experience

The hotel has free paring lots that connect to the only entrance. Once you get in, you have to carry all your luggages over the stairs to the lobby, there is no other option. 

The room surprisingly has no hot water. So, we must shower either in the public bath or or private outdoor bath tub. We cannot even was our face.  The water is too cold. The weather outside is -5 degree Celsius. This is very ridiculous. 

There is a paper sign in our toilet stating that there is no hot water available in the west wing rooms. But when we ask to switch, the hotel says there is no hot water for the entire hotel rooms. 

The hotel says it offers free wifi both in the lobby and in the room, but there is no signal in the room. 

Therefore, we decided to cancel all the other rooms of the entire trip and move to another hotel. 

No in-room hot water in the freezing weather

I was initially a little apprehensive booking this hotel due to some negative reviews. However, I had a great experience here. The hotel is situated on higher ground so had to drive up a slope to reach it. Check in was smooth. There is no lift but the hotel staff helped to carry our luggage up to our room on the 2nd level. Our room was western styled and came really basic. The beds were soft, I couldn't get the hdmi input to work, and the bathroom did not come with a shower head. However, all these were overlooked with the lovely view we are getting from the room, the nice and inviting onsens which we enjoyed tremendously, and the great service from the staff. Dinner and breakfast are Japanese styled. If necessary, you can arranged for pick-up and drop off from anywhere within Zao Onsen and even Yamagata Station (at a specific time). Overall recommended if not anything but the onsen.

Oohira Hotel

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Paid on the spot

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