IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 19 hotel brands with more than 6,300 hotels in over 100 countries. In Japan, the company currently operates about 47 hotels under seven brands from Hokkaido to Okinawa (as of March 2024). For this interview, we asked Shinobu Morikawa, general manager of ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano-Omachi Kuroyon, about the charms of the area surrounding the hotel.
Name: ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano Omachi Kuroyon
Location: 2020 Taira, Omachi, Nagano, Japan
–Please tell us how you came to work at ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano-Omachi Kuroyon.
He previously worked in the sales and marketing departments of ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Fukuoka and ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Narita, both of which are also in the IHG-ANA Hotels Group, and will assume the position of general manager of ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano Omachi Kuroyon in January 2022. He has assumed the position of General Manager at ANA Holiday Inn Resort Shinano-Omachi Kuroyon in January 2022.
–What kind of hotel is it?
In a word, this is a hotel where you can enjoy nature to the fullest. In the vicinity is the Kurobe Dam, which boasts of being one of the largest in Japan, commonly called “Kuroyon” in the hotel name, and is the closest hotel to Ogisawa Station, the entrance to the Nagano Prefecture side of the Alpine Route. The hotel offers a wide variety of views throughout the year: beautiful greenery in spring and summer, autumn leaves in fall, and the wonderful snow resort of Hakuba with its snowy landscape in winter. The beautiful mountains at an altitude of over 2,000 meters seen from the restaurant are especially recommended.
Holiday Inn Resorts offer a wide range of family-friendly amenities and programs. The hotel offers a Kids Club where children can play freely, a kid’s suite with lovely décor, and an indoor swimming pool. The hotel also offers a “Treasure Hunt” game that allows guests to explore the hotel’s spacious interior. Every day we see children exploring the hotel and discovering treasures.
–please let me know if you have any personal favorites tourist spots or restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel.
The Kurobe Dam is, after all, the tallest dam in Japan. Ogisawa Station, which leads to the Kurobe Dam, is a 15-minute drive from the hotel, and from June 26 to October 15, water is released for sightseeing, which is breathtaking in its power. This year will also be the last run of the sightseeing boats operating on Kurobe Lake, and we hope you will enjoy the spectacular view of the Northern Alps and the Tateyama Mountain Range from the boat, which runs at the highest altitude in Japan.
–What restaurant menu do you recommend?
This premium full-course meal at Botanica Restaurant features 13 different fermented foods. Nagano Prefecture has an inherited food culture using fermented foods and has declared itself a prefecture of fermented longevity, producing miso, soy sauce, sake, and wine. Using these fermented foods and local ingredients, our chef has created a French course. I most highly recommend the course, which uses a variety of fermented foods from appetizers to desserts, and is finished with delicate flavors. I hope many guests from Japan and abroad will try it.
–What souvenirs do you recommend?
This wine is from Domaine Hiroki, a winery near the hotel, which won a gold medal at the Japan Wine Competition in 2022. I recommend their Chardonnay, which I enjoy at home with Japanese as well as Western cuisine. From this winery, you can enjoy a wide view of the mountains of the Northern Alps, which is also very relaxing. There are many wineries in Nagano Prefecture, and since I arrived here, I have come to enjoy only wines produced in Nagano Prefecture.
© Source travel watch
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