仙仁温泉 岩の湯 — Hotel in Suzaka

We've always wanted to visit Iwanoyu for as long as we've been into ryokans, but it's extremely difficult to reserve, at least online. Determined to get the best room type (Senzantei), 9 months prior to our hoped-for arrival date I decided to call them to ask when they begin accepting reservations. To my surprise, if done by phone guests can reserve 11 months in advance! When trying to book online - either through their own website or via Japanese booking engines, very rarely is there any availability, so it's never been clear to me how far ahead they even start accepting reservations. Upon speaking to staff at Iwanoyu, I was told that they prioritize repeat guests and people who book by phone. Closer in, they MIGHT release a few rooms online, but they rarely do it. NOW I know the trick, and if you're interested in staying here, that's the best way to do it. Like Tawaraya, Iwanoyu does not even have an official website - either they don't feel the need to have one given the high occupancy, or they consider it as a badge of honor in a weird way. So... is it worth going through all of the frustrating hassle to stay at Iwanoyu? IMO, it depends on what your priorities are. For us, it was definitely a mixed bag of high highs and low lows, but if we can get a Senzantei room next time, we wouldn't rule out a return visit.||||TL;DR:||Pros: Amazing Onsen (including a 24-hour Daiyokujo gender-segregated communal bath, a co-ed "cave bath" and four private rental baths), delectable cuisine, koshitsu (private room) dining, floor heating in the rooms, friendly and eager service personnel, 4 rental baths, extremely picturesque property grounds, multiple lounge areas, charming cafe/bar.||Cons: No in-room Onsen (in fact, no baths at all, except for Senzantei rooms, although they're not Onsen), no WiFi in the rooms (only in a few designated public areas), one sink, cheap and small in-room showers||Pro or Con: Onsen is more lukewarm than the typical, piping hot baths in most other ryokans; futons on tatami floors only (no real bed options); Taisho-era decor||||Iwanoyu is one of the highest rated ryokans in the country, and often finds itself on many "ryokans to stay before you die" lists. It mainly has to do with its soothing Onsen quality, mystical property grounds, enchanting atmosphere and reasonable pricing by luxury standards. The latter was the part that gave us pause... at about 40,000 yen per person/night, Iwanoyu half board is a screaming bargain by top ryokan standards, even if it was a middle-category room, so we were bracing for some major gotchas.||||Upon entering the property we were stunned by the sheer beauty of the immediate landscape surrounding Iwanoyu. We were at the very tail end of the Fall foliage season, so many of the leaves had long since fallen, and the colors of the leaves that still remained were less vibrant than at its typical peak. Even then, we were captivated by its charm, which was also helped by strategically placed installations along the path to the main building, including picnic tables, foot baths and wondrous floral arrangements in large pots dotting the area. Upon entering the second gate, we were treated to charming view of the river from the bridge that bisects Iwanoyu from the walkway side of the river. Inside, it's old Japan charm... not from feudal times, but rather Taisho era (a mix of Japanese and Western decor that harkens back to the turn of the 20th Century.) We are more into contemporary design, but given the setting, we felt it fit the mood nicely.||||Iwanoyu was established 65 years ago, but was newly rebuilt to its present state in 1989, and the property grounds were expanded at the same time. As an 18 room ryokan, it's medium-sized by luxury ryokan standards, allowing it to have amenities like a proper cafe and bar, multiple lounge areas with free coffee and treats, and even a massive co-ed "Cave" Onsen (more on this later.) Iwanoyu has a much larger staff count than other ryokans of the same size, and it also does not have an Okami-san (proprietress) on site. All of the staff are "family members" and behave as if they are part owners of the establishment, even though they are not. Guests are not assigned a dedicated room attendant, either. None of this detracted from the high quality of service we experienced at the ryokan. Everyone seemed to take pride in working there, and appeared to genuinely care about the guest experience.||||There are three room types at Iwanoyu, Senjutei (entry level with 6 rooms total), Sengotei (midrange with 8 rooms) and Senzantei (the highest category room type with just 4 rooms total.) As mentioned earlier, we were unable to secure reservations at Sengotei and had to settle for Senjutei. The main difference between the two: while both have a dedicated living room, Sengotei's tatami room doubles as a bedroom whereas Senzantei has separate ones. Senzantei rooms also have a more commanding position above the river, so you'll get better views. One additional Senzantei amenity: one of the 5 private rental Onsen is specifically set aside for exclusive use by its Senzantei guests, and I'm told it has the best view of the bunch, too. All rooms have heated floors, which is essential for a place that is in a mountainous region of Nagano.||||We found there to be three shocking and teeth-gnashing aspects of Sengotei - no WiFi, no bath and a cheap, plastic-laden shower that is about the size of a porta potty. For a place that is considered a destination onsen ryokan, I am amazed that reviews of Iwanoyu are so universally positive. For a ryokan that has such drawbacks, I would expect it to have more polarizing opinions, but for some reason it does not. It's a shame, really, since just about every other aspect of the ryokan is top notch. There are 3 different lounges (each with WiFi), as well as an alluringly beautiful cafe and bar that serves everything from top-flight whiskey to delectable cakes. There are gorgeous, man-made creeks and mini waterfalls as you walk outside from one structure to the next, and pretty art installments are littered throughout the property. Even the hallway in the main restaurant is bewitching (see accompanying photo.)||||There is an abundance of Onsen options at Iwanoyu, which is a necessity here given that none of the rooms have in-room Onsen. There is a large Daiyokujo (gender-segregated communal, open-air Onsen), 4 private rental baths (5 if you count the private bath available for exclusive use for Senzantei guests) that are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and an expansive, co-ed underground cave bath that looks like it was pulled from Istanbul's Basilica Cistern, complete with Romanesque columns. The changing rooms and showers are still separate, and they offer free swimwear before entering the co-ed section, so you can explore the Onsen caves with members of the opposite sex without having to expose yourself. One thing to note about all Onsens that we experienced - they tend to be lukewarm rather than hot, which is a plus or a minus. On the one hand, this allowed us to spend a longer period of time enjoying the baths. However, for our tastes, the Onsen could've benefitted from a few degrees higher temperature.||||All meals are served in private rooms in the main building, and the kaiseki cuisine at Iwanoyu was exquisite. As in most ryokans in middle Japan, the servings focused on mountain vegetables (many of them foraged), freshwater fish and locally-sourced rice and beef. The trio of sashimi - Yukimasu (Snow Trout), Scalded Iwana (White-spotted Char) and Carp were delectable, but the big surprise was the Dobinmushi that featured Maitake mushrooms instead of Matsutake. Dobinmushi is typically served in the Fall and is a dish of broth and seasonal ingredients steamed in a Dobin teapot and usually includes Matsutake mushrooms, Chicken, Shrimp, Gingko nuts and Mitsuba (honewort.) At Iwanoyu, however, they substituted Matsutake for Maitake; the former is known for its truffles-like aroma, but we were shocked at how awesome the Dobinmushi smelled and tasted with Maitake. While we didn't feel that many of the ingredients were massive delicacies and particulary expensive, we felt the kitchen staff did a terrific job in bringing out the best from the humble, rural Nagano ingredients. Our server was the charming Ms. Ogasawara, a local woman who speaks decent English. If you choose to visit Iwanoyu and don't speak Japanese, you could do worse than to specifically asked for her to serve you.||||Given how the positives and negatives are so extreme here, it's hard to make an objective judgment on whether Iwanoyu is worth one's time. We left the property with net positive impressions, inspite of its shocking and unforgivable flaws. If we are able secure a booking in one of the Senzantei rooms, we wouldn't rule out a future...

This is a top-end ryokan, that mixes some European touches with a classic ryokan experience. Expensive, but worth it, especially if you're a jaded city dweller.||||We'd been trying for three years to get a reservation for our wedding anniversary (late October, i.e. peak autumn travel period) and final got one by booking almost a year ahead. A week before our stay, they'd called to check the details and ask if we had any particular requests or needs. As we parked, a staff member came to collect our bag, and walk us across the bridge over the river, to the front desk. We did the check-in formalities sitting in the lounge over tea, while I leafed through a book of old photos from their library (there are bookshelves dotted around everywhere - mostly in Japanese but for art books that doesn't matter so much).||||The property is old, completely rebuilt 30 years'ago, and sprawls over a hillside with a maze of corridors and walkways. There are 20 rooms, arranged in clusters around the property. Our room consisted of two Japanese areas, a western sitting room, a balcony with armchairs, a toilet and a shower. The sitting room had fruit, tea, coffee, and cookies, as well as iced tea and pickles in the fridge.||||There's a large communal bath, with an attached "cave bath" which is huge and to be honest a little weird (wandering around in warm water in the gloom, walking on gravel with a low rock ceiling). There are four smaller baths, three with outside pools, that you can use without sharing, which we liked much better. In all of them the facilities were of a very high standard.||||The aesthetic isn't completely Japanese; there's a bit of a European country house vibe to it, with some lovely western furniture dotted around. Built in a forest, there some old trees built into the fabric of the building, and lots of natural wood used as decoration inside. It's beautifully done.||||The dinner, served in a private dining room, was excellent, beautifully presented, seasonal, and a mix of favourites and some slightly unusual offerings. Breakfast, in a quiet communal dining room, was similar. The food was local, much of it from their own farm, and of course fresh. Service at both meals was unfaultable.||||The service is beyond Japanese, in the sense that it incorporates some of the flexibility of the best of western service. Check in is an early 2pm and check out a late 12 midday; a request for some bread at breakfast didn't faze anyone, and even the younger staff were prepared to laugh and chat much more informally than we'd be used to in a classic ryokan. There are 50 staff, and they're clearly well trained and (according to our dinner server) well looked after by the owner.||||The ryokan sits in 3 1/2 hectares of forested woodland, and has its own trails (with lighting, and places to sit and contemplate) connecting with the public forest trail behind.||||Very hard to find anything to improve upon, and there was nothing that detracted from our enjoyment. If we were to nitpick: handmade crockery would have suited the Japanese dishes better than the (very attractive) factory ware... the Bose stereo in the room didn't have a bluetooth option... there's no wifi (tho' that may be a deliberate choice)... foreign guests may prefer the option of a lighter breakfast... ||||If your budget can stretch, and you can get a reservation, this will give you the best of ryokan experiences; and if you're used to top-end ryokans, there are enough little differences here to...

We first saw this ryokan from a magazine called Takegaho while we were at another onsen ryokan down in Fukuoka area a year before. I booked the ryokan by calling in and exchanged emails. We booked Iwanoyu about 5 months in advance since the ryokan was very popular.||||There were three types of rooms: small, medium and large. I stayed in medium-sized room, which I think was pretty big already. The room had its own foyer, balcony, living area, mini bar area with sink and microwave, toilet, shower and dressing area. In the fridge, there were always cold tea and homemade pickles prepared as snack after onsen. We stayed there for two nights and tried all four private baths and a public bath consisted with an indoor bath and a really huge cave bath. The cave bath was so huge that you could walk around. This made me felt adventurous exploring inside. Private bath were available on first come first serve basis. Each of them had both indoor and outdoor baths inside. Water quality was slightly alkalinic with no sulfur smell and the temperature was just right. ||||Traveling there was easy. We took a train to Nagano, then changed to subway to Suzaka station and took a taxi to the ryokan which cost around 3,000 yen. You can also take a taxi straight from Nagano station (cost around 7,000 yen) if you have very big luggages with you.||||What was most amazing was the food. The kaiseki tasted deliciously unique and creative, with fresh local ingredients, beautiful arrangement, and most of all, I loved the timing and sequence of the course. For instance, they serve ume jelly after beef steak grilled on hot rock instead sorbet which, for that course, gave out a more subtle and more refreshing taste. We also got to try varieties of mushrooms the ryokan got from mushroom hunter. We also learned that the ryokan has their own farm and many of the fruits and vegetables used for the meals were freshly harvested. In the morning, there was soba porridge (porridge made with buckwheat instead of rice) as a selection, which is hard to find elsewhere. Also, Nagano area is famous for soba too. We have been to many of luxury ryokans around Japan and here is one of the best food ever.||||Staff here were very considerate, had good command of English and there were guides/information around ryokan in English too. The layout was private with several rest corners to chill out and look at mountain view after hot baths. Drinkable hot spring water also available. ||||All in all, we love Iwanoyu. The treatment here was so thoughtful, so detailed that the combination of onsen, relaxation and food was not far from perfect. We will definitely going back...