玉露祖亞日式旅館(Yorozuya)

湯田中温泉には何度かお世話になっていますが「よろづや」には初めてお伺いしました。湯田中駅からの送迎がありましたので利用しましたが徒歩10分程度のところにあります。エントランスから中に入って階段をあがったロビーには大きな「唐獅子図屏風」があります。もともと毛利家のものとのことですが迫力があります。このロビーでウエルカムスイーツと抹茶を頂きました。部屋は和室10畳と次の間7畳の二間続きの部屋でした。広々と部屋を使うことができました。風呂はこの旅館を有名にしている登録有形文化財の「桃山風呂」の他、「東雲風呂」があり男女入替での使用となります。食事は夕食・朝食とも「個室」で頂戴しました。この旅館はお風呂やその歴史で地名度がありますが、食事をしてみて夕食・朝食が大変美味しくこの部分でも宿泊してよかったと感じました。もうじき、本館の前に「離れ」も竣工するようです。湯田中を代表するクラッシックホテルです。

宿泊は系列宿の「加命の湯」の方だったのですが、夕食と温泉は「よろづや」さんでいただくプランだったので、両方を楽しめました。お宿のHPで観ていただくとおわかりのとおり、桃山風呂も庭園風呂も温泉好きなら一度は入ってみたい圧巻の温浴施設です。私は平日の3時きっかりに入湯し、名湯を貸し切り状態で楽しみました。以前は日帰り入浴を受け入れていたそうですが、今は中止しているので、昼間の早い時間も泊まり客だけでゆっくり堪能できます。昼でもマイナス2度という極寒の日に行きましたが、桃山風呂も庭園風呂も温度が高くしっかり温まることができました。

I booked a night in Yudanaka with my partner so that we could visit the Snow Monkey Park. Most places were already booked up, so we went for Yorozuya (sometimes romanised as Yoroduya) even though it was a little beyond our budget. At £300 a night for a double room with dinner and breakfast, I thought “this had better be good…” Honestly, it was probably worth double that. The ryokan itself is massive; the atrium has a scale that almost defies sense. We were greeted by staff who were awaiting our arrival, and took our luggage up to our room while we enjoyed a complementary matcha tea. A guide led us up the stairs, handed us XL yukata to wear during our stay and explained the situation with towels. She took us in the lift to our room, and showed us how to access the onsens and where the dining halls would be. We took a few moments to settle into our tatami-floored room, change into our yukata, and investigate the albeit pretty boring view from our balcony. For the record: the joy here is _inside_ the ryokan rather than outside. We tested both the on-site onsen; they operate on schedules so that male guests and female guests bathe separately, but can both enjoy both of the baths. It is worth trying both. It’s a cliché to say, but particularly coming from Europe without much experience of this kind of venue, they made me feel like I was in Spirited Away, if Spirited Away was a series of Hokusai prints. I loved relaxing in the heat of the outdoor bath surrounded by rocks, trees and classically Japanese sculptures, with snow gently falling. Suitably relaxed, it was time for dinner. This was worth the whole booking price alone. We were served a 10-course kaiseki dinner, in a private booth, with attentive staff bringing us fresh water and sake whenever we desired. Every single bite was exquisite. While not 10 courses, this extended into breakfast which was a similar luxurious experience. I was sad we only had one night there, and would go back in a heartbeat. The experience of staying here creates a stronger draw for me to return to Yudanaka than the snow monkeys. We were treated so well, and truly unwound in a setting that felt almost too good to be real.

This review is for the onsens at this location. There are two onsens at this location which switch between men and women at certain intervals during the day. While both are great, there is one that stands out and I was told was a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a remarkable onsen by which all future onsens will fail to measure up. You are able to access these onsens even if you are not staying at the resort; I paid 800JPY in November of 2022 and it was the best value I could hope for.

昨年末に宿泊し何か全身に電気が流れたと言ったらいいのか、、とにかく家族みな気に入った宿に再度宿泊したいということで今年も年末の特別な時期に家族で1泊。 昨年に比べると積雪量は少なかったですがさすが長野。関東に比べるとやはり多かったですね。佇まいもさることながら宿の雰囲気もよい。 そして料理はもちろんお風呂も。熱すぎず温すぎない丁度良い湯加減は冬の時期は長湯をするにはありがたい。しっとりと肌を包むような優しい肌触りの泉質はいいですね。貫禄のある桃山風呂にも入れたしおかげさまでいい年末を過ごせました。 冬季だと露天風呂の湯温が内風呂に比べ温く感じられるのが気になるところですが源泉かけ流しだからこその湯温なのでこの辺は割り切って入浴する必要があります。 朝食ではごはんが美味しくておいしくてお茶碗を何度も差出しお代わりをリクエスト。 ご飯のお供のラインナップも隙がありません。 恐らくこの年末もまた利用することになると思います。その節はありがとうございました

Very accommodating. Explained how the stay would function given it is a ryokan and not a typical hotel. Onsen facilities were beautiful and well kept. Staff is extremely friendly and personable.

We loved our stay. It is a very traditional inn with a fabulous onsen. Don’t go expecting a Hilton Garden Inn. The people were wonderful, the food was fabulous, the whole experience of a traditional Japanese inn was just what we wanted, and better. The hot spring onsen was truly a treat. Thank you to the whole staff for making our trip truly memorable, and just what we wanted.