This Isn’t Your Average Spa Resort! A Supreme Onsen Inn Pension Yodel in Shihodaka Onsen Gifu

A chalet type building greets you

I wanted to bath amongst the snow so I pulled out my 4x4 and donned some snow tires and set out in January.

The exterior of Pension Yodel reminds you of a Swiss chalet. The name and the look fit, but if you didn’t know that this place is one of the best onsen resorts out there you would miss it completely.

It is in the Nakao district of the Shinhodaka Onsen, the farthest part of the Okuhida Onsen Resort area. The reality that you are in snowy mountains hits you hard as you view the surrounding area.

*A yodel is a call that mountaineers use in the European Alps.

The interior doesn’t feel like an onsen hotel either!

Entering the warm building from the negative temperatures outside you feel relief wash over you.

The interior feels like a mountain cabin almost.

On the walls hang tapestries and the pillars are all made from logs, the owners’ taste really shows through. It really does not feel like an onsen bath house in any way.

Rest assured though. Once you step into the bath they proudly built here you will understand.

Be aware you smokers out there, the inn is non-smoking except for a small area at the sofa space on the first floor.

I wasn’t able to post a picture of the room here, but we stayed in a room that has 2 beds and a sofa. It wasn’t large but you could gaze upon the mountains’ glory from the windows.

By the way there is no toilet or bathtub in the room.

Outdoor bath that you won’t be disappointed in

Here is the pride of Pension Yodel, the outdoor bath. Nice right?

Not only is the view and the design fantastic the hot spring water is absolutely perfect!

It’s huge as well! It can easily fit 20 people. It’s hard to imagine such a spacious bath being open for private reservations.

I’ve been to many onsens but an outdoor bath that has private reservations on this size and scale is unheard of. Most private reservation baths at most onsens are usually extra charge but not here.

Not only is that amazing this hotel uses 2 different hot springs. One just for this outdoor bath, and although it is large they don’t mix anything in the water, and the flow is enough to continuously fill this bath with new water.

The onsen type here is a chloride spring but it has a scent of sulfur too! I am sure any onsen lover would revel in this quality.

You can’t always tell the real water type just by what it’s called; you really have to experience it for yourself.

If you bathe on a clear night here you get to see the brightest starlit sky around.

Don’t underestimate the indoor bath

The indoor bath is in a different spot. This is also reservation and private.

The wooden tub is really small but because of that it is always fresh water coming filling it continuously, with a slightly sulfur scented water.

Also, if you open the door like in the image above you can have a half outdoor bath.

By the way shampoo and such are only available here, so it’s a good idea to wash here and after you are nice and warmed up head to the outdoor bath to relax.

That was exactly how I enjoyed the bath here.

Nothing extraordinary but every single dish is super delicious!

Over the course of a year I spend many a night at different onsen hotels and such and honestly I usually not looking forward to the standard Kaiseki style onsen food, actually I am disappointed when I am high in the mountains and yet I get a dish of seafood.

In all realness I don’t have that many experiences with food at onsens that really are that memorable. So when a hotel or inn provides me with something very local I am really happy.

The food here? A huge hit with me!

Everything has the freshest mountain ingredients all from the Okuhida area and all are so delicious!

Just the food alone here has made my trip worth it.

Pictured above is Hida Beef, Iwana (river trout or char) sashimi, stewed Kawafugu, and a mushroom stew and more. Each dish simply blew me away! *Kawafugu isn’t a blovefish it is a type of catfish.

I wasn’t able to share the breakfast images here but it included a Hida local delicacy, Bokuyo Miso.

Out of all the miso I have ever had it was simply the best and I had to have 3 bowls of rice with it because it was so good I couldn’t help myself.

After having such good meals and a spectacular bath you almost forget it’s a pension house that looks like a mountain cabin. *menu items change according to season