Senshinkan Matsuya

The building is a wonderful old Japanese place, around 300 years old, with a couple of private, intimate Onsen in the basement. They made for a great first go at thermal baths. The town is small but lively, with good spots to eat, drink, and spend time, and the hotel shuttle to the monkey park entrance was a lifesaver, especially in the cold. We've rarely had an experience this good anywhere in the world. Hiro and his mom were attentive and always ready to help. Even with a language barrier, Hiro did everything he could to make our requests work and made us feel like proper guests. That's really what a hotel stay should feel like.

Getting rides to and from the station made the whole stay easier, and they also run a daily bus to the monkey park. The location is handy for trying the local onsen, with one right at the hotel too. The staff were warm and welcoming every day. We got little sweet snacks, and both dinner and breakfast were amazing. This was our favourite place to stay in Japan. Highly recommend.

We loved walking to all nine of the famous public onsens, collecting stamps along the way. They’re open to guests from certain ryokans in Shibu Onsen, including Matsuya. It’s also one of only eight ryokans whose guests can use Onsen No. 9 for free. Each bath is just a 3-5 minute walk away. Matsuya is a family-run, 300-year-old inn, likely dating back to the Edo period. Hiro, the current owner, and his mother are the 13th- and 12th-generation owners. Their hospitality went well beyond what we expected. They served excellent breakfasts and dinners, provided free rides to Snow Monkey Park and the train station, and made sure we could book the beautiful, relaxing private onsen at a time that worked for us. The building feels authentic. The toilets are shared, one on each floor, but they felt private and were incredibly clean. Daily cakes in the room, comfortable yukata and winter coats, and traditional geta sandals all added to our stay. It was a unique, relaxing experience, and we had an incredible time. We’d happily return and would recommend it to friends and family.

For New Year’s, we had a lovely, memorable stay that went beyond our expectations. The dinners and breakfasts were delicious and brought to our room. Service was impeccable, and we could use both the ryokan’s private onsen and the town’s nine public onsen. They also provided free rides to the snow monkey park and train station. Thank you!