Kiso Mikawaya

The hotel is about a 10-15 minute walk from the train station, and made a comfortable base for a one-night stop in Kiso-Fukushima while hiking the Nakasendo trail. The room was surprisingly spacious, faced the river, and had its own bathroom. Everything was very clean. Amenities, as in many Japanese hotels, were available by reception if needed. We used the public bath and sauna once after checking in, and it was empty then. Dinner and breakfast were included. For dinner, we chose from what we think were four or five bento options, with sides available to serve ourselves. Breakfast was buffet style. The food was decent and portions were good. We’d consider staying a few days to hike more around the Kiso-Fukushima area, and recommend the place.

The station walk is easy, but make sure you know about it before traveling here. I’d stay again if I’m in the area. It’s a lovely little hotel with great service. Dinner and breakfast were both enjoyable, and the onsen and sauna were just what I wanted after a long day. Tattoos were allowed, and I saw other guests with them in the onsen.

For a one-night break while hiking parts of the Nakasendo, the location worked well and the hotel was adequate. It’s old, but clean, and the staff were friendly and helpful. The breakfast room has large windows facing the river. The buffet looked good, though I couldn’t eat anything because it wasn’t celiac friendly. The onsen was just okay. The water wasn’t very hot and smelled strongly of chlorine. After soaking for a while, I showered again, but my skin still smelled of chlorine until the next day. There was also a very toxic plastic smell from the tea kettle in my room, so I wouldn’t recommend using it.

A good base for walking sections of the Nakasendo Way or cycling in Azumino. The rooms were comfortable and large by Japanese standards, and the hot spring area downstairs was great. Breakfast had a well-stocked buffet. We liked having dinner included too. We’d forgotten to hand in our order form, but when we messaged through booking.com, the receptionist placed the order for us.