Panketo Lodge & Yoga Studio

We found Panketo Lodge to be a comfortable base from which to experience Happo One. It is very conveniently located just a short walk from the Sakka ski lifts and gear hire stores. Our family of five and three other family groups with young children booked all rooms so we were able to enjoy the whole house as a group of close friends. We made great use of the communal area by the fire and dining area, as well as the dry room for our extensive gear. The outside area out the front of the lodge was also the perfect playground for the kids in the snow. We are grateful to the staff, particularly Jack, Rachel and Cooper, for their friendly advice and shuttle runs, as well as the cooked breakfasts. The rooms were very comfortable and views from the lodge stunning. However, the 3 stars reflects a few things that we would have liked to see improved. The biggest issues for us were the lack of access to the kitchen (at odds with what was advertised), the relative inflexibility of the shuttle bus, and the staff use of the house as their own (including bringing in outside guests for a loud, late dinner party). We were hoping to use the kitchen to prepare meals (as the staff did), but ended up pulling together microwaveable meals from the Lawson (accessed by return Panketo shuttle). As such, dinners were a real challenge for us, though we appreciated the 2 food vans selling drinks and snacks just across the road. More clearing of snow and ice from around the access areas is also needed. We had also expected an onsen onsite, which was advertised but also not available (nor was a karaoke machine). Overall, we enjoyed our stay, but our experience differed from our expectations.

Our family had a fantastic time at Panketo lodge on a recent holiday to Japan. The lodge, the location and above all the Panketo Lodge team made this stay awesome. The rooms are comfortable, the breakfasts delicious and nothing is to much trouble for the staff running this lodge. Thank you so much!! We loved it and cant wait to come back.

Small ski lodge owned/operated by a group that owns several similar properties in town. The good: option to be picked up from and dropped off at the local bus station was helpful. Decent WiFi, and it was nice to stay somewhere with a “homey” feel. Some of the staff were friendly and helpful. However . . . The bad: Some of the staff, who seemed to all be seasonal workers, clearly hated their jobs and wanted to be anywhere but at the lodge. Breakfast was hit or miss depending on who was preparing it. We stayed here toward the end of ski season, and it appeared that the rooms were no longer being cleaned and cared for (if they ever had been). Our bathroom—which was a raised, premade stall dropped into the room—had all kinds of hair collecting in the corners and under a rug. Someone could take a shower OR run water in the sink, but not both at the same time, since the shower ran from the same spigot as the sink. The shower head was badly broken, and when we asked for it to be fixed, they said they’d received many complaints about it and they’d take a look. They may have looked at it, but never fixed anything. It was so bad that the shower water was hitting the ceiling first before falling on the person trying to shower. We almost bought them a new shower head at a ¥100 store, which is not what guests should be thinking about during a stay. It would have been nice to have some soap in the bathroom, or to be able to regulate temperature in the room without opening a window. Be aware that some rooms are extremely small, and that there is no storage area in the room whatsoever. Normally, such rooms in Japan are laid out in a functional way, but this room was not. Walls are very thin. We could clearly hear all of our neighbor’s conversations, whether we wanted to or not. For those who want to ski, there is a drying room in the basement. Be careful, as the outdoor steps down to that area were usually coated with ice. Overall some things were OK, but we would not stay here again.