Shimotakai District Hotels with Breakfast

I had a large tatami room with side sitting area and sink as well as an ante-room. I had three delicious Japanese meals at the ryokan that were served with polite elegance. The two in-house onsen baths were a joy to use after a day of skiing. The staff was knowledgeable about how to get around by the buses and suggested the best restaurants for days that I did not eat at the ryokan. Senshinkan Matsuya was situated in the center of.Shibu Onsen town next to three of the public onsen. I could not ask for a better stay!

Amazing family run ryokan just few minutes drive from Snow Monkey Park. Booked a room with a private in-room onsen but it didn't make much sense as the bath was hot but there was no hot water in the shower. The room was spacious with comfortable beds and futon. Nice yukatas and socks were provided in the room. Public baths in the ryokan are great (especially outdoor area), we tried both of them. The kaiseki dinner and japanese breakfast are VERY delicious. The staff and the owner are so nice and welcoming. The free transfer to the Monkey Park is available at 9:45 am

Wow! An amazing little Ryoukan in a lovely town with fantastic owners. This ryoukan is a traditional old fashioned style with a lovely private onsen in pictures The room was large and your right on top of one of the 9 onsens. As a ryoukan in the town you will have access to the 9 healing onsens which you can use at your leisure and complete the denyouko towel for blessings The onsen is run by a lovely lady who is really friendly. Typical Amenities included plus free yukata and geta to borrow whilst your walking between hot springs plus free cold milk which is just heavenly after a hot soak. Honestly the cold milk really made my day!! 🥰 Air conditioning was very effective considering the size of the room and the breakfast was too much to finish and offered a taste of everything Lastly you are on top of the onsens as soon as you step out and monkey park is a 25 minute walk north but talk with the Owner, she has a link to the Monkey security cameras so can tell you ahead of time if theres any up there to see currently (i went during Estrus season so no monkeys for me) When it came to checkout the lady gave me a small bento of Onigiri and Pastries and even drove me down to the local station 10/10 would stay again

Wow, what a magnificent place, we really loved our stay here and wished we could have stayed longer. The photos do not do the place justice at all. Our room was spacious and cozy and had a toilet. Our bed was prepared for us when we went out for evening meal. Coffee and tea making facilities were provided. We were privided yutakas for our stay. The hosts are so helpful and friendly. We added breakfast to our stay, and it was superbly prepared in a private dining area for us to enjoy The location was convenient, easy walking to the town and to the ski gondola. We used the private and public ensens at Sumiyosa, both were immaculate with toiletries provided. The public onsen definitely felt hotter than the private ensen, but both were so relaxing. I would love to stay here again.

It was a great stay. The staff was super friendly and spoke English. The had parking vallet, provided an outfit to change into and roam outside. The hot springs was super relaxing and great for the feet and body. We tried five of their private hot spring rooms out of the many more they had, some had super hot water while others were warm. The outside room hot springs were beautifully decorated. They gave us access to the 9 public onsens that had different minerals in the  for body healing. At night it was even more beautiful with the night walk and the town puts on a beautiful show and night market. Super glad we booked the stay.

It's a 10 mins walk uphill from train station so maybe better to try to contact them for a complimentary pick up. The place is super grand and 2 onsens. A Instagram worthy one that the males and females get to use it at different timings. The shower stuff in the onsen are mediocre though. No fancy facial stuff for women unlike some other onsens at this price range. We had breakfast and dinner for the 2 nights. And well worth it. But you have to follow a fixed timing and we felt a bit rushed but otherwise it was really great and service perfect. We had one the biggest rooms I believe Room 716. Had a sitting area and also a sleeping area. Easily fits 8 persons. We were only 2. In the day they kept the futons and brought it out at night. Towels changed every night. There is a van that goes straight to Mount Yokoteyama ski resort. The receptionist didn't seem to know about it but you could try to Google. It was a complimentary ride to and fro if you bought the lift tickets. Took only like 30 mins to get there. You can get rentals at hotels there.

Located just within 3min from Yudanaka station, Raki Onsenryokan is run by a Chinese family. As a quiet town on its own, no one was tending to the reception when I arrived, after ringing the bell, a lady came down to help with the check in - very straightforward. I believe the family stays in the same building as they said if we ever needed anything, we could just ring the bell at the reception. Obviously I had booked a room too big for a solo traveller as this was the only room left as ”non-smoking”. Toilet and sink are at two different parts of the room which was a little inconvenient. Ryokan offers free drive (15min) TO snow monkey park, but not return, so please cater at least 35min to walk from park exit to the bus stop. Ryokan also provided a hearty breakfast, overall for the price paid it was a decent stay!

We really enjoyed our week long stay at Hoshikawakan in Jan 2026. We have been driving around Hakuba for 4 weeks to visit various ski resorts and spent our last week at Hoshikawakan to visit Shiga Kogen. The room was spacious and clean with a small toilet like most Japanese hotels but there was a large public onsen and 2 smaller private onsens that can be reserved once each day for 30mins so you could always take your shower in the onsens like the locals do especially later at night about 10-11pm where I was the only one in the public onsen. The hotel had a lovely buffet breakfast spread with local soba, Japnese curry, cold minced sashimi fish, grill fish station, fried eggs station that will keep you adequately fed for the day's ski trip - it even has a hot drink station with free oden daily at 3-5.30pm which we enjoyed as a snack after a hard day of skiiing. The service was excellent too with the staff helpfully arranging to ship our ski equipment directly to Hanade Airport, daily clearing of snow off the carpark and new towels provided daily. The location in Yudanaka is great too especially if you drive as it is between Shiga Kogen (25-35mins drive) and Kita Shiga Kogen (15-20mins drive) with many attractions like Shibu Onsen, Yudanaka Brewery and Snow Monkey Park within 10-15 drive. There were also ample dinner options nearby within 10-15 mins walk but you may need to try and make reservations by walking in on your first night. The only downside was that the WiFi network is poor and patchy when overloaded by a lot of guests over the weekend but otherwise it was good.

Shiga Palace Hotel is a great choice for its location alone—set right in the mountains, it offers easy access to the surrounding area and beautiful scenery that really adds to the experience. One of the highlights was the buffet meals. The food was plentiful, varied, and satisfying, making it easy to refuel after a long day of exploring. The rooms were very traditional Japanese style, which felt authentic and fitting for the setting. While simple, they gave a true sense of staying in a classic Japanese hotel. The communal onsen was also a memorable experience—relaxing, cultural, and something everyone should try at least once while visiting Japan. Overall, the location and meals are major pluses, and the traditional rooms and onsen make this hotel a unique and enjoyable stay.

It was cheap and very good! What particularly impressed me was that the front desk staff greeted me with a smile until I left, and were polite and kind in explaining things to foreign guests. I felt very at ease ❤️