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My family and I had a fantastic stay here, my 3 year old daughter Aurora especially loved it. The hospitality of the host was honestly unreal, and a highlight of our whole 4 week trip to Japan. Aki was a total rockstar and helped us out so much. We didn't have a place to stay for the night as everything booked out while we were hiking. We bumped into her and she went above and beyond to help us out, at a great and fair price. The in house onsens are also quite nice, peaceful and quiet, the 3 times we went we were the only guests using it. Couldnt say enough good things about this location, and still super grateful to the amazing Aki. Nick, Blaga and Aurora

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.

The room was very comfortable and clean, and the bedding was great. The refrigerator has free drinks juice and beer, and it is free to fill up every day. The private soup in the villa is also very good, very comfortable and private. We booked breakfast and have Japanese and Western options (not buffet form). The location of the villa is convenient, just a few minutes walk from Hell Valley Park, and 2 minutes from the bus stop. It is very convenient to go skiing in the snow field. In short, it is a very good hotel. If money is not a problem, it is highly recommended. If the only drawback is that if you play other places in Nagano, you need to have a transportation to Nagano and then continue. We chose the bus, about 1 hour to Nagano. In addition, if you take the electric rail to Yudanzhong Station, it is a bit awkward to get off the bus. After asking for a long time, I realized that there is a small house opposite the station that can dispatch a taxi, 3.5 kilometers, 1700 yen. I have already suggested to the hotel that I should leave the hotel mailbox for better communication. At present, the platform provides Japanese phone calls. Who will call the international long-distance and ask how to get there? I don't know, I didn't call, because even if the hotel tells you, you are also confused and do not know what to do.

This traditional Ryokan hotel is a little gem of a place and the family hosts are just wonderful. Had the best night sleep of my 2 week trip to Japan sleeping on Ryokan bed. Rooms and hotel is extremely clean, we had our own toilet and washbasin but you have to share showers which wasn't an issue. The family are so friendly, speak very good English. It's a short walk (10mins) to Shibu-Onsen village and only 5mins to Yudanaka train station. We stayed here for one night to visit the Snow monkey park and to experience an Onsen. The hotel has 2 onsens, shared and private. You can pre-book shared Onsen at check-in. I'd love to return to this Ryokan at winter time.

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

Wonderful place to stay with such accomdating people. The room was super spacious and clean. Plus the views from the balcony were amazing. It was so nice to relax at the onsite onsen at the end of the day. I'm excited to come back when I'm in the area again. I would highly recommend it, a great price for an excellent stay! The owner even took a picture with us and sent a follow up email with it attached. Made it such a memorable experience.

It was good that the hot spring was a turbid hot spring. The room is old, the tatami mats are dirty, and the stains that have been soaked in cannot be removed. The curtain is fluent and has no light blocking effect. There is no heater on the toilet seat even in winter. There is a room bath, but it takes a terrible amount of time for the lukewarm water to come out of the faucet. I can't store hot water at the temperature I can take as a bath. The shower head is broken, water does not come out evenly, and the amount of water is insufficient, so it is difficult to use it as a shower. Isn't it supposed to be used? I doubt. The food is terrible. I served side dishes in a lunch box, but it looked like I had just refilled frozen and processed foods. I didn't know the amount of food, so I chose the plan with all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu, but I don't think the meat was for shabu-shabu. It was thick like a ginger. I wasn't able to serve the meat and vegetables separately. When I ordered the third dish, the color of the meat that was served became worse. I felt uncomfortable and didn't feel like asking anymore. Even though it was an all-you-can-eat plan, wasn't it prepared assuming a replacement for two or more dishes? No matter how cheap it is with GO TO, I'm disappointed. Cospa is not worth it.