Name: Ichinoyu Katei
Address: 2219 Hirao, Yamanouchi, Nagano, 381-0401, JP

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jun 2026

Khanh

The staff was so nice, this time of year is dead. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed. We had to go into town for dinner. It was nice not to have crowds. The Bath Houses were empty.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2026

Jonathan

It’s was my first stay at a traditional ryokan. The service was above my expectations! The staff were all so very kind and helpful.

My favorite part was all the traditional Japanese cuisine. I ate so many wonderful dishes that I would not have otherwise.

The waters for this onsen are quite hot so be sure to mix cold water until you find a suitable temperature.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2025

Ryan

The location was amazing and the staff was extremely helpful.

10/10

Exceptional

07 May 2023

aurora

What a gem! Shibu Onsen Ichinoyu Katei is an experience in itself. A short ride from Yudanaka train station, this tradițional ryokhan is excellent. As soon as you arrive you will be greated by the hotel manager (okamisan) who is attentive and will answer any questions. Dinner and breakfast were included in the price and the food was amazing. Traditional food was prepared with attention to the details and served by lovely staff. Be punctual. Dinner at 630 and breakfast at 730. There are nine public onsen which can be accessed by a key you will receive at the hotel and the hotel has its own onsen, one inside and one outside with a view of the montainous horizon. Room is trafitional japanese. Confortable sleep. The snowmonkey park is not far and you can get a lift from the hotel and will be dropped off nearby the park. You will the walk about 15 min to the entrance, hiking through the gorgeous forest with extremely tall trees and hot springs. The snowmonkeys are adorable. Amazing memories.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Mar 2023

Boris

We stayed at Ichinoyu Katei for one night and had an excellent experience. Futons were very comfortable, the breakfast in the morning was in the traditional Japanese style. There are two areas on the upper floor (gender-separated) with two hot baths, one indoors and one outdoors in each area. We were given the key to visit the town's public baths. The staff were very friendly and took care of us. They do speak sufficient English. Would definitely stay again.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

24 Dec 2022

wang firn

excellent ryotan

futon was v comfortable and service impeccable.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 Dec 2022

Clarice

First Trip to Yudanaka Nagano to Snow Money Town

This is our first trip to see the snow monkey park at Yudanaka-Nagano, along the way we decided to include an onsen stay .

This hotel at Shibu Onsen Inchinoyu Katei offers free roundabout shuttle from/to Yudanaka station and hotel. However, you will need to make call arrangement with the help from the native jap staff from tourist information counter located at Yudanaka station. Do make use of google translate to help you in the process as the native jap has minimum understanding of english. You can also pay a visit to the snow monkey park using the bus service (for snow monkey 2 days pass) and it is a short bus journey. For convenience of travelling light, it is recommended that you temporarily deposit your bags at station and it is 500 yen for baggage deposit. Note that you will need to walk up the trekking pathway to snow monkey park and it will be 40 mins on foot from where the bus alights you at the bus stop.

The overall experience for the hotel onsen is an eye opener as you get to experience local traditional jap food and culture. The food is more to a healthier diet and taste. Service is excellent from a warm welcome by front desk to the servers at their kitchen. They provide extra mile service and care to the customers. Do enquire with them on the do's and don't 's for first timer use of onsen. Do not overly soak yourself in the hot waters as your body might not be able to take it.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 Apr 2022

Mihoko

Wonderful place

Staff were so nice and kind. The place was great and in the great location. We definitely want to come back and recommend people. The hot tub was too hot.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Feb 2021

Verified traveler

Loved the staff and room. The showers are with the Onsen so it’s a little strange as a American used to so much privacy but luckily there was only one time there was another women out of the three nights we stayed. Food is all Japan style but amazing. Loved our stay

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

27 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

I loved my stay here. The staff were such a delight and the rooms were beautiful. The hotel is located in a beautiful traditional settings and staff were happy to point or take you in the right direction.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jul 2019

Elizabeth

Amazing traditional Ryokan!!!

This hotel was AMAZING!!! The whole area was great, we did the whole 9 Onsen thing, had the Kaiseki dinner and breakfast the next morning (there was coffee!!!) and then went to see the snow monkeys (which were probably my favorite part of the entire trip). The staff was absolutely perfect, extremely helpful and did even more than we could ask for. It took a bit of effort to get up here (check out the shibu onsen website for train dets) but was completely worth it. We would definitely stay here again. Also, when you get to the train station in Shibu, go to the information kiosk and tell them you'd like them to call Ichinoyu to come pick you up - apparently this is totally normal. They came about 5 minutes later to drive us to the hotel. And then the next morning they drove us up to the snow monkeys. All free. Absolutely stay here, it will totally make your trip!!!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2019

Verified traveler

Everything you could possibly want from a traditional Japanese inn. Everything was second to none. A real cultural experience. Can’t really put into words how special this place is

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Lovely family owned ryokan

This was a lovely family owned ryokan that is very convenient & cozy for seeing the snow monkeys and having an onsen experience.
The staff bent over backwards to help and spoke a little English. I would recommend getting meals included as the food was very good, had a lot of variety and was high quality keiseki cuisine.
The rooms had Japanese kotatsu or heating tables in them and were warm and quiet. There is no shower in them, only toilet and sink. You have to use the public shared female or male bath with onsen in the hotel, or use one of the public onsens on the street. This hotel is very conveniently located on the famous onsen street and you get a master key to experience all the onsens located on this street each purported to have different healing properties. This is a lovely experience not to be missed!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Dec 2018

Agnes

Great ryokan experience for kaiseki cuisine and onsen hoping !

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jan 2018

Denise

Great service the owners are very helpful and friendly. I would stay here again. The Japanese style room was great and the outdoor bath on the roof was great on a cold snowy night

Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Dec 2017

Matthew

Best place I've ever stayed - didn't want to leave

My favourite hotel in Japan, with my favourite host and in my favourite location. The ryokan is square in the middle of Shibu Onsen, perfect for visiting the public onsens. And if you feel shy, not only does it have its own hot spring bath, there is even a private one. The rooms are huge, warm and comfortable, with your own dining area views onto the quaint street. The shuttle from Yudanaka stops about 100m from it too, which also takes you up to the amazing monkey park in 20 minutes.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Oct 2016

Lian Hoe

Place for Onsen lovers

Nice kaiseki dinner and breakfast was served. Had free use of small private bath.
Great place for onsen lovers as guests have free access to 9 different onsen all over the little village.
Village is next to narrow road up to snow monkey park

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Sep 2016

dal

Japan 100 years ago

Innkeepers were excellrent,food traditional japanese and wonderful.
Would spend three days instead of two,loved the time to unwind

Partner

8/10

Excellent

18 Dec 2015

Robert

Great Ryokan Close to Snow Monkey Park

Shibu Onsen is a great Japanese style Ryokan. It is right in the middle of a collection of old style Japanese public baths that are available to guests in one of the Yamanouchi Village ryokan's. It a great cultural experience. There is also a rooftop soaking bath on the property. The breakfast is strictly Japanese. The staff is very attentive and service was good. Their English skills are very limited so takes a bit to communicate. The main reason for coming here is to see the snow monkeys which is about 10 mins by car. The hotel will take you there and drop you outside the monkey park gate. You can then take a bus or call a cab to get back to the hotel. This is a great spot to try a traditional Japanese inn.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

05 Oct 2015

Lisa

Small but very confirt ryokan

The ryokan stay was nice. We enjoyed wondering Hot spring nearby and enjoyed local Japanese breakfast and dinner.

Family