Rako Hananoi Hotel

It's an older hotel, but the service attitude is excellent – very warm, enthusiastic, and attentive. Overall, it's pretty good.

I booked the hotel last minute, the night before. The hotel has a shuttle bus to Kami-Suwa. Two things to note: First, you need to book in advance. I filled out a reservation form on their website the night before, and confirmed it was available by phone the next day. You can also book directly by phone. Second, I didn't notice when booking that the shuttle doesn't pick you up from the taxi stand or parking lot in front of Kami-Suwa. You have to cross a pedestrian bridge to reach the stop (on the west side). Lake Suwa is in front of the hotel, and you can see Mount Fuji to the south. The onsen (hot spring) is nice, with several baths, including an open-air one. The hotel has its own Chinese restaurant. We came back late from Tateishi Park and ordered Mapo Tofu noodles and Hot and Sour Soup noodles. Yes, noodles! To be honest, these are dishes I'm quite picky about. The Mapo Tofu used minced beef and Chinese seasonings, and the Hot and Sour Soup used bamboo shoots and seafood broth. If it weren't for the fact that it was too sweet according to Japanese tastes and served with noodles, I would have given it full marks. Anyway, we finished it all. The hotel room is Japanese-style, and they made up the beds for us at dinner. We went to soak in the hot springs, one indoor and one outdoor, both were very nice. The hotel was a pleasant surprise, a completely unexpected find.

This is the hot spring hotel I stayed at most this year. It's located right on the shore of Lake Suwa, a bit of a walk from the station, but you can find some beautiful scenery within walking distance. The hotel was very clean and the service was excellent. It's a very cost-effective hot spring hotel. The only drawback is that there's only one Chinese restaurant on-site; otherwise, you'd have to walk a bit to find other restaurants.

The breakfast buffet and hot springs were great.

The location, facilities, price, and service were all excellent. The fact that the hotel's hot springs were available almost 24 hours a day was a great bonus. If I had to nitpick, the hallway on my floor and the bathroom in my room had a slight sewage smell, which bothered me. Personally, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't sleep, but it was noticeable. I think the other floors were fine. I would like to stay here again.