Bessho Onsen Midoriya — Local services in Ueda

It was virtually by sticking a pin in the map that I discovered this glorious place for my daughter and me to spend three days of relaxation before we hit Tokyo. And what a discovery that turned out to be!||Bessho Onsen is an utterly adorable little spa town on the edge of a quite substantial forest of native cedar and maple of the sort the form the umistakable backdrop to Japanese landscapes. In its own right, the town is a veritable treasure trove of historic Buddhist landmarks - temples, pagodas and the like - that remain very much in their original, unreconstructed state. The "babbling brook" setting is a photographer's dream. Well worth a detour for anyone.||With its abundance of hot spring water, the town also plays host to a good many beautiful onsen establishments covering a range of price points right up to the stratospheric. Midoriya sits at the high - but by no means highest - end of that range. Though I can't speak with authority about its competition, I imagine it must be steep: for the traveller, everything that Japan lays on is beautiful! One possibly singular advantage is that the place is tattoo friendly, in part because the onsens are private but also because the management are a pretty chilled team :-)||Midoriya is a new entrant having made its grand opening in August 2023; the entire facility has a wonderfully fresh feel to it. The rooms are very comfortably appointed albeit, for international travellers with vast amounts of luggage, a little on the small side. (The target market is, I would imagine, local weekend breakers with overnight bags better matched to the room sizes.) Whatever the case, the rooms afford guests the unique pleasure of sleeping with the window open (insect screened, of course) and allowing the chatter of the garden waterfall lull them to sleep.||Expensive construction materials have been chosen everywhere, not least in the private spa rooms; and the attention to the detailed requirements of fussy guests is impressive. The spa plumbing is faultless.||Three things stand out amidst a long list of Midoriya wonders: the breathtakingly beautiful landscaping - the designer a Chelsea Flower Show laureate no less - in the true Japanese tradition of sculptural cedars, cascading maples and subtle water features. Just to die for. Then the cuisine, over which the resident chef exudes justifiable pride. His breakfasts, comprising little bowls of intense flavours, nothing ever repeated, are world standard. The soba ramen he rustled up for us notwithstanding our late initial arrival after the kitchen "had closed", with so many delicately complementary ingredients I lost count, is a dish I'll never forget. And his total willingness to accommodate vegan preferences was beyond considerate. The chef devotes his energies to the sort of complicated, sophisticated cuisine for which Japan has become legendary and the rewards are very special.||And last but not least is the charm that the people who run Midoriya sprinkle over the entire experience. Charm costs nothing; but it is priceless. I wish them every success in...

If you're looking for an outdoor private onsen experience in a tranquil forested setting, you might want to consider this.

A relatively new entrant (completed circa 2023) to an onsen town that apparently boasts a thousand year history, Bessho Onsen Midoriya has 3 private onsens. Two of these can fit whole families/ groups while the remaining one is perfectly suited for couples. All you need to do is to check the hotel app for availability and pick the one that best suits you. With only 8 or 9 rooms in the hotel, availability is more or less assured. Each onsen has it's own entrance, a changing area with lockers and towels, bath area, an indoor onsen and an outdoor one. Once it is locked from the inside, the ensuing privacy is quite liberating.

The hotel itself has a modern, polished feel. The small reception cum lounge area is anchored by a delightful Japanese garden replete with flowing waterfall. Designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara, the garden exudes serenity but also has some playful elements (look for the tiny Buddha figurines hidden throughout the garden).

The hotel has half-board options which we didn't try, much to our regret as the kaiseki meal the other guests had looked delicious! Rooms are comfortable but a little on the tight side. To be fair, this is true of many Japanese hotel rooms.

For us, no trip to Japan is complete without a trip to an outdoor onsen. We were lucky enough this time to enjoy the private outdoor onsen while fresh snow fell. A truly capstone moment of our trip...

Stayed in the glamping tent with my family of four (including a 5 & 9 yr old). Such a wonderful spot - tent was comfy w/ a dedicated toilet/sink room in a separate adjacent little building. Had a wonderful fire pit which the staff lit for us in the evening at the time we requested (on our was back from dinner we texted them from their very helpful app). All amenities in the main building were super clean, very new, and meticulously curated in a minimalist style. It had (x3) private Onsen baths which had both an indoor and outdoor bath each that were GORGEOUS, private for our family's use, and we never had to wait (but you could check their availability with the nifty app). The Japanese breakfast was delish, but didn't get an opportunity to try the dinner. The staff was SUPER friendly and helpful - did not speak English all that well but were super adept with their translating app to the point of holding friendly conversations well beyond the minimum required communication. The hotel was tucked in a side street that had an old temple ruin at the end which felt very special. Was such a lovely refuge after spending a week in bustling Tokyo, and an easy trip on the shinkansen to Ueda. We decided to stay an extra night to fully appreciate all this wonderful spot had to offer. Highly...