Ryokan Warabino

This Ryokan is set in the most beautiful landscape. It’s a bit far from Nagano station, so you would probably be better off renting a car if you are comfortable driving in Japan. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful (I speak no Japanese except for greetings and “thank you very much”) The meals were fantastic! The spread at breakfast and dinner was really impressive, filled with delicious fish, meats, egg, rice, pickled things, stews/soups and really fresh fruit. I think most—if not all—of the food was locally sourced, which also usually included an element of apple which was really interesting (this region has apple orchards EVERYWHERE, even more than I’ve seen where I’m from in New York). You can also order beer, sake, alcohol free beer or soft drinks with the dinners. (we had 3 dinners/3 breakfasts during our stay) I would definitely recommend this Ryokan for its private Onsens (hot baths). There are 3 separate Onsens that are completely private which was great because 3 of us in the group have tattoos and that wasn’t an issue here at all. Also, 2 of the onsen baths are outdoors which was great in the October cool air. Plan ahead for some excursions to the mountains for skiing, hiking, hot springs, snow monkey areas, or visit the national parks.

The staff are the friendliest we’ve met along our travels in Japan. They were helpful and kind at every point even though we did not speak Japanese. It would have helped a lot if we did, but that’s on us. There is a lovely aroma of incense in the air as you walk the halls. The rooms are a bit dated in appearance, but charming and comfortable nonetheless. The onsens are all clean and relaxing. I particularly loved the open air baths. Some of the other foreign guests didn’t grasp all of the rules that include a 50 min time limit and a request to write your finishing time on a white board outside the door to the onsen. That said we were able to get into each of the baths almost every time we wanted to without wait. The breakfast and dinner provided was a delicious spread of traditional Japanese meals each day that left us very happy and maybe a touch too full. I hope to return again some day!

Great place to be, unique experience of the country side in Japan. Excellent service and special Onsen facilities. The location is very good for nature day trips as well as visiting nearby small villages. We had a lot of fun during our 2 days stay at the Ryokan.

Easily THE best accommodation experience during my 1-month Japan trip. The staff were lovely and helpful. The included food was exceptional and made me want to not eat for the rest of the day just so I can eat everything (there's so much, I think dinner was a 6 course meal). Varied from rice, pickles to Kobe steak and shabushabu. The room was spacious - you can run across and jump around if you want and you won't collide with anything. Best part of it all was the private onsen. We had 3 options (Stone, Wood with an outdoor space, and the fully outdoor one). They have a system where it's first come first serve and you 'occupy' it 50m at a time. During that time it's all yours. It was magical as snow fell on me as I was in 40C hot springs. I want to go back to Japan JUST to experience this again.