The cultural city of Minakami is full of attractions, such as Ski Resort Minakami Norn and Hoshi Onsen Chōjukan, and is loved for its hot springs and riverfront.
"I loved the private onsen and the ryokan stay. The buffet was also excellent. The hotel provides yukata robes to wear while you’re walking around the hotel. We also had a great view of the suspension bridge from my room."
"An excellent hotel. The front desk staff are very polite, and the room design is comfortable and well thought out. The bedding is of high quality—especially the silky-smooth sheets, which you can tell are not your average standard.
There’s also a large dining table next to the lobby for guests to enjoy drinks, thoughtfully equipped with tableware, paper plates, a small oven, and a microwave.
Although it’s a bit of a distance from the city center, it’s best to drive if possible."
"Property was beautifully equipped in the kitchen and for entertainment. The private "onsen" of the bathroom was phenomenal. It had a sauna, a cold plunge and mineral spring bath all together. Was not really convenient to town but only a kilometer out. Check was terrible as they do it all remotely and the system was down. I tried several times to check-in on their tablet. I then video called via their tablet and he couldn't do it after 15 minutes. They then emailed me 3 more times about it, a bit annoying. Check out is early and exact we were walking to the door at 10am as she was knocking on the door."
"The hotel is close to railway and bus stations. Also a supermarket is two minutes away.. The front desk stuffs are very helpful and nice. The room is very clean and has no bad smells. Room is large compared with some other Japan hotels. Free breakfast is another plus!"
"Positives: 1: staff exceptional, friendly and helpful. 2: very, very clean and comfortable; 3. Stunning location. I think all the rooms have lake view (which is across the road). Once the leaves are out it might be more obscured, but stil have a beautiful wilderness-type feel; 4 right on the yumoto onsen Tobu bus line. Easy to get to and from everywhere on that line. Busses run every 1/2 hour or so but the last bus drops off around 7pm, so it’s not a late night; 5. Indoor and outdoor onsen: I was usually in it by myself but it was also early spring off season.
The less positives: 1. no bar; 2 no outdoor sitting area (except a couple of benches); 3. While the onsen is nice to have, it’s not nice looking. Would be better to spruce it up with some greenery to hide the ugly fence surrounding; 4. No one informed us of the cafe where lunch can be served. It has a lovely porch and different menu.
The dining room gets its own category:
1. The breakfast is mediocre. My least favorite part of the stay. It’s served. Minimal choice. Eggs were strange We actually ordered a boxed breakfast one morning and it was better.
2. Dinner: the food was tasty but very,very expensive for what you get. Small portions.
3. Fine dining. If that’s what you want, that is what you get and pay for.
4. There’s not a lot of choice in town, so no choice but to eat here.
I would stay in Nikko and visit lake Chuzenji and do the marshland hike. Not to be missed. "
"First, the pictures on expedia or even the hotels website did not do this place justice. This is a gorgeous hotel with lots to do and see. We were checked in by "Lucky" who spoke really great english. He spent about an hour with us checking us in, walking us to our rooms, showing us everything in our rooms and helping with luggage. Both the dinner and breakfast were buffet with lots of options. I think we were the only foreigners there but they did not treat us any different. The shuttle down to the town square is very convenient. We did not use the hot springs but we did use the open air bath in our room which was amazing. The beds were reasonable comfortable. Enjoyed the plethora of amenities and open space in the room. "