Family-Friendly Hotels near Lake Shirakaba & Kurumayama Kogen

When you are choosing a family hotel around Lake Shirakaba and Kurumayama Kogen, it is hard to know what to judge by. Highland resorts here range from large hotels to tiny pensions (small family-run guesthouses), so two places both described as "near Lake Shirakaba" can give you completely different days. With a small child along, the list of things you have to think about only grows: how the room is laid out, the meals, the bath, and where to spend a rainy or snowy day.

This area is widely known for the view of a lake spread across a high plateau, and for snow play in winter. Summers are dry and cool, which is a real strength if you have a little one who wilts in the heat. In winter the ski areas open, and children too young to ski can still fill a whole day with sledding and playing in the snow. Of the 6 hotels listed here, 6 are close to snow play or a ski area, which keeps travel short on a winter trip when you are carrying a lot of gear. The hotels divide loosely between the Lake Shirakaba and Himekidaira side, and the western foothills of Yatsugatake, such as Haramura.

The layout of the room is usually the first thing families weigh. 4 hotels offer Japanese-style or Japanese-Western rooms. If you can lay out futons in a tatami room, you can stop worrying about a child rolling off a bed. Shirakaba Resort Ikenotaira Hotel has Japanese-style and Japanese-Western rooms plus a nursing room, a formula-preparation space, baby food, a kids' buffet, and a children's corner, making it easy to accommodate everyone from babies to elementary schoolers. Other places, such as Naito Pension, Yajima Pension Starship, and Stella Yatsugatake Haramura, let you choose a detached building, a cottage, or a whole house to yourselves, which suits families who would rather not worry about night crying or little footsteps.

The bath and the meals matter just as much. 4 hotels have a private bath, which lowers the barrier for families whose children have not yet made their large-public-bath debut. Pension Owl Himegi (a lodge with private radium-ore natural hot spring baths) and Yatsugatake Onsen Mominokiso both state that guests can use a private bath at no usage fee. At Owl Himegi, the bathing tax and a heating charge are billed separately, but the water is a simple hot spring that is gentle on the skin, which is reassuring with a baby. On the food side, some hotels prepare toddler meal sets or state that they accommodate allergies, and some, like Naito Pension, let you reserve meals in the cottage building by phone (the official site describes this in different ways in different places, so check before you book). All of this helps on a family trip when going out to eat is difficult.

The play facilities are as generous as you would hope in the highlands. Some hotels have a kids' room or playroom, an outdoor play area, or an athletic playground, so a day of bad weather or the wait after check-in can be handled without leaving the building. Others offer animal encounters or kids' programs and hands-on activities, so a day works out even if you do not pack the schedule with sightseeing. That ease is what makes this area comfortable.

If a trip to an amusement park is on your list, Ikenotaira Hotel & Resorts (right next to the Shirakaba Resort Ikenotaira Family Land amusement park) is the closest, followed by the hotels in Himekidaira on the north side of Lake Shirakaba, and then those on the western foothills of Yatsugatake, such as Haramura, which sit progressively farther away.