Urakusatsu Tou — Hotel in Kusatsu

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. I especially don’t recommend this hotel if you are staying with small children. I also don’t recommend the hotel dinner. Our room was a Japanese style large room with our own private onsen. To be fair, it was a comfortable room and the hotel location was excellent. But the positive notes end there. We stayed as a family of 2 adults and 2 small children. Negative notes: there was a lot of mould on the window screens in our room. Hotel tried to overcharge us for one child. Kids under 5 stay free and breakfast is not included for them. We asked the staff about breakfast and dinner charge for our oldest child (she’s 4 years old) and they advised the extra charge of around ¥3000 for the meals which we were more than happy to pay. Upon check out, the itemised invoice showed an extra charge of more than ¥30,000 for our oldest child (instead of the 3000yen we were advised). We queried why it was so expensive for 1 kid’s breakfast and 1 kid’s dinner. They advised it was not just for the meals but also for the “stay”. Staff did not tell us that by adding meals for our child, that we would also be charged for “her accommodation”. If we hadn’t added her breakfast (for 1 morning) and 1 dinner for her, we wouldn’t have been charged for her stay. Feels like a complete rort, really. No highchair available for baby in the hotel restaurant. No baby cot available for the room (this might be ok if you bedshare with baby on the futon but most Western foreigner guests don’t bedshare with their babies). No nappy change facilities in the hotel (for example, if you need to use it before checking into your room or after checking out). Overall, I think the hotel needs to clearly note via its website that it is not child-friendly so that families are informed before they book. It seemed to be more suited for guests without children. Another Google review has mentioned similar issues about lack of child-friendly ammenities yet the hotel has not made any changes even since which shows that the hotel does not care for these types of guests but will continue to guarantee bookings and take our money - obviously, once we’re here, we can’t stay anywhere else because the town is small and last minute accommodation is rarely available. Even though our room reservation included our children, breakfast was not provided to our older child on the first morning. The hotel needed an extra 24hrs to prepare breakfast and dinner for her. Also, only 2 futons were set up when we checked in, we had to set up our own additional futon for our children with no offer of help from the front desk staff. We also had to ask for sheets for the additional futon as these were not already provided in the room. Hotel dinner was overpriced and only tasted ok at best. It was not worth the ¥9500 per person. It was presented well but the execution and taste was average. I’ve had much better fine dining/high end food for the same cost. There was no variety of tea served at the end of dinner, it was simply a black tea (with no milk offered either) and our cups were only half filled. Black tea is cheap, not sure why they had to hold back from filling the cups properly. This was simply another strange and disappointing part of the service. For a ¥9500 kaiseki dinner, this is really disappointing. most of the staff have very poor English, I would expect at least the front desk staff to be able to converse but they could not even understand a simple question about the tea/coffee facilities. We checked in as a family of 2 adults and 2 children, however our room only had 2 bath towels. We asked staff at reception for more towels but they never brought it that first night. at check out, there was no offer to help us load our luggage in the car. In general, the vibe did not feel like traditional Japanese hospitality and was definitely less friendly with some very irritating quirks. This hotel is positioning itself at a luxury 5-star price point but the service quality is more of a...

We had a fantastic stay and truly enjoyed our experience! From the moment we checked in, we were impressed—the lady who assisted us spoke fluent English, which is quite rare, even in Tokyo (the hotel we stayed, we waited to speak with 4 other ppl, and finally there was one who can speak English). We really appreciated this thoughtful touch.

Our room was spacious, blending Japanese and Western styles beautifully. The slight height difference between the entrance and the main area clearly signaled a shoes-off policy, which I personally loved. The room featured a modern renovation with an additional raised platform around the bed and a separate living space, making it both stylish and functional. The only minor downside was that the washroom lighting was a bit dim for skincare or brushing teeth, but I understand that this is a trendy design choice—just my two cents!

The meals were truly unforgettable. Initially, we were informed that we couldn’t sit together due to the restaurant’s setup, but the staff went above and beyond to arrange a private dining space for us, which we deeply appreciated. The dinner was exceptional—one of the most luxurious meals I’ve ever had. Every dish was thoughtfully prepared, and the service was nothing short of perfection. We felt genuinely valued and privileged throughout our dining experience.

The hot spring was another highlight—it was absolutely incredible! Not only did it relieve my back pain, but my skin was glowing afterward. Such an amazing experience!

For a small town like this, I didn’t expect many people to speak English, but to my surprise, they did! This makes the hotel incredibly welcoming to international guests. Without a doubt, we’ll be coming...

I stayed at Hotel TOU for one night (Aug 12-13) and it was awful. First of all, there was mold growing on the walls of the room and the air conditioning filter was covered with dust. Obviously, the staff did not clean these areas regularly.

Secondly, the staff did not respond to the room problem and said they could not change the room that night. They did not address this issue either.

Thirdly, there was no parking space in or near the hotel. The parking lot is far away from the hotel, 5 minutes drive and 20 minutes walk. Guests have to drive their own cars, which is ridiculous.

Fourthly, the Wi-Fi signal in the public area is very poor.

Fifth, the walk from each floor to the front desk and spa is very long. There is only one elevator for staff and guests. You need to wait for about five minutes especially before dinner or check out.

Sixth, the floor numbers are very confusing. The front desk is on the third floor, which is often confused with the spa floor (first floor). There is also a very long wait for the elevator as many guests have to carry their luggage to the hot spring floor.

Seventh, after checking out, guests must wait in the waiting room near the front desk for almost 30 minutes to get their cars. The hotel should have additional shuttle buses for guests to take their cars to the parking lot further away. Eighth

The lighting is very unstable and the beds are unprotected, which makes it easy for guests and children to touch them, and there is a risk of electric shock.

Last but not least, the hotel allowed guests with fever to wait in the waiting room to check out. This is a total lack of consideration for...