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Reviews of Shibu Onsen KOKUYA

3 out of 5
Shibu Onsen KOKUYA
2200 Hirao, Yamanouchi, Shimotakai-gun

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 56 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 12 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 2 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 72 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.6/10

Staff & service

10/10

Amenities

9.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

patricia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Super helpful staff and they speak English. The customer service was excellent with thorough explanations of the facilities, the meals and the van service to see the snow monkeys the next day (free van service) Great meals (plenty of great food) and the baths were amazing (onsen). You can book the indoors baths twice in a day (heaven!) and I had a private onsen in my room as well. Even when the weather was super cold and rainy, I was able to enjoy and recover from my long trip. I was not able to get out and walk around the property at night since it was very cold outside. Would definitely love to return!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Jacky

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
For my overnight trip to Nagano, my focus had always been to visit Togakushi Shrine for the giant cedar trees and Jigokudani Yaen Koen for the snow monkeys. This meant that I had to find lodging that was within a reasonable drive from both locations as one was west of Nagano and the other east. As I favored more of visiting Jigokudani Yaen Koen when there are lesser crowds, which meant early morning hours when the park just opens (keep in mind it takes 45 minutes to hike up to the park), I decided to go with Shibu Onsen Kukuya, which was comfortably situated in Shibu Onsen a small onsen town that is 10 minutes drive away from the park. My overall experience with this Ryokan style lodging was exceptional as they were easy to get in touch with, responsive with inquiries, English friendly and very accommodating to their guest needs. The food that came with my room reservation (dinner & breakfast) was comparable to fine dining that you would find in luxury hotels and restaurants from larger cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. The private onsens found within the premises as well as within certain rooms offer a very intimate and comfortable experience. As for the staff, they all offered a world class service from the moment they greet you to moment they bid you farewell, I was truly impressed by the attention to detail and professionalism that each staff member shared. Overall, Shibu Onsen Kokuya has exceeded my expectations and has provided me with an enjoyable and memorable experience.

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A traditional Japanese hotel. They served breakfast and dinner. Exceptional. Staff very helpful, punctual, and sweet. The resort even has onsens within the hotel that guests can use. There is about ten of them. We used them instead of using the Puplic Onsen which we also had access to. Only issue was my husband is tall and had to duck in many doorways. Also we are in our 60’s and sleeping on the floor on mats was a bit uncomfortable. But definitely worth it. And going to the Snow Monkey Park was just awesome. Shuttle service was available at 9:15am. It is best to go early. Loved this place for traditional Japan hospitality.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Annie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Heather

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This ryokan was an absolute dream. The staff goes above and beyond to make it worth the price. My husband and I got to Nagano station and the only train to get to the ryokan was out of service and we had to take a bus to the snow monkey park with all our luggage and the ryokan used their shuttle to pick us up. They also provide free shuttle service to the snow monkey park in the morning (timed) and free bagging storage. The staff also had amazing English and explained everything the ryokan had to offer as well as helping us with how to get to our next location. Aside from the staff being great, the room we stayed in was amazing (we had the traditional futons, you get to wear traditional yukatas during your stay, and you have access to 6 or so onsens on the premise (you can privately use alone or with your partner/friends/family) and all 9 public onsens in the town. Also, we did the half board and everything we ate was delicious!!!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

carol

Travelled with partner
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kyle

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing property in Yamanouchi. Staff was very friendly and the rooms were amazing. The open air bath in the room was serene and relaxing. The private hot springs on the property were all great as well.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Randal

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

Blake

Travelled with family and small children, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Staff and Manager went out of their way to accomodate our group itinerary, including transportation.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Julie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We absolutely loved our stay here. Everyone was so lovely and helpful. It was an amazing experience. We’re planning on coming back.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ronald

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kirill

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A great selection of onsens right inside the ryokan. Nice Japanese food in the half board. Very accommodating staff.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ryan

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property was one of best stays I’ve ever had. The staff were extremely professional and courteous. Food/meals felt authentic and abundant. The onsens offered a more atheistic variety with the added privacy. We cant thank the staff enough for how polite and helpful they truly were!

10/10 Excellent

Sydney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from Sho on 25 Jul,2023
thank you so much for your stay.Please enjoy Japan

10/10 Excellent

Boris

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We stayed at Kokuya for one night. It is a larger Ryokan compared to some of the others we stayed at. The advantage of this place is that they have at least 8 baths within the property that are very different in look and feel (both indoors and outdoors) and can be booked just for your party (so a couple can use a certain bath without having to be separated by gender) - this is free for all guests. They also provide a key to the town's public baths. Very centrally located. There are yukatas in the room. Would definitely stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Sho on 5 Apr,2023
Thank you so much for staying with us and for warm feed back to us.We hope to welcome you again someday.Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020
Response from Sho on 15 Feb,2020
Thank you so much for your staying. Kind regards Sho

10/10 Excellent

Jorch001, Lake forest, CA

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It is a nice Ryokan style hotel, hot springs very close to snow monkey park, short train ride to nice sight seeing and cultural sites and great if you want to disconnect from normal day to day life
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020
Response from Sho on 28 Jan,2020
Thank you so much for staying with us. Please visit us again soon. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Thomas

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020
Response from Kosuke on 12 Jan,2020
Thank you so much for staying with us. Please visit us again. Kind regards

2/10 Terrible

Danielle

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible Stay
Very unhappy with our stay. We confirmed 3 times by email that we would be arriving early. We were told we couldn’t check in but that we could leave our bags and get key to local onsens. We showed up and no one was there. Lights out and a sign saying they would open at 3 pm. Then when we did checkin the room was dirty and dated. We paid for 5 futons and got two (one each). Floor was so hard.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019
Response from Kosuke Onezawa on 1 Jan,2020
Thank you very much for staying with us. And I really apologize that we could not up to your expectations. I’ve immediately checked exchanging emails with you and my subordinate. -Request for early check-in and lend a key of onsen before check-in time You surely told him to arrive early and ask early-check-in, and we tried our best for your stay after he told to be impossible for meeting your request. Our room staff cleaned the staying room first, it is for welcoming you as soon as possible. Although there was temporarily no staff in reception, we handled to lend a key of onsen before check-in time. I guess the responders was not perfect. And they were not good at English, it surely might not be able to communicate with easily and I’m very sorry that you feel uncomfortable. But I’m afraid that we are not a big hotel but a small Japanese ryokan. I hope you will understand our ryokan's circumstances. -Dirty room When you had told dissatisfied points during stay, we would have changed room or done our best. But in order to not be pointed the same thing out by our future guests, I make room staffs retrain and room manager check status of cleaned rooms thoroughly. -Dated room and hard floor Our ryokan’s rooms are all Japanese style ones, laying Japanese mats(Tatami). And all rooms were made by sukiya-style of building, these are precious and it is difficult to rebuild at the present day. We are really proud of it so I’m afraid that I would like to keep in the future as a person who engaged in Japanese culture industry, ryokan. Every guest generally sleep on a futon at the tatami floor area, I hope them to experience culture and tradition. But when you would not like that, we are glad to make double futons or prepare for a temporally bed. -Paid for 5 futons I really apologize for causing you a misunderstanding because of reservation web site problem. Shown the numbers of futons in the web site you book is the maximum numbers of room capacity, it is one each. So we generally prepare for 2 futons when you make a reservation for 2 people. I’m afraid that I cannot handle to solve it by my side, it is due to reservation system of them. Than you for pointing them out, I am not complacent about the current situation and I try to improve. Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience. Manager Kosuke Onezawa

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
such great service! the kaiseki meals are also phenomenal. this was our second time at Kokuya and will be back for sure. Note: the property is kind of a maze of stairs, so if you can't handle stairs, this might not be the place for you.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019
Response from Sho on 6 Jan,2020
Good day to you. This is from KOKUYA. Thank you so much for staying with us. Please come back again as soon as possible. Yes, as you told KOKUYA is historical building,it seems maze. Thank you so much for your explanation for other tourists. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Wendy

Business traveller, Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019
Response from Sho on 22 Dec,2019
Thank you so much for staying with us and feedback. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful and historical ryokan - this place is incredible. Kokuya has been around for for hundred years and was passed down from generation to generation. You can tell there is a lot of love put into in keeping this traditional inn alive. The multiple hot baths available to guests make it a great and unique place to stay. The service was spot on. The meals were varied and delicious. The only point of feedback would be that some parts of the ryokan need to be updated. The carpet throughout the inn is quite worn and a place this expensive should look like it's worth the expense.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019
Response from Sho on 17 Dec,2019
Thank you so much for staying with us. As you told some parts of ryokan needs maintenance. No worry we already started discussing about repair. Next time we can welcome you with fresh facilities. Please visit us again and thank you so much for your comment. Kind regards Sho

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The facilities were awesome. Dinner and breakfast were amazing as well as the staff and private onsen. Everything was very well coordinated including pick up from the train station, dinner and breakfast, and drop off at the Monkey Park. As a departing gift the staff also gave us a small lunch and some sweets to enjoy on our onward travels. A highlight of our vacation in Japan. Highly recommended.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019
Response from Sho on 22 Nov,2019
Good day to you. Thank you so much for staying with us. We are pleased to read your message. Please visit us again. Kind regards Sho

8/10 Good

Kathleen

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A ryokan with onsen right by the snow monkey park
"Shibu Onsen" is a quaint little town very close to the snow monkey park in Yamanouchi (Nagano). As onsen lovers, it was the perfect gateway for our family. We stayed at the Kokuya because of the history of the place, the number of onsen available (inside the ryokan, but also in the village) and location. What makes the Kokuya unique is its design - the place is an amazing maze of stairs, guest rooms and baths. The staff is also very kind and caring and made us feel like we were part of the family. They are used to foreigners so English was not a problem. However, our review wouldn't be complete without a little bit of feedback. Having visited several luxury ryokans throughout Japan, we felt that the Kokuya is in need of serious TLC and would benefit from some repairs and a fresh coat of paint (among other things). We also noticed some onsen baths to be slimy, including our own private bath. The quality of food we were served during our stay was not the same; the Friday dinner being much superior to the Thursday one. Guests were allowed to smoke in the hallway, right by the dinning room, which was not pleasant. Overall, we are satisfied with our stay and would recommend for visitors wishing to experience a different type of ryokan experience.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019
Response from Sho on 22 Nov,2019
Good day to you. This is Sho from KOKUYA. First of all, thank you so much for staying with us. We thank you for giving us your feedback and teaching us the things to improve. As you say, repair is needed now, we already started to discuss how to repair with trader. We will welcome you again with fresh coat next time. Regarding to smoking problem, we are very sorry, I will tell our CEO and discuss together. Thanks so Onsen mineral, sometimes Onsen feels slimy, but it is not dirty. Thanks again for giving us comment, we would welcome with better service when you visit us next time. Kind regards Sho

10/10 Excellent

Neil

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely and helpful staff. Extraordinary dinner and breakfast. Not to be missed. 🇯🇵
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Sho on 9 Oct,2019
Good day to you. Thank you so much for your staying. We are pleased to read your message. please visit us again soon. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Carmen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Sho on 9 Oct,2019
Good day to you. Thank you so much for staying with us. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Sho on 17 Jul,2019
good day to you. Thank you so much for staying with us and giving good review. please visit us again. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2019
Response from Sho on 12 Jun,2019
Good day to you. Thank you so much for giving us review. Have a wounderful day. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful little city! We visited the snow monkeys from 3-5pm checked into the hotel and explored the city the following morning. Loved dinner, breakfast and all the hotsprings in the hotel available for private rentals as well.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019
Response from Sho on 22 May,2019
Good day to you. This is Sho at KOKUYA. Thank you so much for your staying and feed back. We are looking forward to welcome you again. Kind regards Sho

10/10 Excellent

David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great baths and great staff
Staff were very welcoming and helpful throughout the stay. The onsen were a lot of fun. Would absolutely recommend a stay here.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Sho on 6 Apr,2019
Thank you so much for staying with us. We are very happy to have welcomed you. Please visit us again soon. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Thomas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Immersive Cultural Experience
Whether you are a first-time or regular ryokan traveler, Kokuya sets the gold standard for comfort, relaxation, and personalized service. The advantages over the many other Shibu-onsen ryokans include its own nine (7 public, 2 private) onsen available to all guests, and some rooms with their own open air private baths for the ultimate bed-to-bath soaking. Add in impeccable "farm and stream to table" kaseki-style meals with attentive service just short of pampering, cozy tatami rooms, and strolling the narrow Shibu-onsen lanes in a yukata and geta (or slippers) for an immersive cultural experience. While there is free and ample wifi, you'll likely want to stow your cell phone and let the worries "back there" stay there while you explore discoveries of a more inner nature. Nearby are snow monkeys, sake brewery & art gallery, craft shops, and temples. What's not to love?
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Shibu Onsen KOKUYA Sho on 27 Mar,2019
Dear Thomas sama Thank you so much for staying with us. We well remember you. You talked with us gently and nicely. We are proud of being host for great and amazing guests Mr.Thomas. Please visit us again soon. Thanks again for your positive and heartwarming message. Best wishes Sho

10/10 Excellent

R, Adelaide

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Absolutely beautiful ryokan with beautiful staff. If you are hesitant to book the all inclusive dinner and breakfast , dont be and definitely do it! 11 courses of the most wonderful food and service. Worth every cent! Thankyou for a great japanese experience we wont forget.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great experience, amazing staff!
Service was beyond expectation! They picked us up from the station even though we at last minute took a later train. The place is older and the rooms are small, but definitely an authentic experience. They also offer a shuttle to the snow monkey park and took our luggage to a cafe near the station for storage. All in all, would definitely recommend!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018
Response from KOKUYA Sho Yamaguchi on 11 Feb,2019
Thank you for choosing to stay at KOKUYA HOTEL, and for taking the time to write a review! It was short stay this time. Please visit us again soon. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

LORETTA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We only spent 1 night at Kokuya hotel however I wish we could have stayed longer. We were too shy to make the most of the many private and public onsens available, so we stayed in a room with our own private outside thermal bath which I highly recommend. The staff were fantastic and so accommodating. Without a doubt, they were the nicest I met on my trip.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

10/10 Excellent

Amanda, Seattle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Relaxing Experience, Wonderful Food
We decided to reserve a traditional Japanese ryokan in Shibu Onsen, and we're so glad we did! The welcome tea and explanation of our room was great. Our room had a private hot spring bath. Dining at Kokuya is served Kaiseki style (multiple courses), and all of the food was freshly prepared, beautifully presented, and the staff was exceptional. They went above and beyond to take our luggage to a cafe near the train station and arranged for them to hold it for the day, offered us complimentary ski passes, and went out of their way to make our stay feel special. The room was very clean, the staff prepared our beds daily, and staying on the traditional mats was a fun experience. It's very different than Western style lodging, but we're so glad we did it!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Jorch001, Lake Forest, CA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice, clean and relaxing
Check in at this Ryokan hotel is easy and fast, the onsen baths are great to rest and relax after a long flight or after days of sight seeing and shopping. The food is delicious and of good quality, if you want a relaxing time in a traditional Japanese Ryokan hotel this is the way to go. Staff is great and very cordial and helpfull, if you have never slept in a Futon before I really recomend it its a great new experience.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Sherry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Luxury at its best!
Best Ryokan exprience of my trip in Japan. The service was excellent and the in-room amenities were so amazing and comfortable. My most favorite is the private open air hot spring which I took advantage of as much as I could. The staff treated us like royalty and the food was excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Elea, Hawaii

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The service is impeccable and there are just so many surprises from the moment we checked in till we stepped out of the door the next day! It was snowing and the town became a part of a serene landscape. Fantastic place!!!! From the moment the staff picked us up at the train station to the day we left, we did not have to worry about our anything. Everyone from the server/host were awesome and very consistent with the service! The meals were fantastic. On our last day, they gave us a farewell package lunch for our walk at the Jigakudani Snow Monkey Park. The best part of our stay was the private outdoor onsen outside of the room. For anyone who wants to enjoy the culture, this would be the place to start.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018

8/10 Good

Angela

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good for onsen-hopping
The location is perfect for those wanting to hop from onsen to onsen. However, we went mainly for the Yaen-koen (Jigokudani monkey park), and this hotel was rather far away (approximately $10-15 and 10-minute taxi ride). The food was good and the service was nice. The room is a very traditional room, so do not expect a standard hotel room. We had a private onsen which was wonderful!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018

10/10 Excellent

Jason

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great onsen, snow monkeys easy to get to
Went there to see the snow monkeys and relax for a few days. We stayed four days, which is way too many in the winter unless you plan on skiing or doing a winter sport out there because there is very little to do there in the winter other than the snow monkeys which is a half day affair, but that was our fault, not theirs. The food was good and surprisingly varied, we were worried that staying four days would mean lots of repeats, but we only had a couple of repeat dishes, and given that each dish is so small (dinner is 10 or small things, breakfast is maybe 5), it wasn't an issue at all. We did their Japanese style food everyday so can't comment on the Western style option. The rooms were fairly minimal but the onsens were quite enjoyable. Took some trial and error to get good at adjusting the temperature, but otherwise, was nice to jump in and just relax. The sleeping was a bit tougher. The pads they put down on the floor were quite firm (and I generally like firm mattresses) and you only get one very small pillow. Neither my fiancee nor I slept very well. I imagine it's fine if you're there for one or two nights, but given that we were there four nights, it was something we were both mindful of.
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2018

10/10 Excellent

Denise

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Kikuyu Hotel
Traditional Japanese hotel with futons for beds. The staff couldn’t have been more hospitable. In-house dining for breakfast and dinner was a very interesting experience with fresh local produce served beautifully. Our room had a private onsen with outdoor shower which was challenging in the freezing conditions however, the hot bath after was wonderful.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2018

10/10 Excellent

Gao

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Awesome traditional Japanese stay
Overall, this is one of the best hotel stay experience we have ever had. The staff was very helpful and polite, breakfast and dinner are top notch Japanese traditional food. Our room's private onsen is beautifully crafted: it's especially awesome when the area snowed, where you can bath and see the snow flakes falling down into the bath, onto your body, then melt away... It's truely one of the best experience.

8/10 Good

Marine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Experience with Kokuya!
The service was really good, though the service staff can’t speak English well, they do make an effort to explain every single detail to you. The dinner and breakfast were really great! The downside, I personally felt it’s a little overpriced, we paid approx. SGD 900 for a Sagano Room (but I guess this must be the market price in Nagano region)
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
First Ryokan Experience
Our stay at Kokuya Hotel was fantastic!!! This was our first time experiencing a traditional Ryokan and this had exceeded all our expectations. The hotel is located in a quiet little town, perfect for a getaway from the busy city of Tokyo. The staff is super friendly and provided great service. From check-in to check-out, we felt like we were welcomed into someone's home -- very great hospitality. I highly recommend to anyone who is looking to stay at a Ryokan!

2/10 Terrible

Michael, New York

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not for Westerners that used to western standards
If you enjoy a hotel that gives you as choices to be woken up in the morning either 8:00 am or 8:30, where you cannot find any bedroom or bed in the room (and you literally sleep on the floor - a thin mattress is being provided), there is absolutely no choice with breakfast and dinner (as the matter of fact, you are being harassed by phone if you do not show up on time), which has the look and feel of Bates Motel, and where they did not even bother to get a cappuccino machine despite most of their guests being foreigners, then this is the right place for you. Do not expect any comfort or service. Also nobody bothers to speak English.

10/10 Excellent

Matt, US

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Most expensive hotel of our honeymoon but WORTH IT
This was the last place we stayed during our honeymoon trip to Korea and Japan — we had the "Japanese Style with Open Air Bath B (Take)" room which was massive and featured an outdoor bathing area with piped in hot spring water. We had an amazing host who explained everything about the room, a spectacular dinner was included, and overall a really magical evening. Definitely worth the cost. Still thinking about our time there...

10/10 Excellent

Monica, US

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Enjoy & Relax!
Great relaxing Ryokan with many special touches. Excellent, friendly, courteous, punctual, extremely hospitable staff from pick up at Yudanka station thru drop off. We stay in the Shinanoji room which was quite roomy and our open air bath/hot spring was amazing. The coffee machine in our room actually grinds fresh coffee bean which were provided. The traditional Kaiseki meals were quite an experience, sumptuous and yummy! Both the green & brown tea were unforgettable. We were lucky to have arrived on a special day of celebration. It was supposedly their annual firework competition or something so we a two hour firework show which was so beautiful and creative. They provide a complimentary shuttle to the snow monkey mountain; a must see. The return trip is on your own; a long walk but refreshing and beautiful. Would definitely recommend this place.

10/10 Excellent

Justin, Chicago

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent stay. Fabulous in-room spring.
I stayed here with a friend for one night and had an excellent time. We booked the top tier room (There were three tiers of room with in-room spring), so I cannot compare the different room grades, but I would suggest that in terms of hotels this is a good place to splurge. Staying here also gets you access to the nine springs in the town that are all a pretty easy walk from the hotel. You're also close to the Monkey Park. (They offered us a ride in the morning to the park, but getting back we had to choose between a taxi and a public bus.) Dinner and breakfast were both fantastic. Dinner was a multi-course affair in a private room that gave us a great sample of Japanese cuisine. Bottom line, it's a great experience, but spring for the in-room onsen.

10/10 Excellent

Roberto

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful ryokan you'll never want to leave
Excellent cuisine, wonderful location (private onsen, especially the outdoor ones, are great), kind and friendly staff, beautiful atmosphere at night, traditional and spacious rooms (chilling in the room onsen bath was a dream)
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

あゆみ

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023