Shōwakan — Hotel in Obanazawa

Absolutely gorgeous views! Beautiful yukatas available at the hotel to wear for photographs in the onsen village as well as plenty of places to take photos within. The rooms were very clean, well laid out and traditionally decorated. It was the perfect traditional Japanese living experience.

We were served well over 10 courses of amazing food for dinner in a private room and it was some of the best food we had in Japan.

The hotel's onsen was also awesome, with a decent view and super private. The complimentary hotel shuttle bus to Oishida station was also useful so we didn't have to wait in the cold or risk not being able to get on and having to wait for the next public bus which is not very frequent.

The staff were very friendly and accommodating but speak limited English. We didn't speak any Japanese but still managed. The whole family had an absolutely fantastic time. A must do on any...

loved it! It was the cheapest I could find, at 8500 JPY/person. It was actually the best ryokan I'd ever stayed at. I'm no connoisseur, but I have stayed in a few. The room and hotel both had nice decor (our room was beautiful!), it was very clean, and we had an en-suite toilet, which I was not expecting. The room size was good. The service was friendly. If you can, I think I'd suggest going on Sunday-Thursday and/or during the off-season, because some reviews here say the baths can get easily crowded when it's busy. We stayed on a Sunday and there were only one or maybe two other parties staying there I think, so that was not a problem. The baths are hotter than many at first, but there is a cold water tap specifically to cool it down that you can turn on, so it is not really a problem. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to...

loved it! It was the cheapest I could find, at 8500 JPY/person. It was actually the best ryokan I'd ever stayed at. I'm no connoisseur, but I have stayed in a few. The room and hotel both had nice decor (our room was beautiful!), it was very clean, and we had an en-suite toilet, which I was not expecting. The room size was good. The service was friendly. If you can, I think I'd suggest going on Sunday-Thursday and/or during the off-season, because some reviews here say the baths can get easily crowded when it's busy. We stayed on a Sunday and there were only one or maybe two other parties staying there I think, so that was not a problem. The baths are hotter than many at first, but there is a cold water tap specifically to cool it down that you can turn on, so it is not really a problem. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to...