澀溫泉故鄉之宿 天川莊

A nice little hotel run by a sweet old couple. The hotel offers a free private onsen which is located outside in a beautiful setting which you can book for 40min. The hotel also has a public onsen inside which is gender separated and where you can take a shower. The room is traditionally japanese style with a tatami mat, futon and low table. It was warm and cozy and there was plenty of space. A teapot was provided and you could make your own tea. You get slippers, a yukata per person and traditional japanese wooden shoes for outside. If you stay here you have the option of using the 9 public onsen. However, these are a short distance from the hotel away. The couple can't speak English but with a translator we were able to communicate. It was difficult to find an open restaurant in the village after 18:00. It is no problem to store your luggage in the hotel after check-out. The Snow Monkey Park was easy to reach on foot, even if it was more than 3km. We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to others.

Do not stay here if you speak English. The whole process was chaos and the lady who ran the inn was VERY rude and flustered. We arrived at 6:00 and when we asked about dinner (which I am certain they said there would be) she said no... so we though ok no worries we will wait to eat til morning... which we were also told no. So we had to trek to go find breakfast. We also asked about a taxi to the train station and she yelled no... VERY frustrating. There was a very kind young woman who worked at a cafe in town who gave us all the information to get to snow monkey park, but honestly, if you're here for monkeys, either do a day trip, or just stay closer to the park.

Wonderful family-run Ryokan with cute rooms which are significantly bigger than they look on the pictures. A bit old but nice indoor and outdoor onsen within the hotel and with access to the nine public onsen in Shibu Onsen. You can also walk to Snow monkey park from here!