Staying at this hotel was one of the highlights of our trip to Japan. Yes it cost a bit but the experience was worth it.
The staff couldn't have been more helpful. We missed our planned train to Yudanaka, but a quick call to the hotel and all was organised for a revised pick up from the train station.
On arrival at the hotel the staff were very welcoming and friendly. We were escorted to our room where our hostess made us tea then proceded to explain about the hotel and the facilities. Dinner was a a set time but that suited us fine as we had been touring most of the day. The dinner was a fine spread of Japanese dishes, beautifully presented and the quality was great. Our hostess ensured the presentation was just right and explained the contents of each dish.
After dinner we booked the private outdoor spa for use and what an experience it was to bask in the hot spa watching the snow fall. Our children enjoyed the private indoor spa.
The room and bedding was fine and clean. We all enjoyed a good nights sleep on the futons and the room was a cosy temperature.
Breakfast was a mix of japanese for some and western for others. Both were again well presented and tasted great.
At breakfast we discussed with our hostess the plans for the day to visit the snow monkeys, look around town then head to Yudanaka station for our return to Tokyo. Within minutes our hostess was back with all the details of where to go around town, how to get to the snow monkey park and the timetable of the buses with the connecting trains to Tokyo. Our hostess also organised our bags to be waiting for us in Yudanaka for when we were ready to catch the train.
Our thanks to all the staff at the hotel for the high level of service and friendliness we received during our stay. Also many thanks to Zeno for his help in organising our stay and the information he provided on how to get there.
we had a great time.

We have had a wonderful time, a superb experience of a traditional ryokan.　It is, therefore, with some disbelief that we have read the recent negative reviews on trip advisor - can it be that someone has a vendetta against the hotel. Personally, we found it an amazing experience, all that we wanted from a ryokan. The staff are superb, hospitality and tradition first rate. There are 8 hot spa baths on site, open 24 hours a day - not to be missed. Easy free access to the village public baths is another bonus. We had an amazing 12 course traditional dinner, with an equally impressive breakfast. WE WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL WITH NO HESITATION.

We stayed for two nights in a room with an outdoor bath wich was very beautiful but the room was just ok. It was frequently too cold and the aircon was a bit noisy when it worked. We loved the kotatsu and the view though.

The ryokan has a certain charm about it and the baths were really nice. The food was mostly nice and some dishes were really good but we had expected better quality for the price. The service was mostly friendly and polite however we agree with some of the previous writers that the lady that greeted us was a bit nonchalant. However we didn't have any problems with the pickup and dropoff service.

In all we hade an ok stay but compared to other ryokans we have stayed at we don't think we got our moneys worth here.

My family decided to visit shibu onsen and went into some sites to research. We came across a site where this bloke called Zeno, supposedly nagano's ambassador to foreigners, attempted to help those interested to visit Shibu onsen recommend a place to stay at Shibu. As it turns out, this bloke is the son in law of the proprietor at Kokuya, and guess which place he recommended us to go???

Well, I read extensively and already know of his relations with Kokuya but I merely dismissed it when he claimed to be just working there. The rates he quoted was inconsistent all the time, according to his whims and fancies. When I decided that I wasn;t going to stay in a place where the owners were only interested in my money and nothing else, I cancelled my reservations. And that was when he got really nasty!!! He made racist remarks , and said things that you would never never expect from someone in the hospitality line!! At that point, I just heaved a sigh of relief that I did the right thing! I wasn't going to ruin my vacation going to a place that doesn't welcome guests with sincerity!

I finally booked my stay at shunran sakaeya from japanican, which was just down the street and the stay was just wonderful as I had reviewed . Nevermind that they didn't speak perfect english, we could still communicate very well.The place was homely, welcoming and cozy, just as it should be!