Best thing about Hotel Kodama is the superb location. It's literally 20m to the Ichinose diamond ski lift, across the road from snowcan rental shop and Ichinose Family ski lifts which leads to Yakebetaiyama. Breakfast buffet choice is limited, amount also limited, can do a refill especially during the first two days when there were a group of teenagers. Word of advice: go at 7:30am sharp, not 7:35am not 7:40am. Expect a line during weekends. Dinner was served at the table, food limitations have to be conveyed earlier. It's Japanese style food, quite good. Bus stop - Ichinose SKI RESORT. Right at the front

Expect an old hotel, functional yes but old. Heater goes off in the middle of the night so you have to turn on an additional heater. Room service is not consistent... In fact we came home with our door half opened one day with beds unmade.... Luckily nothing was gone! Staff except for the owner and one of the ladies speak some English, others don't know English at all. Google translate will be handy. The convenience / souvenir shop was not opened ( for years )… While there is very limited stuff at Snowcan rental shop, and a dodgy clinic there.. remember to bring enough snacks and medicine with you...

Breakfast was a buffet with selection of meats, salads, sausages, scrambled eggs, soup, fruit, buns + spreads. Drip filter coffee, green/black teabags. Served from 7.30am though you have to be quick if there is a school group as the food goes very quickly and they do not refill. Dinner was good with a large selection of japanese food (sashimi, fish, soup, salad, dessert) on a 4-day cycle menu. Selection of sake and wine (only ok in quality) you can get from the bar for dinner. Seated tables for service. Location is by far the highlight - ski in/out - opposite the ski lifts/ticket office and also another ski lift at back of hotel. Room comes with a ski locker (very small and quite a challenge to fit 2 skis in) and hotel does have small ski hire facility - we decided to hire elsewhere (opposite hotel at SnowCan which was better) as the condition of the skis was poor and the person fitting the boots didn't check the DIN settings. Hotel has laundry facility (coin operated) on each floor with an ice machine on 3rd Floor which was handy.

There wasn't an apres ski area to relax - you basically spend time in your room if conditions didn't allow you to ski. There was a lounge area but it wasn't heated so was pretty cold. Room did not have a bar fridge so we couldn't keep drinks cold and had to improvise using the balcony railing. The hair dryer provided was a mini dryer and didn't do much. Heating of hot water pipes came on about 7am and was very loud and noisy. No real tea/coffee facilities in the room.