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skijay's Journal
We are staying in a pension in Happo village. A pension is kind of a cross between a bed and breakfast and a backpacker's. It's a very popular option in Japan, and heaps of Japanese stay in such places.
We like it much better than a self contained place as it's so much more convenient. There is a large drying room where you can spread out all your stuff, and where you put your boots on in the morning (instead of five people trying to put boots on in a tiny entrance in a self contained cottage). There's even a table for you to wax your boards on. There is a vending machine which sells beer, Chu Hi's and soft drink and canned hot coffee. We get breakfast every morning between 7 and 8 am, which is great as it is pretty nutritious (miso soup, rice, and a selection of small dishes like grilled fish, tuna patties, salad, served with green tea), and it's so convenient to wake up, wander in in your PJs and have breakfast served to you. V and I are in a huge room, with our own bathroom. There is free wireless internet available near the entrance.
The place we are staying in is an adorable place called Resort Inn Alupu (Pronounced "Arupu", as in Alps pronounced Japanese style). It's a really kooky place run by an Obasan (grandmother) type who speaks a little English. The architecture resembles, yes, an alpine resort in Europe somewhere, but the interior is uniquely Japanese. The place is decorated with the cutest stuff - a large stuffed gorilla greets you at the entrance, there is an ancient Kitty Chan (Hello Kitty) doll sitting at the bar, and downstairs in the common area there is a large white stuffed bear who looks like he has seen much better times. At breakfast time, we are roused by loud music, usually some modern violin pieces, or Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries" (If that doesn't get you up and going in the morning, nothing will!)
It's a quiet place during the week, but on weekends it is bursting at the seams! A large group of Koreans (we're not sure if there were actually a large NUMBER of Koreans, but they certainly made enough noise for twenty people) moved in, and partied into the early hours of the morning. Amazingly, every morning they (and we!) were all woken up by a 6am wakeup call - one of the members of the party, obviously the leader, came round and knocked loudly and repeatedly on all the doors and yelled out something in Korean. We were really relieved to find that they had moved out today, as we will get a sleep in tomorrow!!!
We are paying under $50 a person per night (For a double room) with breakfast, which is pretty good for on-mountain accomodation. The location is pretty convenient too, as we are directly opposite the lifts for Happo One, and about 10 minutes walk to the bus stop for all the shuttle buses to the other resorts.
There is a common area downstairs with some ancient arcade games, a lounge area, and an "AV room", with an impressive assortment of three TVs, a karaoke system, DVD players etc.
This is a great place to stay - it's warm, comfortable, cosy, very convenient, and affordable. Pensions are highly recommended rather than staying in an expensive hotel.
We like it much better than a self contained place as it's so much more convenient. There is a large drying room where you can spread out all your stuff, and where you put your boots on in the morning (instead of five people trying to put boots on in a tiny entrance in a self contained cottage). There's even a table for you to wax your boards on. There is a vending machine which sells beer, Chu Hi's and soft drink and canned hot coffee. We get breakfast every morning between 7 and 8 am, which is great as it is pretty nutritious (miso soup, rice, and a selection of small dishes like grilled fish, tuna patties, salad, served with green tea), and it's so convenient to wake up, wander in in your PJs and have breakfast served to you. V and I are in a huge room, with our own bathroom. There is free wireless internet available near the entrance.
The place we are staying in is an adorable place called Resort Inn Alupu (Pronounced "Arupu", as in Alps pronounced Japanese style). It's a really kooky place run by an Obasan (grandmother) type who speaks a little English. The architecture resembles, yes, an alpine resort in Europe somewhere, but the interior is uniquely Japanese. The place is decorated with the cutest stuff - a large stuffed gorilla greets you at the entrance, there is an ancient Kitty Chan (Hello Kitty) doll sitting at the bar, and downstairs in the common area there is a large white stuffed bear who looks like he has seen much better times. At breakfast time, we are roused by loud music, usually some modern violin pieces, or Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries" (If that doesn't get you up and going in the morning, nothing will!)
It's a quiet place during the week, but on weekends it is bursting at the seams! A large group of Koreans (we're not sure if there were actually a large NUMBER of Koreans, but they certainly made enough noise for twenty people) moved in, and partied into the early hours of the morning. Amazingly, every morning they (and we!) were all woken up by a 6am wakeup call - one of the members of the party, obviously the leader, came round and knocked loudly and repeatedly on all the doors and yelled out something in Korean. We were really relieved to find that they had moved out today, as we will get a sleep in tomorrow!!!
We are paying under $50 a person per night (For a double room) with breakfast, which is pretty good for on-mountain accomodation. The location is pretty convenient too, as we are directly opposite the lifts for Happo One, and about 10 minutes walk to the bus stop for all the shuttle buses to the other resorts.
There is a common area downstairs with some ancient arcade games, a lounge area, and an "AV room", with an impressive assortment of three TVs, a karaoke system, DVD players etc.
This is a great place to stay - it's warm, comfortable, cosy, very convenient, and affordable. Pensions are highly recommended rather than staying in an expensive hotel.
1 Comments
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monkeyking
on 4 Mar 2007
Not having to cook breakfast, wash up dishes, vending machines with cold beer and hot coffee, and wake-up calls. Such luxury.
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