Minakami Onsen Aratashi Minakami

The staff made our five-night stay feel especially comfortable and memorable, and we were served excellent gourmet dinners every evening. After spending two months in Japan, this was our favorite hotel. Its onsen has a good range of pools and relaxing spaces, and the tub on the balcony was a real treat. It gave us a lovely spa-like retreat each evening after exploring by rental car. We went hiking, golfing and to museums, and were always happy to return to this beautiful place to relax.

The autumn setting is really beautiful, and that ambience helped make this a good stay for the price, around ¥33000 for dinner and breakfast. I might have rated it three stars without that. Dinner began well but went downhill quickly: the portions were very small, the dessert was the worst I’ve ever had, and the staff tried but didn’t handle our allergies properly. We ended up walking four minutes to get sushi. The staff were all genuinely nice, though. Breakfast was okay, nothing special. I didn’t use the public Onsen, so can’t comment on it. A few things felt cut back because it was cheap. There wasn’t even a bottle of water in the room, and the heater smelled terrible when we switched it on. The room’s bath was quite nice, though I don’t think it uses pure Onsen water. I’d skip dinner if staying here.

We stayed three nights at Aratashi Hotel in a modern, comfortable twin room with a balcony and private onsen. It had everything we needed. Driving made the location handy for visiting nearby places, including Abergino Orchards, Numata and Fukiware Falls, and the Mount Tanigawa ropeway was about 20 minutes away. I’d worried it would be too far from the station, but that wasn’t a problem with a car. There’s a very good shabu-shabu restaurant and a pizza place close by. For an autumn visit to Minakami, I’d come later in the week since many shops shut on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The balcony’s private onsen looks out over the river, and I loved it. The rooms are spacious, nicely designed and modern. I’d happily stay here again.