From my adventurous solo traveling to Japan, i also plan to try what Japanese love to do, to experience ryokan and onsen in Nagano. Ryokan is like a traditional Japanese Hotel, where you will sleep on tatami, and wear a Japanese clothing named Yukata to visit onsen, that look like kimono but a simple one. The ryokan/hotel have onsen, a pool that filled with hot water from the mountain. Beside of the relaxing from soaking in the hot water, it also have ability to cure some disease.
There are so many area in Japan where you can stay at ryokan and enjoy onsen, and i choose Nagano to stay and also i want to explore the area. I stay at Senshinkan Matsuya, a ryokan at Yudanaka, a city where they have a lot of ryokan and 9 public onsen about 1 hour from Nagano you can reach it with Nagaden train.
Ryokan Senshinkan Matsuya
It was already 7 pm when i arrive and the owner explain everything that i need to know about ryokan and onsen. The ryokan is pretty, there are japanese influence but has the modern bathroom and also heater in the room. My room is spacious, before i go out i made green tea first. That night i learn to wear yukata and ready to visit my first public onsen.
Yukata selections
The modern japanese toilet with those buttons for anything needed
My room, the bed called tatami was folded in the cupboard when you didn’t use it
Onsen
I have given the onsen key from the ryokan owner, so that i can free to visit the whole 9 onsen which people can visit the onsen without staying at ryokan but have to pay for entering the onsen since it’s public onsen. The onsen is like a little house, and when i enter there are place to put your clothes and you will enter the room behind it that have the pool. Onsen in Japan actually have indoor and outdoor. What i have is the indoor one, so there arent any view. The strange thing for us that use onsen for the first time is that we have to be naked but dont worry because they separate women and man room. And i read that it’s forbidden for people that have tattos to enter onsen.
Public onsen
The onsen building, separate room for man and woman
The onsen i visit is not that big, the pool is about 3 m x 2 m. I was scream when i put my legs in, the water is just too hot and it comes from the mountain. There is tap water to cool down the onsen but i think it will take a loong time to cool it down, so i cant get in. The 9 onsen have different benefit of the water like for curing some disease and believe that it’s good for the skin beauty.
Yudanaka Ryokan Complex
Meet new friends from Aussie and they look so great in yukata
That night is very quiet in the surrounding, the street actually is really narrow only enough for 1 car passing through, and it was really beautiful to walk around the wooden house like an ancient japanese village. And the fact that i’m wearing yukata with the japanese sandals is unforgettable moment.
In the morning i’m ready to do onsen at my ryokan. Turn out the onsen is more beautiful that the public onsen. It’s bigger room and pretty nice. First i take a shower beside the pool. We take a shower by sitting on a wooden chair, facing a mirror and little table (just like table for put makeup at home). Shampoo and soap are at the table with shower connect to it. And i’m ready for my onsen. The water is hot just like in the public onsen, and the pool is smaller so when i open the tap water, the temperature is adjust faster and i can dip my whole body. It was so nice finally to have the perfect water.
The hotel onsen
At 8 am, we called by phone at the room to ave breakfast. I go to the brakfast room and we will sit at the floor with the food already served on the table. The breakfast in the ryokan called kaiseki. It consist of many kind dishes and people are looking for having this experience. I have 9 bowls of so many food including rice, fruit and yoghurt. There a package that i thought is tissue, turn out it’s nori and i swap the nori with soy sauce and eat it with rice.
Kaiseki Time
The breakfast room
It’s really a nice experience in a very beautiful place. It was not an easy journey to get there but if you are looking for an adventure and a quiet village it’s the right place. You can also go to Jigokudani, really close from the ryokan to see the famous snow monkey and continue to Shiga Kogen mountain to go skiing.
I book the ryokan Senshinkan matsuya from booking.com. It’s affordable ryokan and worth the price for the spacious room, nice onsen, food and the owner help alot for any information i need to catch all my itinerary.
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