Iwanoyu
A · 8.3 / 10anchor a leg
An 18-room Taisho-era onsen ryokan in the Nagano mountains that is a fixture on the stay-before-you-die lists, and at roughly 40,000 yen a head it is a screaming bargain by top-ryokan standards, which is exactly why KI-NRT braced for gotchas and found them, all in the lower room categories. Onsen, kitchen, staff and grounds are top notch, but the Sengotei shower and missing bath are teeth-gnashing. Both reviewers left net positive and would return, but only for Senzantei, the four rooms that erase most of the flaws and that you book by phone 11 months ahead or off a long waitlist.
Scores
Food 4.5 / 5
All meals are served in private rooms, and KI-NRT found the kaiseki exquisite: foraged mountain vegetables, freshwater fish, local rice and beef, a sashimi trio of snow trout, scalded char and carp, and a dobinmushi that used maitake in place of matsutake and tasted awesome anyway. Few ingredients are delicacies, but he felt the kitchen did a terrific job with humble Nagano produce. zander86 called the food fantastic.
Bath 4.5 / 5
None of the rooms has an onsen bath, so all the bathing is shared or rental: a 24-hour gender-segregated open-air daiyokujo, four first-come private rental baths (a fifth is reserved for Senzantei guests) and a huge co-ed cave bath with Romanesque columns like Istanbul's Basilica Cistern, swimwear provided. The water runs lukewarm, which let KI-NRT soak longer, though he wanted it hotter. zander86 preferred the private baths to the cave.
Service 4.5 / 5
There is no okami on site and no dedicated room attendant, and the staff count is much larger than at other ryokans of this size, but the staff behave as if they were part-owners, everyone seemed to take pride in working there and to care about the guests, and KI-NRT found the service friendly and eager. zander86 called the staff amazing. Ms. Ogasawara, a local server who speaks decent English, is worth asking for if you do not speak Japanese.
Room 4 / 5
Book one of the four Senzantei rooms: a separate bedroom (elsewhere the tatami room doubles as one), better river views, the only in-room baths (ordinary tubs) and unlimited use of their own rental bath, and zander86 found his well kept with a supremely comfortable futon. KI-NRT's Sengotei room had Taisho charm and heated floors, but no WiFi, no bath, one sink and a cheap plastic shower the size of a porta potty, which he called unforgivable.
Place 4.5 / 5
The grounds stunned KI-NRT even at the tail of foliage season: a river bisects the property, crossed by a bridge, with man-made creeks and mini waterfalls between the buildings, foot baths and pots of flowers along the path, and art pieces throughout. Inside it is Taisho-era old Japan, a mix of Japanese and Western decor that he felt fit the mood, with three lounges. The property is so large that zander86 seldom met other guests.
Getting there
- Tokyo — 2h30, 0 transfers. Reverse of: Ltd Exp 'Azusa' Kamisuwa/Shimosuwa→Shinjuku (~2h13–2h22, direct), plus the ~5–10-min inn car. Suwa's real advantage: the Azusa reaches it ~25 min before Matsumoto, so it is the closest north inn to Tokyo after the Gunma pair. Azusa timetable: Shinjuku→Kamisuwa 2h13–2h22, Kamisuwa→Matsumoto 24–25 min. Kamisuwa (Sui Suwako, ~10-min car) and Shimosuwa (Iwanoyu, ~5-min car) are one stop apart, so they share this loc.
- Kanazawa — 3h, 2 transfers. Reverse of: Via Matsumoto: 'Shinano'→Nagano (~50 min), change to the Hokuriku Shinkansen→Kanazawa (~65–70 min). Getting to Matsumoto from Suwa (inn car + the 24–25-min 'Azusa', then a self-handled change onto the onward train) costs one MORE transfer and ~20 min vs the Matsumoto counterpart — priced in here; the onward rail is identical and already researched.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #471 · FlyerTalk review by zander86 #677 · TripAdvisor 4★ (November 2024)