Senjukaku

Traditional and taught us a lot about Japanese culture and cuisine. Best night sleep in months on the futons. Staff were delightful and informative.

We love everything about this hotel - the service (English is spoken here), the food, the comfortable room (beds, size, tea-making facilities, view, etc). It snowed a lot during our stay and thankfully, we booked the breakfast and dinner with the room package, because there was only 1 cafe and 1 high-end restaurant nearby that were open. The location is perfect for visiting the Snow Money Park. About 40 mins' walk.

* Extremely tasty Japanese breakfast! Significantly different meal on the two different days that we had it, which was a nice surprise. (We did not opt for the dinner, but I imagine it would also have been great.) * Beautiful property/landscaping/etc. * Onsens were very nice. The private one(s) are obviously much smaller, and have a worse outdoor view than the separated men's/women's ones. On the days when we were there, the group onsens were not busy at all. * Walking distance to the Snow Monkey Park. * Location is pretty far from the center of town, but it's not too bad of a walk. * Great, helpful staff.

Absolutely gorgeous ryokan! My partner and I specifically booked here due to it's close walking proximity to the Monkey Park. The ryokan itself was an experience on its own-- comfortable tatami, yukata for everyday wear. A highlight was definitely the gorgeous view of the mountains from our balcony! Definitely recommend booking the meal plans! It includes multiple courses showcasing Nagano's delicacies and specialities. We also booked a private stone onsen, 10/10. Incredibly relaxing. It was specially soothing in the outdoor onsen! The staff were incredibly kind and helpful. My partner and I spoke a bit of Japanese, and they went above and beyond to ensure we had a fabulous stay! We will definitely return again!

This is an excellent high end ryokan. The location is superb if you want to visit the snow monkey park (we were a 3 families group of 11 people from New Zealand, 2 families had not been to the park). Otherwise it is a destination property as it is outside the Shibu Onsen town area and not within walking distance. It is a great stopover if you are on or from the way to ski Shiga Kogen (we came from Nozawa Onsen). The hotel itself is beautifully designed for the 4 seasons (we came in winter). It has a great Japanese art collection. The historic works are lovely. There are nice design features dotted throughout the property. The koi pond on the way to the onsen area stands out (especially when the fish gather around the hot water vent). The rooms are spacious (esp. by Japanese standards) and well appointed. The futons and pillows are very comfortable and the duvet is thick and plush (but see my comment below on the thing to watch out for). The room had an outdoor balcony. The view from our rooms looked back towards the mountains. We had a clear day and sunset was beautiful. The food is excellent. We had the Japanese dinner and breakfast. What you would expect from a high end ryokan, and it met our expectations (exceeded the expectations of the families who had not been to Japan before). The service is top notch. Food allergies (eggs, nuts) were catered for. I think staff were matched to the group, as everyone who looked after us had reasonable to very good English. The comms before arrival was good. The onsen is nice. The mineral water is wonderful. It is not cheap per se but it is worth it. You get what you pay for, but in this case I think you get a wonderful Japanese experience for a reasonable price. Totally recommend.