Trip to Manza Onsen

I took this trip  on Nov 23-25, 2013.
I know, a little late in posting.

Express from Omiya

Took an express train Omiya to Tatasaki.  Payed an extra 9 dollars for it being an express, unfortunately, all the seats were already reserved, so I got to stand, along with about 20 others the entire way (about an hour). Yeah!!!

At Tatasaki we got off and waited for a special train, Resort Yamadori to take us to Manza Onsen. This train only runs on some weekends on and off through out the year, so you need to check the schedule. Outside of most of the stations are flyers for various trains or ask at one of the many travel agents next to most of the stations.

Here is the station to get off at.


This station is the end of the line for this train. If you take a different train there is only a few more stops past this, so if you miss it you won't get too much further away.

The Seat have lots of leg room and nice big windows to
watch the scenery roll by.




Resort Yamadori train



 

This is a very nice train to ride, This trip had very few

people on board.
 

On the right is a pic of the tatami room, later on it was full of folks drinking beer and sake. Nice way to travel!

There is a play area for the kids!

  

 At both ends of the train are some nice big couches that

are right behind the engineer, and give a great view

straight out the front.

 

 

It was pretty cold when the train pulled into Manza-Kazawa. Had to wait about an hour for the bus to take everyone up the hill to the onsen. While waiting, went across the street from the station to this little coffee shop. The coffee was very good. Soon, a few of the locals came in for a chat and to play some sort of card game. This place seems to serve as the local hang out



 

Soon it was to time to go catch the bus for the ride up the mountain. The one way fare was a little over $23.00.
Here is an interesting bus stop made up of some old rope way cars. This stop is for one of the Prince Hotels

Take the bus to the end of the line, which ends in a big parking lot. Waiting there are the buses of the different hotels, so make sure you get on the right bus!

It's only a 5 min ride to the hotel from here.




The local bus is the white one with blue, red and green stripes. The Manza Onsen bus is the green one.
Yes, that's snow on the ground!!

Here is the front of the hotel. The main bath area is in the large building to the left

 

Being Christmas time there is a nice tree in the lobby.

 
 

 The room was very nice. There is a TV out of sight on the right and well as a bathroom with a nice soaking tub.

Two views looking out of the room.

 

There are a few different bath areas. The main one is right off the lobby. There is another one outside about 200 feet away and another one at the other end of the hotel. The wooden building with the tile roof is the bath.

View from the men's outside bath. The other bath is across the street from the brown building in the distance.

 

Here are views of the inside bath

The washing area. It's important to wash and rinse off before getting into the bath

More of the inside area

The tub on the right has a pipe that is about 4 feet up, which allows you to sit under it and have it massage your back/shoulders. So nice!

 

This bath is in the room at the other end of the hotel (near parking lot)

This bath alternates between men and women, so make sure you check the times before walking in and either causing screams or laughter! 

Another view of the main men's bath. There are nice views of the mountains out the windows.
The men's outside bath is right out the door on the left.

Below is the outside tub, there are 2 of them. The second one is towards the bottom of the picture.

 

 

There are some nice hiking trails that go up into the hills plus there is another outside tub on top of the nearby hill, but it was closed due to winter.

 

 

A temple is alongside the trail

 

Having a snowball fight in miniskirts. Style and fashion are always important in Japan

 

The food here is served buffet style. It's quite good, plus it's nice to eat in a large room with the other guests and chat with some of them.

View from the dining room.

 

 

 

 

The hotel cat and rabbit

 

A cute little snowman

 

Frozen lake is a 10 minute walk away.

 

This is the train that goes back to Tatasaki during the week.

Overall, I had a  very nice relaxing time here (3days, 2 nights). Spent time either soaking in one of the bathes, reading or taking a nap. It's only a little over 2 hours from Omiya (Tokyo area) The hotel has live music in the evenings on the weekends. The staff is very nice and friendly. There are a lot of trails to hike, except in the winter. The food is good and the beer is cold! This could be a nice escape from Tokyo for a weekend trip. Check train schedules for express/rapid trains from Omiya or from near wherever you are. (Duh)