Shibuonsen Tsubataya Hotel — Hotel in Yamanouchi

We were only able to stay one night in this ryokan, but it was everything I had hoped it would be. My friends and I were so glad to have found this lodge and to have met the wonderful woman who runs it. You couldn't really say that she spoke more than a few words of English, although in our case, one of the people in our party spoke some Japanese. She welcomed us and served us tea in our suite! She was so helpful in many ways big and small, and even ended up driving us to the Snow Monkey Park, on the spur of the moment - it is not an advertised service and shouldn't be expected. The lodge is in the heart of Shibu Onsen and has its own private hot spring bath. All in all, a magical experience at a very reasonable price. We didn't order any meals, which looking back, I wish we had. If I ever make it back to that part of the world again, I will I be sure to stay at...

Booked two nights here in January 2017. It looks a little careworn, but so does almost all of Shibuonsen. That's part of the charm. The manager walked us to our room, made us tea, gave us sweets, and used her very limited English to explain the setup. Later, she came and set up the futons to sleep at night. We got the key to the nine public baths and made full use of them as well as Tsubataya's own baths. Can't comment on the food as we opted not to order.||||When we went to hike to the monkey park, the manager almost insisted on driving us until we made clear we were hiking; the following day, she drove us down the hill to the train station in Yudanaka. She even gave us little souvenirs on our way out. Stunning service at...

渋温泉は今の時代に貴重な風情が残るいい温泉街で、金具屋など有名な旅館がいくつかあります。風情が残る＝さびれている、というイメージがありますが、こちらは比較的賑わっている温泉街ではないでしょうか。||以前、渋温泉に行った時、散歩していたら「つばたや旅館」を見つけ、その雰囲気に「次はココに泊まろう！」と心に決めていました。全く宣伝されていないし、旅行サイトなどネット情報もほとんど出ていなくて、私も直接見るまでは知らなかったのですが、実際に現地に行かないと見つけるのが困難な宿です。“昔ながら”の宿というのは今でもまだたくさんありますが、“昔のまま”の宿というのは貴重。外観からすると実際は大きな宿ですが、（たぶん）ご家族2人のみで運営し、お客さんも1日1組とか2組のごく少数しか対応していないと思います。“昔のまま”というのに心惹かれる人（楽しめる人）でなければ行くべきではありません。||どこかのお店のおばちゃんが「今日はどちらの宿に泊まってるの？」と聞いてきたので「つばたや旅館」というと、びっくりしていました。「あそこは本陣さんだからね！」（その価値を）知ってて泊まっているのかい？あなたたち一番いいところに泊まってるね！...