Sonmin-Shokudo — Restaurant in Karuizawa

A great restaurant run by a hotel group. There is long queue usually, you are recommended to take a ticket from the machine at the entrance, then walk around in the local area, and check on their website to know the status of the queue. This is very user friendly and saves travellers’ time.

Went in autumn when the red leaves hit the area. The view looking out was great! They provided seasonal menu and there is something different every time you go. Taste of every dish was great. Beef dishes are must haves, so tender and juicy.

For tourists, they give you a piece of instruction telling you how to enjoy the dish. It was a fun experience for foreigners.

Highly recommended to go with...

Conveniently located next to the Hoshino hot springs and definitely popular amongst the locals and tourists. Arrived close to 1pm and took a queue number - we were told that it would be a 1h wait with around 20 groups ahead of us but in the end, the wait was around 30 mins! Appreciated that there were some seats at the waiting area too.

The dining area is pretty big and not all the tables were occupied while we were there. I tried the salmon sashimi which was quite fresh while my husband had the tempura soba - he really enjoyed it and said the pumpkin was especially delicious. Service was also prompt and we were served within 10 mins...

We are from Taiwan.

We are family and at there 1:30 pm, The restaurant has an on-site reservation system, and there is a machine at the front door to make reservations. People have to book and pick up their tickets from there, the staff will say the number and if it happens to be your number they will direct you to your seat.

The menu is ordered online, so you must have a smartphone and the Internet. WiFi is provided in the restaurant, so there is no need to worry about network problems.

We ordered the set menu and hotpot, which tasted good but the portion was too small for me.

I finished it myself and didn't feel...