NEW! Remodeling to be completed in August in 2023, Mountainside Apartment is the entire 2nd floor of Togari Inn, available for private rental. The unit can comfortably accommodate up to 18 guests, and is perfect for groups of friends or family.
Since it is within Togari Inn, you can use the facilities in the hotel during your stay! You may use the hotel's Japanese-style baths for men and women, lounge and the ski / snowboard equipment drying room free of charge. We operate a full service cafe on-site on weekends during the ski season. We manage Togari Ski School's English instructors so please ask us if you need lessons!
The apartment is located right next to the bunny slopes at Togari Onsen Ski Resort. Within a 2 minute walk (in ski boots) you'll be able to start skiing! We are really close by car to Nozawa Onsen (15 mins), Madarao (30 mins), Kijimadaira (20 mins), and Shiga Kogen and Myoko Kogen are less than an hour away. It’s around 2 hours to Hakuba. The snow monkey park is around 40 minutes away. The shinkansen at iiyama provides easy access to the outlet shopping mall at Karuizawa for shopping trips if some of your group want to daytrip to get brand name goods at reasonable prices.
There are 4 Western-style rooms with beds, which can accommodate up to 8 people. 3 Japanese rooms have futon bedding for a further 10 people. Room 208 (western-style) and 209 (japanese-style) have ensuite toilet facilities, while the remaining rooms share toilet and washing facilities.
The spacious living area has a large-screen TV. There is a fully equipped kitchen and dining room on the ground floor where you can enjoy preparing meals for friends and family. Large windows overlook a historic shrine nestled within shady grove of cherry trees, and provide a great spot to unwind after a day on the slopes. We provide 4 nabe pots and gas burners, to enjoy delicious japanese hot-pot dishes.
It is equipped with a total of 5 toilets, a shower room and a washing machine and dryer.
1 toilet-trained pet is allowed free of charge.
Children and extra beds
Extra guests can be added to a room for a fee of ¥5000 per person per night. Children 4 years or over who will sleep in their own bed are counted as an extra person. Children under 3 years old are free of charge.
Pets
1 pet is allowed free of charge.
Accepted credit cards
American Express, Visa, Euro/Mastercard, Discover. We allow guests to pay online with their preferred payment method.
Bed size:3 Queen Beds, 2 single beds, 1 bunk bed, 14 futon beds
Room size:400
Entire massive ski lodge just for you! Ski to the door in winter! Enjoy BBQ and camping in summer! Pets OK! Up to 24pp in 7 bedrooms, full kitchen, cozy dining room, big rec room, and covered BBQ area at Togari Onsen. Between Nozawa&Madarao! Great value for families & groups. We are the ideal base for winter sports, snow monkeys, and activities like hiking, cycling, paddling, or shopping in Karuizawa. With 15+ years in Japan, the bilingual hosts will share their local knowledge with you!
We are sorry, this accommodation is not available to book at the moment
Guests may use the hotel facilities, including Japanese baths, lounge area, cafe and ski equipment drying room free of charge.
Ask about our English language ski lessons and guiding!
Parking
There is limited parking available on-site. Please make a reservation for parking at time of booking. On arrival please leave your car keys at front desk. Alternatively you may use our offsite parking lot next to the Togari Onsen Ski Resort Number 2 Parking Lot.
Togari Onsen Ski Resort
Togari Onsen is on the outskirts of Iiyama City in Nagano Prefecture, located in the centre of one of the heaviest snowfall areas in Japan, and possibly even the world! It is just across the Chikuma River from the world famous Nozawa Onsen Village, but even people who are familiar with Nozawa will say, “Togari Onsen? I've kind of heard of that place, but where is it?!” It is fair to say that Togari is a well-kept secret! Lines for the lifts are rare here, and its a great place for an authentic Japanese ski town experience.
Togari is a pretty village with lots of old traditional temples and shrines. The buildings are less crowded together than other ski resorts, and are mostly family-owned small hotels attached to a farm, giving it a wide-open and welcoming feel. Locals may self-effacingly call Togari "small" but actually the village center has everything you need, and it’s just the right size. Not as crowded as Nozawa Onsen, and more convenient than Madarao, with easy road access, through the Chikuma River valley, without having to drive any scary mountain passes. That is why so many people return over and over again to this small ski resort.
At Togari Onsen, rich in nature, you can enjoy camping, trekking, canoeing, and many other outdoor activities, but what what we are really interested in is the snow sports! This page provides information on skiing in Togari, the slopes, restaurants, and a little about the culture and history of the village.
Togari Onsen Ski Resort has a total of 15 courses with a total run length of 2.4 km. There are 7 lifts, 4 of which are high-speed quads. There are two sides to the mountain, “Pegasus" and “Orion,” but in 2022 the lifts on Orion Slope are not in operation to keep running costs down until tourism hopefully returns after the pandemic. Although the lifts that side are not in operation, the runs are accessible from the top of the the Tondaira Pair lift, turning this whole area into a huge playground for all kinds of snow games called “Ski Vacation Village”.
The ski resort may not be the biggest in Japan, but it is not really small either. Like Togari Onsen Village, it is just the right size. There are a wide variety of courses including tree runs, wide and well-maintained groomers, and the “Jet” and “Rabbit” Courses, which are steep, ungroomed runs perfect for powder days.
Togari Onsen Ski Resort also has the SAJ certificated Togari Onsen Ski School. This ski school has many excellent instructors and offers lessons for beginners as well as advanced students, and prizes for those who want to become even better. The experienced instructors are a big hit with the kids, and parents can leave their kids to learn to ski with peace of mind. English lessons are available through a collaboration with MTN Holidays.
{The first of its kind in Japan, or even the world!]
Introducing the Yuki-Chari Tour: a 2km-long snow bike course! Riding a wide-tired bike designed for snow, known as a "fat bike," you can cycle down the mountain while enjoying some spectacular snowy views. There are strider kids bikes available too. Great way to take a day off from skiing!
Nightlife info
There are about 12 restaurants in Togari. All of them are within walking distance of the village center, making it very convenient to get around. It might not be as many restaurants as other ski towns, but there are always tables available, so this is another example of the "just right" balance that Togari always affords. Like any ski resort, there are a few restaurants on the slopes. From good old-fashioned ski resort restaurants, serving the ever-popular katsu-curry and ramen, to a few very good examples of newer-style resort restaurants, featuring for example, Vietnamese cuisine.
Walking through the village, you will find that all the restaurants you visit are delicious. Options include soba noodles, baked curry, French, Italian, seafood, izakaya and more. The variety is very rich and of high quality. There is also a bar right by the slopes for that all-important apres ski.
Check out our Restaurant Guide! LINK
Culture and history info
The hot springs of Togari Onsen are a must-do, with their traditional wooden buildings and stone floors. Surprisingly, despite their traditional charm, these hot springs were only drilled in 1991! The baths here are also “just right”: not too hot and not too cold. Many of the locals never even use the bath in their own homes, preferring instead to end the day soaking in the onsen and chatting with their friends. The onsen water is called “bijin-no-yu, or beautiful-woman-spring, because it leaves your skin feeling soft and silky-smooth.
Togari is a little-known haven for fireflies in early summer. The heavy snowfall in the region is leads to an abundance of sparklingly fresh water in the mountain streams. Fireflies love it! On the subject of delicious water, don’t forget the locally brewed sake, "Hokko Masamune," is also excellent.
There are some beautiful old temples and shrines, which make for great pictures whatever season you visit, whether it be the deep snows of winter, the vibrant blues of early summer hydrangeas, or the beautiful reds and oranges of autumn. Kogenin is known to locals as The Hydrangea Temple for its hundreds of thousands of stunning blooms in June. Nearby Takeminakatatomiinochihikogamibetsu Shrine has the longest name of any shrine in Japan! Visiting there feels like stepping into a Ghibli anime.
The Autumn Festivals in the fall are very unique. Each neighbourhood celebrates in a different way, with elaborate lion dances, naginata displays, fire festivals, stage performances, and fireworks. They all take place on the second or third weekend of September, so it’s possible to visit two or three on the same night, and the locals may even welcome you to join them and drink and eat delicious food late into the night!
