Hatsunoyu hotel

We stayed in a traditional onsen town, and the owners made things easy by driving us to the snow monkey entrance and later to the train station. The meals were delicious. A wonderful place to stay.

Yuko and her husband run the ryokan themselves, yet they were quick to respond, anticipated what we needed and made us feel like the only guests. They even gave us little tags with our names in Japanese attached to the room key. Since we arrived in the morning, they sensibly suggested taking us to Snow Monkey Park before checking in, so we’d return around check-in time. They also picked us up from and dropped us at Yudanaka station, which was especially welcome for our first ryokan stay, when we weren’t sure what to expect. Hatsunoyu is handy for restaurants, and public onsen No. 1 is right across the street. There are separate private onsen for men and women, with showers, so you don’t have to go outside in the cold. Our room wasn’t Western five-star luxury, but it had the traditional touches we wanted, including a tea-making kit, yukatas and plenty of amenities. There was even a hair dryer in the onsen. The kaiseki dinner and breakfast were simple rather than lavish, but filling, with fresh fish and tasty vegetables. On the first floor, we spotted dress-up cards that looked like they came from the 90s. We later realized they showed all the Shibu Onsen ryokan owners, a cute way to promote the onsen. I’d really recommend staying here.

Big rooms, a fantastic onsen and good food. Everyone was very hospitable. The pillows were really hard, though. Can’t win them all. Still, a very enjoyable stay 😁

Hatsunoyu was the highlight of our Japan trip. Our room was huge, with a great view over town, and at night we could see the Spirited Away building lit up. The onsen there was even better than the public baths, and Yuko gave us all the information and supplies we needed to try the public onsen, too. The owners looked after us so well during our two nights. Yuko picked us up at the station, drove us to the monkey park the next morning and kept us entertained with lively conversation while serving the wonderful meals her husband cooked. He took us back to the station after our stay.