Great service and availability for any request I had. The several onsens are what make really the difference, as you can enjoy them privately (they are shared, but used privately), without the need to go to the public ones. Great kaiseki dinner, I stayed 2 nights and they served different menus both days. The ryokan is located in the center of the village, with all public onsens and other services easily reachable within few mins by walk.

The hotel is a bit run-down, with old furniture and worn-out walls. The wifi is very weak and unstable, and in several areas of the hotel there is no wifi at all. There is no luggage storage, and you are expected to leave the village, not just the hotel, at check out time (I was planning to leave the room at check-out, and stay in the village until after lunch, but I couldn't do that, they rushed me to go to the train station just after the check-out).

We booked a private onsen room with half board. The shuttle that picked us up from the station was great. The room was spacious with traditional Japanese flooring and all amenities provided. The service and food was five star. The staff explained everything about using onsens in English. There are also eight different onsens at the property for guests to book and use. The onsens were lovely - clean and really great for bones after sleeping on a futon. The food was really a fantastic, authentic, traditional. Japanese experience and we would definitely recommend choosing the half board option. The location was perfect - lots of interesting, narrow, winding streets to explore and really close to the snow monkey park. A free shuttle was provided for guests to get to the snow monkey park (before the crowds arrive).

The hallways to rooms are narrow with a good number of steps - this did not bother us as it did give a more traditional Japanese ambiance to the property but it could be a problem for some. The staff did carry our heavy luggage to our room. The hallways could do with a bit of an update - carpet is old and wearing and marked walls which just took away from the experience a bit. Sleeping on the floor on futons was a great traditional experience but a challenge. I would imagine some guests would not handle this well. Best thing to do for us was to soak in the onsen as soon as waking to loosen the bones. Anyone who is a fussy eater might not cope so well with the food.

This was everything I had hoped for a Ryokan stay. The staff were amazingly attentive, and the facilities were exceptional and clean. Our private Onsen bath was perfect for soaking away sore muscles. We had full dinner and breakfast included. My husband was unable to have any seafood or mushroom products, and they catered amazingly for him, ensuring that he was always sitting in the correct chair to ensure he was eating the correct food. The way the dining hall is set up, we had our own private little dining room, which was ours for the duration of the stay which was a lovely touch. The quality of the food was just amazing and my genuine compliments to the chef! I will say the quantity of food was quite overwhelming, especially breakfast. We generally don't eat much for breakfast and so to have a many course full meal was a bit uncomfortable for us, but that was our problem not theirs! All in all, just a wonderful stay and highly recommended!

As this is a traditional Ryokan, the beds are futons (thin foam mattress on floor, about 5cm deep). I can certainly understand that people who are either slim or sleep on their backs would find them very comfortable. However, as a rather curvy western woman who sleeps on her side, I can't say they were comfortable for me as my hips go straight through the mattress to the floor and I got very bad pressure point pain. Consequently, sleep quality was pretty poor. However this was very much expected, was not a surprise and I was prepared for this. It certainly didn't detract from an overall wonderful stay at this exquisite Ryokan!

Kokuya Ryokan was the perfect base for visiting the snow monkeys, but honestly, I could have easily stayed here for two weeks. From the moment we arrived, we felt completely taken care of—the service was impeccable, and nothing was too much to ask. The food was delicious, and for those who prefer it, a Western pillow is available upon request. But the true highlight? The baths! With an incredible number of onsen options, we made it our mission to try them all in three days—and we did! Plus, experiencing the traditional bath tour in Shibu Onsen was a fantastic addition to our stay.

I don’t understand the negative reviews—our experience was nothing short of amazing. If you’re looking for a relaxing, authentic ryokan stay, this is the place to be!

Location: It's a bit far away from Nagano Station but if plan to go to the Snow Monkey Park you can get the 2 day pass and take the express bus from Nagano Station to the park; Once you finish visiting the park you can walk 30 minutes downhill to the hotel. They also offer a shuttle to Yudanaka station once you are ready to checkout. From there travel to Nagano station via train using your pass. Stay: First time staying at a ryokan and I though it was an amazing experience. Staff were amazing, they had a few English speaking staff at check-in to explain everything to us. They had multiple private onsens offerings you could pick and reserve, so you have the opportunity to relax without others. This place also gives you the key to 9 public onsens for you to experience. Room was spacious, the photos you see are accurate to our experience. Its a 400 year old ryokan so expect it to have some oddities. Dinner: First time experiencing dinner at a ryokan and it was excellent. Staff serving dinner had limited English but did their best to explain what was being served. They were very exceptionally friendly and served us with enthusiasm. Breakfast: Excellent fresh and light morning Japanese style breakfast. There was a lot of small dishes but overall not excessive amount of food for the morning. I loved the steamed veges with accompanied sauce.

Absolutely incredible experience . The staff were truely amazing and provided such an amazing experience . The rooms were stunning japanese style rooms with comfy futons and exceptionally warm and extremely large! . The inhouse onsens were all incredible aswell as the public bathhouses. The dinner service was something out of this world with some of the most amazing japanese cusuine and the service was 2nd to none ! Welcoming staff and hospitality. We actually felt bad we arrived so late after spending time walking around the town because we felt there was so much more to experience from this traditional onsen house. We had to leave early the next day for arranged travel and we would have missed breakfast so they organised bento boxes and juice for us to take! We wish we could have spend more time here to soak up the full experience. We will deffinately be back !

Having to leave so soon !

Loved our traditionally furnished room with private onsen on the terrace. We also booked a private session in one of the other on-site onsens, which was a great experience. Breakfast and dinner were beautifully presented and of excellent quality. Guest service was impeccable, nothing too much trouble. We were provided with traditional robes and shoes in which to tour the 9 public onsens in Shibu Onsen which was a fabulous experience. Shuttle service to the train station and monkey park was efficient and very much appreciated.

Nothing

Outstanding level of hospitality! All the baths outside of guest rooms post-Covid are private: you either sign up to book in advance for 45 minutes (then it gets cleaned for 15 minutes) on busy hours or you can use it freely and no other party will come in. This includes the enormous formerly women’s or men’s baths. They replenish your towels and yukata every day! They set up your futon beds during dinner and fold them up and place a table with traditional warmer during breakfast—even on the day you check out! In the afternoon, there’s a sweet treat waiting for you on the table. We were assigned the room Fuyo and its tub was lovely, with landscaping and I think granite in a square tub fed by six sources of mineral water. The cleaning products for face and body were also high quality. Fresh flowers in the room! Excellent and huge dinner and Japanese breakfast, varied daily!

Incredible service, welcoming staff, everything is taken care of for you the moment you arrive! They offer a free pick up and drop off to the Yudanaka Station, as well as drop off to the Monkey Park. The walk back from the Monkey Park is not long at all and is very scenic - so I highly recommend doing that instead of taking a bus or taxi back to the ryokan. The ryokan is located in the heart of the onsen town, minutes away from the shrines, shops and restaurants, as well as public onsens. Inside there are 8 shared onsen rooms, including both indoors and outdoors options. No booking was required, you could just come in any time provided it is not occupied by someone else. We travelled in early January just after the new year and found no issues using these rooms! Food was really good as well, and we feel like it got even better on our second night - it won’t be the most magnificent meal you can get in a ryokan, but it was great quality and variety!

We booked a room with our private outdoor onsen - which was absolutely amazing! What we didn’t realise is that the shower was also outside - and it was absolutely freezing and uncomfortable coming out in the morning and taking a shower when it’s around 0 degrees outside… Also, while sleeping on futons sounds fun in theory, it’s very far from comfortable in reality. While the futon itself and the blanket are nice and comfy, the pillow was like a brick. We couldn’t get a very good rest during our stay. Finally, remember that this is an old ryokan and walls are paper-thin. You can hear everything and everyone. We were prepared and brought some ear plugs with us - solved the issue!

There were so many different onsens to try, and the outdoor ones were amazing. The ability to privately reserve the onsens made it a much more enjoyable experience if you want to share it with your family. I would come back again for that reason.

Some of the public bathrooms and areas around the onsens would benefit from some refurbishment/maintenance, especially those in the basement. The shuttle for the monkey park only takes you there but not for a return trip. It would be nice if a return trip could be offered at a predetermined time.