Manza Onsen Nisshin Kan — Hotel in Tsumagoi

We stayed in a twin room with tatami area for 1 night on 9 March. The view from this room is fabulous!||||The hotel has 9 hot spring baths. Being shy, we booked the private onsen bath for an hour and it was cool. The water was slightly murky, with a strong smell of sulphur. A dip in this bath relaxed and soothed our tired muscles. Do book as soon as you can, since all the good time slots are quickly taken up. We only had the choice of a last slot of 7pm for our 1 night stay there.||||The staff were friendly, and even though not many could speak English, all tried their best to help us whenever we had a query. ||||The room is clean and large. The only gripe is the size of the television set in the room. It is small and you can't really lie on the bed and watch clearly. Sitting at the tatami area would be good but after sitting there for a while, everything from waist downwards tends to get numb. ||||Breakfast and dinner were buffet style and included in the price. The variety of the food is great and the food is delicious. For lunch, if you wish to eat, you pay at the check-in counter and you will get a food ticket which you pass to the restaurant staff as you enter. When we were there, japanese curry, stewed beef slices, fresh salad and miso soup were on the lunch menu. Lunch is similarly a buffet style and you can re-fill as much as you like. For 1000 yen per person, that is a good bargain.||||||Since our room was located near to the large open air bath (万天の汤), during the day and in the evening, you could hear people walking along the corridor outside on their way to the bath. Inside the room, sometimes we could hear some gas sounds and clicking sounds. No idea what caused the noises but it is not really apparent until you turn off the TV and turn in for the night.||||The hotel offers a paid shuttle bus service (3000 yen per person) which stops near to Tokyo Shinjuku station. This is convenient, though the trip takes around 4 hours with 2 stops at rest areas. The difficult part is the timing of the shuttle bus. It departs from the hotel at 3pm. Check out is at 10am. So between 10am - 3pm, you'll have to find something to occupy your time. Go skiiing or sledding or to the onsen. If not, you have an option to extend your check-out time (subject to room availability), payable at 2100 yen per hour of extension. We were told there is a general room for everyone to sit in at level 2 but we didn't go there. We just extended for 2 hours, then had a leisurely lunch and spent our remaining time waiting...

We stayed in a twin room with tatami area for 1 night on 9 March. The view from this room is fabulous!||||The hotel has 9 hot spring baths. Being shy, we booked the private onsen bath for an hour and it was cool. The water was slightly murky, with a strong smell of sulphur. A dip in this bath relaxed and soothed our tired muscles. Do book as soon as you can, since all the good time slots are quickly taken up. We only had the choice of a last slot of 7pm for our 1 night stay there.||||The staff were friendly, and even though not many could speak English, all tried their best to help us whenever we had a query. ||||The room is clean and large. The only gripe is the size of the television set in the room. It is small and you can't really lie on the bed and watch clearly. Sitting at the tatami area would be good but after sitting there for a while, everything from waist downwards tends to get numb. ||||Breakfast and dinner were buffet style and included in the price. The variety of the food is great and the food is delicious. For lunch, if you wish to eat, you pay at the check-in counter and you will get a food ticket which you pass to the restaurant staff as you enter. When we were there, japanese curry, stewed beef slices, fresh salad and miso soup were on the lunch menu. Lunch is similarly a buffet style and you can re-fill as much as you like. For 1000 yen per person, that is a good bargain.||||||Since our room was located near to the large open air bath (万天の汤), during the day and in the evening, you could hear people walking along the corridor outside on their way to the bath. Inside the room, sometimes we could hear some gas sounds and clicking sounds. No idea what caused the noises but it is not really apparent until you turn off the TV and turn in for the night.||||The hotel offers a paid shuttle bus service (3000 yen per person) which stops near to Tokyo Shinjuku station. This is convenient, though the trip takes around 4 hours with 2 stops at rest areas. The difficult part is the timing of the shuttle bus. It departs from the hotel at 3pm. Check out is at 10am. So between 10am - 3pm, you'll have to find something to occupy your time. Go skiiing or sledding or to the onsen. If not, you have an option to extend your check-out time (subject to room availability), payable at 2100 yen per hour of extension. We were told there is a general room for everyone to sit in at level 2 but we didn't go there. We just extended for 2 hours, then had a leisurely lunch and spent our remaining time waiting...

Wonderful baths, and very generous staff. Yes there was a language barrier but they were patient and kind while we used our phones and tested out new words :) The Japanese customers were very helpful too, some with great English. As a Westerner, don't be intimidated to come to this Onsen hotel. It is worth it! Yes, a few old-timers would look at us, but never in an uncomfortable way. Some were even very welcoming, like a guy that encouraged us to drink the provided sake at dinner, and another woman who helped us on the bus ride home. We were confused at times about the etiquette of wearing the yukata, tatami mats, and also the bathing itself, but it's eventually self-explanatory. Because the baths are gender separated, my wife and I couldn't rely on each other. But we both had outstanding solo experiences. The nudity is really not a problem at all.

The mountain views (and trails) are beautiful. We climbed the entire trail system including Ushiike. We recommend the outdoor bath - my skin feels amazing. The private bath could be worth it (¥2000 per 45 minutes) but the water is scalding hot compared to the other baths. I noticed the private bath was hardly scheduled so the Japanese customers must prefer the public baths (or saving ¥2000 lol).

The buffet is outstanding with so much variety!!! The entire experience is nourishing to the soul.

The rooms were basic and dated, but charming. We slept very well with the mountain air and ryokan-style futon. I agree with other reviews that the building itself is confusing but, again, it is very charming. We also met the owner and spoke in English about his life and our dreams for the future. My wife and I had a blast and we were sad to leave!

PS - I suspect many foreigners will come from Tokyo. If you're reading this and want to plan transit options, my suggestion is to come to Manza Onsen on the shuttle from Shinjuku straight to the hotel door. The bus shouldn't be crowded and there's storage for luggage. On the return journey, a hotel shuttle can take you from the hotel down the mountain a bit to get on a proper bus line (that accepts Suica and cash only). No room for luggage, so just hold it. You'll need about ¥3000 each to get from the hotel to Karuizawa station where you can get on Shinkansen to your next stop. The coin operated laundry is also a few hundred yen for washing, drying, and detergent. Lunch is also ¥1100 each. Little expenses, but...