The hosts Toshi and Yoshiko at Pension Elm in Madarao were incredibly friendly and very hospitable, and they were full of local wisdom and provided interesting insights into the history of Madarao. We enjoyed our stay at Pension Elm. It provides the huge advantage of a classic Japanese pension and experience, with a Japanese host that speaks great English.

Pension Elm provided simple accommodation in a rather dated property and it was ideal for an economical stay. Madarao overall provides very good value but staying at Pension Elm was particularly inexpensive and probably one of the best low cost Japan ski holidays around. One thing to check is whether they require cash for payment (as it did in our case). This is somewhat common with old-school Japanese pensions, but be mindful that there are no ATMs at Madarao (only in the town of Iiyama) and the cost may be more than what you can withdraw in 1-2 ATM transactions, so come prepared. Thankfully unlike many other countries, carrying around cash in Japan is not a big risk. The discounted lift passes provided by the pension offer a significant discount, but you have to pay cash for these too. Hopefully in the future they’ll accept Paypal or the like.

We stayed in a triple room with western beds, that was OK sized for just 2 people but would have been squeezy with 3. The room was warm enough for sleeping considering the thick doonas, but it was a little difficult to dry out wet clothing and ski boots (there was a tiny heater at the entrance which was OK if your boots weren’t wet). The pension had plenty of toilets and wash basin amenities, but only two baths, one for each gender. The communal bathrooms have a lock on the door which was nice for those that want some privacy but it then meant that others were locked out and had to wait for a bath.

It was a little bit of a walk up the hill in heavy snow to go out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. We also ate in one night and had a lovely hot pot, accompanied by our BYO sake and great conversation with Toshi.

The dining/communal area was a nice spot to gather for après ski and the wifi throughout the pension was very good.
See our video here