The MICHELIN Key recognizes hotels that meet 5 universal criteria and offer excellent and consistent high-quality service, similar to the MICHELIN Star recognition. In Japan, six Michelin Three Key Hotels, 17 Michelin Two Key Hotels and 85 Michelin One Key Hotels are awarded.

■ MICHELIN One Key Distinction …A Special Stay

• A destination brims with unique character and charm.
• It provides experiences that are truly distinctive.
• The service consistently exceeds expectations, offering far more than typical accommodations in the same price range.

Appi Kogen is one of Japan’s largest ski resorts. The ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort is a first-class luxury hotel that has been built there, offering exquisite experience. Despite its modest size of only 38 rooms and suites, each unit upholds the highest service standards of IHG’s Club InterContinental classification.

Artworks are displayed throughout the hotel, and the hotel’s Club Lounge features a 400-year-old beech tree, and you can see the care that has gone into the decoration everywhere. The expansive windows of the guest rooms and suites offer panoramic views of the ski slopes and surrounding forest, and the bathrooms in particular are perfect for indulging in a little nature-based meditation.

Even in the hot spring bath on the top floor of the hotel, you can enjoy the view of the treetops as you soak in the cypress bath. In addition to the Japanese-style hot spring bath, there is also an international spa, and you can enjoy some of the best skiing and snowboarding in Japan. With such a small scale, you might think that one restaurant and one bar would be enough, but they are actually wonderful. “SHIRATSUYU” offers Japanese and French cuisine in a dining room with an elaborate design based on the concept of “Farm to Table”, and “MOCCO”, located on the top floor, is a specialist Japanese whisky bar.

*From the MICHELIN Guide (guide.michelin.com).