Guest Houses in Yamagata

This is a great pension run by a lovely family. The husband picked us up at the bus station and drove us to the pension and also took us to the slopes in the morning. They gave us a coupon for renting gear and a map explaining the different onsen options around town. Their English is pretty limited, but they are happy to use Google translate. Also, it was not a big deal, but I think it is important for foreign guests to be aware that ski culture in Japan sort of assumes you are eating dinner at your accommodation. We did not know this and did not book dinner at the hotel. Most restaurants in town were fully booked with reservations (although there is a convenience store with good takeaway food), so try to book dinner at the hotel or make a dinner reservation somewhere well in advance. We were very luck and managed to make a reservation at the Mongolian lamb place Kasheru for the second night and that was amazing. But we saw restaurants turning people away repeatedly because everywhere in town was full. Also, the family will not pick you up by car any later that 6:45 pm (perfectly reasonable) and the public ski shuttles don't run on weekdays, so you need to pre-book a taxi if dinner will end later than that (which it probably will since most restaurants open at 6 pm). And there are not a lot of taxis and no Uber. I wish I had realized all of this up front, but that was our own ignorance and our stay was great regardless. Again, this is just the local ski culture and not the hotel's fault. It's just helpful information for future guests.

Property quaint and owner lady is a very kind person.

The owner is welcoming and enthusiastic. The meals were home-cooked, and quite delightful. The owner helped us facilitate a side trip in the area, very kindly. It's a remote rural location, which has its own beauty.

Very beautiful place, and kind staff..

The location is naturally beautiful & the staff is so nice

Very near the park, Great staff.