Kishigon Ryokan — Hotel in Shibukawa

I've been looking forward to writing this review so much, as there are so few English reviews of Kishigon. The reviews I did see stressed me out to the point of almost cancelling my booking - "the hotel is expensive, no one speaks English, it's hard to get to" - and i'm so so glad that I didn't. ||||Firstly the town of Shibukawa and area of Gunma are truly beautiful; the mountains, the iron-rich mineral springs everywhere, the atmoshpere and the people. Such a unique and memorable place to visit. It's really not that hard to get to; we took a pre-booked bullet train from Tokyo to Takasaki and then (without waiting long) a train to Shibukawa. From there it's an easy taxi ride to the hotel and I think there's a shuttle bus option too. The way back was just as easy.||||The hotel itself is one of many in the area offering a ryokan and onsen and I can't compare it anything else but it is truly a gorgeous experience. I should say this was our first ryokan experience (ever) and we really enjoyed it. The hotel is quite central, right on the famous steps, so you can grab food, visit the shrine or go up the mountain to the viewing points very easily. ||||The traditional Japanese room we had was lovely, if anything it could have used a divan or more comfortable chairs as you don't have a bed in the day time to lounge about on. The view of the snowy mountains was bliss. Sleeping on the ground was not really something I enjoyed but a good thing to experience. There was a bit of a smell in our room (we think from the old heater going constantly) and that's the biggest negative.||||The dinner in room daily was absolutely amazing (the sashimi omg) which is connected to my next point which is to say the staff are incredible here. So lovely, friendly and helpful. Yes English is incredibly limited and sometimes a struggle but you get by. This is afterall a place the locals go to, less touristy (which is great).||||I can only review the private onsens as I have tattoos (easy to organise, though paid) and these were relaxing, clean and rejuvenating. ||||We really loved our stay in Kishigon and couldn't wait to jump on here to recommend it to...

My wife and I found a weekday deal for 15,000 yen per person with dinner and breakfast included in a room 8-tatamis big facing the famous stone steps of Ikaho Onsen. Kishigon is nicely located towards the top of the steps, right to the side of the steps themselves. However, given the small footprint of Ikaho town, there aren't too many places that are inconveniently located. ||||At upper echelon ryokans, check-in is not done at a counter. Rather, guests are comfortably seated in the lobby and provided complimentary tea and small dessert while a staff member asks some basic questions and gives the necessary explanation of important info during our stay.||||The room is of the most common ryokan template and thus indistinguishable from the many other mid-range properties I have stayed at throughout Japan. Kishigon rooms have many floorplans so I assume luxury rooms are available at a proportional price premium. There were several baths on the property, so there is a sense of variety, but not all baths are equally pleasant. To me it was a no-brainer to spend most of my soaks in the open-air baths.||||Dinner consisted of several beautifully arranged set-dishes as well as unlimited salad and dessert. The breakfast buffet also offered a very wide selection of both western and Japanese choices. While both meals left me completely satisfied, it was because of the variety and volume of comfort food and not because it was a rare culinary experience via meticulous preparation of exotic ingredients.||||Established in 1575, there is much history with this ryokan. I believe that history is a big part of why it has the rare 5-star ryokan designation. Even though it must have been updated several times over the centuries, the hotel in its 2017 form feels due for its next significant update. Yet the nostalgia of having facilities such as karaoke rooms, ping pong, and onsite nightclub contributed to its current-day charm. For travelers who not only want to enjoy a nice onsen town but also time warp to a bygone era of onsen accomodations, Kishigon at the 15,000 yen per person pricepoint is an easy...

We stayed at Kishigon ryokan in Ikaho Onsen town, a small spa town - hot springs, between Tokyo and Nagano.||We found this by google searching and found a very nice English web page describing the hotel, so we booked 1 night. Upon arriving after a 50 minute ride on shinkansen, 25 minute local train and 20 minute bus ride, we discovered that only one person spoke minimal English. However we had no trouble whatsoever getting checked in to our spacious room, reserving a dinner time, and reserving some time in our private bath.||We were fitted for our yukata & slippers, and relaxed in our room for a bit, played with one of those shape puzzles for a while! ||Our dinner was delivered promptly at the appointed time - huge kaiseki style with many courses, burners, hot plates, small dishes. It was great - now we will just have to have a japanese friend translate what exactly we ate. Some things were maybe just too subtle for our western palates, and I am pretty sure we may have eaten some horse meat.... that is very popular in Japan.||Private bath was great - the water here is very hot and is direct from the source, I have never been so clean in my life after showering/cleaning, then bathing, and then repeating th process. The sauna was VERY hot for western tastes though. I couldn't even stand 5 seconds inside it. ||We passed on the karaoke lounge and went to bed after the bath.. ||The futons were very comfortable although the pillow with buckwheat hulls or whatever was not my favorite. ||Overall an excellent adventure - would recommend this hotel although it is a little dated around the edges and sort of a challenge to get to for...