Shibu Onsen KOKUYA

房間很有特色，酒店私湯温泉非常舒服。

From the moment you enter Kokuya Ryokan, be prepared to leave the real world behind and fully immerse yourself in the experience. You swap your shoes for slippers at the door and don’t see them again until you leave. You will receive a warm welcome from polite and gentle-mannered staff, get taken up to your beautiful room, and once you’ve changed into your traditional yukata, it’s time to let the relaxation begin. The multi-course dinner will probably be one of the best meals you’ve had in your life, with many unusual textures and flavors to try. The futons are comfortable, and your room is kept toasty warm. There are even skincare products to keep you pampered and moisturized between soaks in the onsen. Honestly, you won’t even need to open your suitcase while you’re there. The staff will take you through all the logistics when you arrive, but there are some things that might be useful to know in advance. - The ryokan sends a shuttle to Yudanaka station at about 15:00 to collect new arrivals, so time your journey to take advantage of this benefit. - The ryokan also offers guests the opportunity to catch a shuttle to the Snow Monkey Park immediately after breakfast the next morning. - After you leave the ryokan, they will take your luggage down to the coffee shop opposite the station, so you don’t need to worry about those logistics. - Trains from Yudanaka back to Nagano leave at 12:30 and 15:30. - The ryokan itself has several private onsens that you can reserve for a 45-minute slot. Because the onsens are on the property, you can go in with your partner or travel companions regardless of gender. It’s a boutique hotel, so you don’t have to worry about not getting access to all the onsens you want. - The ryokan is on the main road of the Shibu Onsen town. The hotel will give you a key so you can wonder down the main road, visiting any of the public onsens you wish - however, with so many gorgeous and more private onsens in the hotel itself, you probably won’t have time or the desire for this. - Also, there is a coffee machine in the room! (I was worried about having to survive without coffee, and this turned out to be an unfounded concern). We had an incredible and totally indulgent time at Kokuya. Experiencing a traditional ryokan is a privilege that you should try at least once if you can. And adding the Snow Monkeys in give the trip a double purpose, making it that much more memorable. The only thing that would have made the trip better is if we had been allowed to linger longer over every course of our dinner.

It was a great stay. The staff was super friendly and spoke English. The had parking vallet, provided an outfit to change into and roam outside. The hot springs was super relaxing and great for the feet and body. We tried five of their private hot spring rooms out of the many more they had, some had super hot water while others were warm. The outside room hot springs were beautifully decorated. They gave us access to the 9 public onsens that had different minerals in the  for body healing. At night it was even more beautiful with the night walk and the town puts on a beautiful show and night market. Super glad we booked the stay.

Great onsen!   Service is awesome!  Great location.  Very clean.  Close to bus station.

Having never stayed in a Ryoken before we didn't know what to expect. We were on a photography tour so this hotel was booked for us as part of the trip. The staff were delightful - every single one of them. We had a Japanese banquet type meal every night and whilst the staff tried to accommodate me being a vegetarian - the food was just about Ok for me. Having just read other reviews I am now surprised to learn that western food was available too. It was never offered to me but I suspect this is more to to with the trip organiser than the hotel. The rooms were very traditional and we slept on futons, very comfy. The private onsens we could use were just gorgeous. Just embrace it and try as they are private... very hot and relaxing too... We loved the staff here - one of the lovely ladies cried when we left... Okini!! If we ever go back to this area we would happily stay here again.

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.