Hotel Berg

Hotel Berg is a small ryokan on the Giant ski slope at Shiga Kogen. Its bath draws on water from Shigayama Onsen (志賀山温泉), with a strong sulfur smell that leaves no doubt you're sitting in a real hot spring. Rooms are simple, with futons, and overnight stays include breakfast and dinner. The hotel sits right inside the ski area, so luggage often arrives by snowmobile from the parking lot instead of by car, and the building itself is an old-school ski lodge, plain wood outside but run like a traditional ryokan inside. In winter, skiers passing through also stop at the attached Restaurant Berg and Cafe Berg for tonkatsu and cakes by the fireplace.