Find the Cheap Yamanouchi Hotels

I booked a night in Yudanaka with my partner so that we could visit the Snow Monkey Park. Most places were already booked up, so we went for Yorozuya (sometimes romanised as Yoroduya) even though it was a little beyond our budget. At £300 a night for a double room with dinner and breakfast, I thought “this had better be good…” Honestly, it was probably worth double that. The ryokan itself is massive; the atrium has a scale that almost defies sense. We were greeted by staff who were awaiting our arrival, and took our luggage up to our room while we enjoyed a complementary matcha tea. A guide led us up the stairs, handed us XL yukata to wear during our stay and explained the situation with towels. She took us in the lift to our room, and showed us how to access the onsens and where the dining halls would be. We took a few moments to settle into our tatami-floored room, change into our yukata, and investigate the albeit pretty boring view from our balcony. For the record: the joy here is _inside_ the ryokan rather than outside. We tested both the on-site onsen; they operate on schedules so that male guests and female guests bathe separately, but can both enjoy both of the baths. It is worth trying both. It’s a cliché to say, but particularly coming from Europe without much experience of this kind of venue, they made me feel like I was in Spirited Away, if Spirited Away was a series of Hokusai prints. I loved relaxing in the heat of the outdoor bath surrounded by rocks, trees and classically Japanese sculptures, with snow gently falling. Suitably relaxed, it was time for dinner. This was worth the whole booking price alone. We were served a 10-course kaiseki dinner, in a private booth, with attentive staff bringing us fresh water and sake whenever we desired. Every single bite was exquisite. While not 10 courses, this extended into breakfast which was a similar luxurious experience. I was sad we only had one night there, and would go back in a heartbeat. The experience of staying here creates a stronger draw for me to return to Yudanaka than the snow monkeys. We were treated so well, and truly unwound in a setting that felt almost too good to be real.

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.

There is a shuttle bus to and from Yudanaka Station, and a bus to the Snow Monkey Park the next morning. Since we had to take the electric train back to Nagano after going to the Snow Monkey Park, we chose to let the hotel transport our luggage to the station for storage first. This is a paid service, but the price is the same as taking our luggage to the Snow Monkey Park to store it, which saves us the trouble of pulling it back and forth in the snow. If you need this, you can refer to it. Back to the hotel, the staff's service attitude has been very good since the pick-up and drop-off at the station. Even though the English communication is not very smooth, they have been patiently answering our questions. The dinner and breakfast were very rich, which was a surprise for us who have stayed in hot spring hotels many times. The free hot spring pool is not big, one indoors and one outdoor. If you don’t have a reservation, we won’t comment. Just a few minutes' walk away is Shibuya Onsen. There are also good hot spring hotels there, but the whole hot spring town feels a bit depressed, but it's nice to have less people.

Very Japanese style, old couple, the boss is super nice, we went very late, the boss drove to the station to pick us up, love it! The meal was very good, well received

Our group stayed at this ryokan after snowboarding the day before. We absolutely loved everything about it here! The hosts were incredibly welcoming and kind in explaining everything to us in Japanese/English. Location: - Brief walk from the station to get to the ryokan. - Short walk to a sister location nearby, where you can also use their onsen. The ryokan itself has two onsens split by gender (switches based on time), and groups are allowed to reserve a time slot for private use of the onsen. Check your reservations to make sure you have dinner and breakfast included! They had a variety of dishes for breakfast (tamago, grilled fish, fruit/yogurt, fresh juices, natto, braised dishes). My friend and I had never worn yukatas before, so the hostess taught us! Again, I cannot emphasize how much we enjoyed staying here as they had the best hospitality throughout the two weeks we spent in Japan. Tips: - Book early! - It was pretty cold while we were there, so make good use of the kotatsu. - When we arrived to check-in, I think a few other guests had already checked-in before us. There are a few activities where they asked us for a preferred time slot (i.e. private onsen time, breakfast, etc), so be sure to check-in on time or contact them if you have any scheduled plans.

由於剛裝修完，酒店硬件一流，所有設備都是新的，一進房間有香香的原木味，房間配置了一個露天風呂，水温足夠熱，但不確定是不是天然温泉。 預定是一泊二食，餐食也很滿意。

convenient place to ski and close to the entire ski spot, very convenient and friendly service, maybe the cleanliness and tidiness of the room should be improved

almost ski in ski out they have everything you need for ski basically hotel is kind of old but they provide very good hospitality