Shimaya — Hotel in Yamanouchi

We only spent one night in Shimaya but it was enough to leave a special place in our hearts. As other's have mentioned, the owner Mr. Yumto Ichiro, will chauffeur you all over town free of cost: pick up from the train station, drive you to the snow monkey park, pick you back up or at other locations (for us it was a pick up at the cute sake museum we walked to after the park), and even drive you to neighboring restaurants. I think all this gracious personal attention was due to arriving at a less busy time at Shimaya, but he and his wife will do absolutely everything to make your stay pleasant.

We arrived in the morning by the express train (**DO try to plan your trip to get on the express train as its faster and more pleasant) and the station office called the Shimaya for our pickup. The distance is definitely walkable but as mentioned it is uphill and if you are carrying a lot / not backpacking it, older, etc, it is worth taking advantage of their service. Mr. Yumto Ichiro came in less than 10 minutes and our royal treatment began. Super friendly, speaks fluent english and very knowledgable of the entire town. I learned he has lived in this small town his entire life and loves it. He told us about how long we'd want to spend at the monkey park, the other activities in the area, etc. if you are going to the park (I think that's probably 100% likely), they have complimentary boots you can wear over there if you don't have your own appropriate shoes - it is definitely muddy there.

We arrived sooner than our check-in time but our room was ready for us, which was very nice. Beautiful traditional ryokan, very spacious with the sliding paper screens and a cute enclosed patio with table and fridge. Mr. Yumto Ichiro's wife is so sweet and helpful as well, and tries really hard to speak english (is shy about it but does it very well!). They really provide the family-run bed and breakfast feel. We were leaving too early in the morning for breakfast; sad to have missed out on that added option. And SO amazing that Mr. Yumto Ichiro was willing to get up at the crack of dawn (about 6:30am) to drive us back to the station. Our whirlwind short visit was definitely made pleasant by their comfortable futons and quiet rooms.

Definitely experience their natural hot spring onsen, which you can sit in privately by putting the sign up (separate male and female) and wow is it HOT. I loved it :)

One super nice thing was that literally a few steps away from the ryokan is a small grocery store. We were able to go there and pick up some items for a quick lunch before heading to the park, as well as extras for breakfast the next day on the train upon leaving. The grocery store had these great cheese breads and packages of sliced cheese. Need to figure out dinner in the area? Shimaya has a lovely book full of the restaurants in the area with photos and pricing. We hadn't experienced Shabu Shabu yet and were excited to find out there was a restaurant nearby. Deemed "expensive" by him at 3,000 yen / person, but a total steal considering it was 7-9,000 in Tokyo! We really enjoyed it. Mr.Yumto Ichiro's wife drove us to the restaurant and explained what we wanted to order to them...then the chef drove us back to Shimaya after our meal! what a trip.

I really fell in love with this little town and Shimaya. it's amazing one night can leave such a strong impression. At the end of your stay, they ask to take a group photo with you and will email it and thank you for your stay. The ryokan's have a tradition of giving and receiving thank you gifts, and we gave our small tokens to add to their lovely display case -- I wish we had stayed long enough to draw a picture to add to all the wonderful collages displayed throughout the building of all the guest's and their 'thanks you's' and memories. You can really see how Shimaya has touched the hearts of so...

Shimaya is a nice ryokan with tatami floors, some good views of the city, and a very kind man running it.

Expect to sleep on a futon bed on the floor. One pillow is provided per futon so if you need more, make sure to ask. Some of the rooms look out over the city below while others are on the side with more limited views.

The ensuite shower room is traditional and has a small space for showering next to a deep, but narrow, tiled tub. I am a fairly large, 5'8" 235lb man but found the tub to be very comfortable. The toilet is in a separate ensuite room. There is a sink and mirror in the main sleeping area.

Our room came with a small, usable balcony and also had windows that could be opened in the bedroom and bathrooms.

The room also came with a tea making set and safe. As for other amenities, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and towels are provided.

Shimaya does have an onsen located about a 3 minute walk away. The onsen is private and must be reserved at the front desk. Reservations are in 40 minute increments and cost 700 yen per person. The onsen could likely fit over 10 people and looks out over the city. Two words of warning: 1) The water is extremely hot. I was eventually able to submerge fully, but it is no joke. 2) There are some nearby houses/buildings that overlook the onsen. These generally all had blinds in the windows and seemed empty, but it is a little strange compared to the total privacy we've experienced at other onsen. We still enjoyed it. See the attached pics of the onsen.

Note that this ryokan does not include access to all of the famous bathhouses in the historic district. Only a specific few do. One of them is available to the general public though.

The man running the front desk (owner?) is very nice and helpful. He drove us to the entrance of the monkey park for free. He also lent us umbrellas for the day and helped answer a few questions about the town.

We had a very enjoyable experience at Shimaya and definitely recommend...

Highly recommend this Ryokan! Mr. And Mrs. Yumoto were so welcoming and friendly during our stay. They even gave us a lift to and from the snow monkey park as well as a lift to the train station the day we left. If you’re looking for a traditional taste of Japan this is the place!

The onsens inside the ryokan were heavenly! Naturally filled with the local hot springs made for a relaxing evening wind down! They also have an onsen outside down the street that you can reserve. We were there during an unusually snowy time so even though it was freezing to get to and from it was so worth the majestic experience of bathing outside at night under the stars with snow all around.

The rooms are a good size and you get hot water and green tea each day! The only thing we will mention is that the building is on the older side and insulation is a bit lacking because of this. The bathroom in the room was freezing as we were there in the dead of winter so just make sure you’ve packed warm clothing! The rooms themselves do have heating, it was only the bathroom that ran cold.

They offer meals as well and we opted in for the morning breakfasts which were plentiful! Eggs, fruit, toast among other items which was delicious and more than enough to start your day! They even have a really cool player piano in the dinning room that plays delightfully cute and catchy tunes while you eat.

Overall we had an amazing time and an experience we will never forget at Shimaya ryokan. Mr. and Mrs. Yumoto care a lot about their business and their customers and it shows! They have a lovely collection of items visitors have brought from around the world on display as well as thank you drawings left by previous visitors. They also have a lovely tradition of taking pictures with their guests when you leave and they will email it to you so you have a photo memory of your stay. I highly recommend this ryokan if you’re going to visit the...