Takimi Onsen Inn That Only Accepts One Group Per Day

This is truely an amazing and authentic experience to have when in Japan. Koike and his wife are spectacular hosts. The food was out of this world from green tea and Mochie on arrival to the fire pit dinner on the first night. This was truely a dinner to remember with multiple side dishes including beautiful many local delicacies. Breakfast was incredibly both mornings and was enough to get us through the Nakasendo trail. Dinner on the second night we got to choose between Shabu Shabu or Sukiaki, we chose the Shabu Shabu. This was also a stunning meal and served with many local delicacy dishes and best Kobe beef I have had. I can not recommend this traditional Roykan enough. Such warm and generous hospitality. Amazing nights sleep, and 2 Onsen for you to enjoy at any time day or night. It had snowed a few days before our arrival making it a true winter wonderland.

We stayed with Koike and his wife in their beautiful inn near Nagiso, just off the Nakasendo way. Our visit was very brief - just one night - and specially designed for us to have a taste of the Nakasendo between Magome and Tsugome. Koike picked us up from the Nakatsagawa station and dropped us at Magome, before collecting us from Tsumago. Takimi inn is in a particularly memorable location, with a massive waterfall literally in the back yard of the inn. The inn has been in Koike's family for many years and the original buildings are over a 100 years old. The onsen is fabulous - two steaming cypress baths, one indoors and one outdoors, each with an amazing view of the waterfall. You could spend hours in it! Our room was very warm and comfortable, especially since outside in the morning the temperature was minus 5oC. For dinner, Koike served us a truly wonderful irori meal, cooked over hot coals and featuring an amazing range of delicacies; including wagyu, wild boar and bear. Breakfast was more relaxed, but again featuring really special Nagano delicacies; soy curd, local fruit, pickled vegetables and fish. When it was time to go Koike again drove us to the Nakatsagawa station. Our visit was highly memorable, and so special since it gave us a real insight not only of a wonderful part of the Nakasendo, but an especially important and historic Japanese wilderness area.