Starting February 1, 2023, visitors to Nagano will be able to experience an unforgettable winter experience at Hoshino Resorts KAI Alps. The Kamakura Footbath will invite guests to soak their feet in a warm bath as they sit in a traditional Japanese igloo while sipping local amazake and enjoying the snowy scenery. 

Soak your Feet Inside a Hot Footbath Inside a Kamakura

During February when snowfall is the heaviest, these kamakura, or igloos, can be spotted in the hotel’s courtyard. A private footbath is available inside each structure, which will keep guests from experiencing the cold wind. According to many, having a cool body and warm feet is the perfect recipe for a good night’s sleep and good health.

Taste Amazake from a Local Brewery

Kurazukuri Amazake is brewed at Hokuan Brewery in Omachi, Nagano. Made exclusively from home-grown, expertly polished sake rice, the sweet beverage has a delicate flavor similar to wagashi. Why not warm your body from the inside out with this traditional drink?

Enjoy the Winter Landscape Illuminated by Bamboo Lights

Around each kamakura are a sea of bamboo lanterns, popular in the area. Guests can gaze out at the cold winter landscape beneath the awesome peaks of the Japanese Alps while pondering what the spring will bring. 

The Ryokan Tokyo Yugawara, a traditional-style Japanese inn and hot spring located in Kanagawa Prefecture, will open on March 18, 2022. The hot springs in the area have a storied history, appearing in the oldest collection of Japanese poems from the year 759 AD and loved by great writers such as Natsume Souseki and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. There is also a cafe inviting visitors to enjoy delicious meals as they relax in the springs.

Onsen Dojo operates and plans hot spring facilities, including the ‘Ofuro Cafe’ brand, resort facilities, and more. The company also provides support for local business investments. 

Each Hoshinoya location has its own unique theme, and all offer an extraordinary experience. Hoshinoya Karuizawa, a resort in Nagano Prefecture, has opened reservations for the Starry Winter Anniversary Plan, allowing couples to celebrate their love away from the hustle and bustle of the city beneath the dazzling winter sky. The staff at the resort will assist couples in celebrating the special day at various locations around the resort, and a custom-made photo tour will also be included!

Surrounded by rich nature at the foot of Mt. Asama, Karuizawa reaches low temperatures in winter, creating beautiful scenery dotted with icy trees and snow glistening in the sunlight. This plan is perfect for those who want to escape the stresses of the current pandemic. 

A Special Seat on the Ice

The Karuizawa Wild Bird Sanctuary is located directly beside Hoshinoya Karuizawa and houses the Kera Pond at the entrance. Used as an outdoor skating rink during the winter months, a large two-person seating area is erected on the ice which can only be reserved for couples. Lovebirds can enjoy champagne, dried fruits, and cheese as they gaze up at the starry sky. 

Guest Rooms Decorated for the Celebration

With rooms offering spectacular nature views, couples can enjoy herbal tea, sweets, and flower arrangements only included in this special plan. The flowers may be taken home, and the sweets include florentines made with miso, a specialty of the Shinshu area. They are said to be ‘sweets that bring happiness,’ and may be the key to many more happy years together!

Custom-Made Photo Tour

The landscape around the resort pays homage to traditional Japanese landscaping and includes terraced rice paddies, rivers, and unique vegetation. The custom-made photo tour is a private tour limited to one group, in which couples stroll around the grounds with a photographer to take photos at these spectacular locations. These will be made into an album with the Hoshinoya Karuizawa logo. 

A part of Hoshino Resorts, KAI Alps is an incredible hot spring inn located in Omachi, Nagano prefecture, at the foot of the Northern Japanese Alps. In February 2022, the hotel will allow guests to book the Shinshu Snow Hut Experience, where visitors can enjoy the winter in a traditional snow-packed hut surrounded by bamboo lights. This area is one of the snowiest places in the region, and the locals have plenty of knowledge when it comes to getting through the cold.

Nagano prefecture is often called the ‘Space prefecture’ for its beautiful starry skies. Inside the snow hut, guests will be surrounded by lights, and bamboo lanterns will light the way. These gentle lights are perfect for the white of winter, despite the cold. 

Exclusively for this package, a kotatsu (heated table) will be placed inside the huts, and guests can wear traditional local clothing perfect for the weather. Sweet sake made at the Hokuan Sake Distillery in Omachi City and local rice cakes with Nozawa pickled greens, a Shinshu specialty, will also be served up. 

How would you like to partake in this traditional experience?

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how many people live their lives, with fewer and fewer people venturing outdoors. Now, Japanese creative company NAKED has announced a Night Walk at the picturesque Katayamazu Hot Springs in Kaga, Ishikawa. While practicing social distancing, visitors can explore an illuminated wonderland from December 17, 2021, until January 16, 2022. 

Lights of the Dragon God: Ukimidou

Sunny Spot Baths: Katayamazu Hot Springs Sunahase Park, Aiai Plaza

NAKED Distanced Lanterns: Katayamazu Hot Springs Sunahase Park, Aiai Plaza

NAKED Flower Cleansing: Katayamazu Hot Springs Sunahase Park, Aiai Plaza

The Halo of Life: Aizenji Temple

Crystal-Dyed Paper Lanterns: Aizenji Temple

Guests will be invited to explore the grounds while carrying a NAKED Distanced Lantern–both an art piece, and a way to illuminate your steps. With safety in mind, there will be plenty of space between visitors, so people can enjoy the event with peace of mind. 

The location for the event, Katayamazu Onsen, was recently a runner-up in the Onsen General Election 2018 spectacular scenery category. Surrounded by crystal blue waters and with a beautiful view of Mt. Haku, the location will have guests feeling completely calm by the time their visit comes to an end. 

Japanese design company Jiyujin launched its new Satoyama Jujo THE HOUSE chain of accommodations this month which offer a single group of guests a one-night stay in an entire house.

The first branch to open is IZUMI which features a fully-renovated Japanese-style house located in the city of Uonuma in Niigata. A gorgeous outlook is offered from the house with an unbroken view of lush forests, rice fields, and Mt. Makihata, which is listed as one of the ‘100 Famous Japanese Mountains.’

A breathtaking view awaits guests from the open-air bath

The spacious living room

Fully renovated from a 150-year-old private house, the building is supported by beautiful wooden beams and columns, and in the middle the oe, a sunken hearth. This, along with the beams and sashigamoi joints, are made from keyaki Japanese zelkova which is an elm-like tree. This species of tree is rare even in a tree-covered region such as Uonuma. The lumber used for this house was cut, preserved, and dried out for a number of decades before being processed into building material for the house. The heart in the middle of the living room is reminiscent of a time when large families would gather around one and serves to recreate that lifestyle.

The Nishiyama region is known for is production of delicious rice. IZUMI in fact looks out over Kabanosawa, a special and important place of rice production in Nishiyama. This vantage point also gives guests an opportunity to appreciate the hot and cold temperatures of the daytime and evening, the rivers, the shape of the land, and the earth the city sits on. The drastic change in temperatures in the day and night are especially noteworthy as this, along with the basin between the mountains, gives rise to a sea of clouds.

IZUMI sits on a hill that overlooks the rice paddies, making it a perfect location for spotting the sea of clouds. Minamiuonuma’s sea of clouds has over a 70% chances of appearing in the autumn and spring seasons.

The number one reason why Japan’s old, long-standing, and precious private houses are demolished is due to the cold getting in and it being too dark inside. Even those who want to see them preserved for tradition, including those who live in them already, would rather live in a modern home. That’s why Jiyujin has begun a renovation project instead of a demolition one. By refurbishing the houses, the ancient framework can be fixed up and preserved while a range of contemporary amenities are incorporate to fit with modern lifestyles. The Satoyama Jujo accommodations are built so they can be used for over 100 years.

For dinner, there are three options for guests. The first is a dinner at SANABURI which earned itself a Michelin star in Michelin Guide Niigata 2020. The second is a meal at a restaurant that earned the status of Bib Gourmand in the same guide. The third is to prepare your own meal in the house. There are plenty of shops around the station nearby where you can buy local ingredients.

After a delicious meal, guests can take a soak in the open-air tub and enjoy gazing out across the fields and the beautiful mountains which stand almost 2,000 meters high.

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa has announced a special summer plan for guests called “Mori no Hotori cafe&Bar ~Suijo no Tokutoseki~” (Cafe & Bar by the Forest ~Special Seats on the Water~). The midsummer evening plan is available for one group per day and takes place at the hotel’s cafe and bar which sits by a forest and faces the Kera-Ike Pond. It invites guests to relax under the starry night sky on the water and enjoy the sounds of nature while enjoying drinks and bites to eat.

Japan is known for its summer hot summers. However, Karuizawa enjoys a cooler climate, so evenings dip to around 20°C for a comfortable temperature.

Stargazing on top of the water

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa is connected directly to Karuizawa Wild Bird Sanctuary. At the entrance, by the Kera-Ike Pond, is the hotel’s Mori no Hotori cafe&bar which is open all year. The cafe/bar fusion is surrounded by Karuizawa’s lush forests, and it’s here that guests can enjoy sitting on specially-prepared seats on the water. It will feel like they are walking on water as they approach their seats where they can take their shoes off and sit on the tatami mats to gaze at the stars.

Calm the heart with an enchanting performance

When you walk up the stairs that face Kera-Ike from HOSHINOYA Karuizawa, your ears will be met with the enchanting sound of crystal bowls which add a mysterious depth to the natural sounds of the forest, spiriting guests away to another wonderful world.

Indulgent drinks and food

Guests can pick from a range of drinks and bites to eat scented with fruits, wood, and other natural fragrances of the forest. There arw six drinks to choose from including a gin and tonic made with lindera umbellata, a type of camphor, as well as a whisky made with ripe fruits. Food includes chocolate made from lindera umbellata and kuma bamboo grass, cherry blossom and walut chips, and more.

Kissho Yamanaka, a hot spring hotel in Kaga, Ishikawa, is now offering a firefly-viewing experience as part of a new guest plan until June 15. This gorgeous resort, situated by the Daishoji River in the Kakusenkei Gorges, was awarded three Michelin stars in the Ryokan category of Michelin Guide Hokuriku 2021 Special Issue.

The firefly tour arrives as early summer is soon to begin. As part of the hotel plan, guests can also enjoy a dazzling Firefly Cocktail too.

Feel the rays of early summertime at Kissho Yamanaka.

As part of their 10th anniversary event, Tamagawa Onsen, a Showa retro-style bathhouse in Saitama, opened their ‘Real Duck Baths’ on May 29 which lets people bathe with real ducks. The experience is available on weekends and public holidays only.

Forget bathing with bright yellow toy ducks – now you can have the real thing. These ducks were hatched and raise from ducklings by the bathhouse manager Arai at their home. The ducks are still small so the hours when they will be out are not set in stone, but the bathhouse hopes that guests will watch their and support their growth as they mature over time.

Core Global Management is set to open the all-new Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort on July 1, 2021. In line with its opening, Japanese calligrapher Shoko Kanazawa has been put in charge of designing the hotel’s name logo.

The sea and sky meet in the Infinity Onsen

Tsukifune: the buffet restaurant

Enjoy Japanese-style food at Kumonami

Tatami baths

Fires prepared by the staff everyday

A look inside the guest rooms

A look inside the guest rooms

Yunokawa Onsen is one of the three major hot spring resorts in Hokkaido. During the Edo period, Matsumae Chikatsumaru, who later became the lord of the Matsumae domain, and Enomoto Takeharu, the president of the former Tokugawa shogunate, are said to have bathed in this very hot spring. Yunokawa Onsen Umi to Akari Hewitt Resort is a chance to enjoy the good old days of Hakodate Yunokawa.

The rooftop offers an unbroken view of the incredible Tsugaru Straits. Guests can also enjoy a tranquil moment at the historic hot spring with a cup of Hakodate’s local sake and dango in hand underneath a moonlit sky while surrounded by the lights of fishing fires. There’s also a chance for both kids and adults to take a dip in a tatami bath – something you don’t really see in Japan.

Shonai Hotel Suiden Terrasse reopened on April 29 after refurbishments to install a new sauna. The hotel, located in Yamagata Prefecture, is known for being situated atop rice paddies. Along with the sauna, it has also introduced a new spa program and healthy new menu made using organic vegetables grown by the hotel company itself.

An authentic Finnish-style sauna

The sauna is based on the Finnish-style löyly sauna, fully equipped with an authentic kiuas sauna stove inside which sauna stones are placed to heat up the room. Hinoki scented water is also used in the sauna.

The Sauna Features

Men’s Sauna

The male sauna features hexagonal designs on the seats, ceiling windows, and bath. The seats can be moved around freely so guests can decide how high they wish to sit for optimal heat customisation. The sauna rooms overlook the rice paddies outside, and there’s open-air baths outdoors too so guests can feel at one with nature.

Women’s Sauna

The women’s sauna is also a löyly type but uses raised benches instead of chairs. After sweating it out, guests can head to one of the outdoor baths and enjoy the view and sky.

There’s also a bar where guests can order local beers, sake, and wine, as well as fruit juice and ice cream. While relaxing, they can pick out from one of the 1,000 books available.

As well as fitness and massage services, morning yoga will begin this June. The MOON TERRASSE restaurant is also introducing new healthy dishes and drinks made with organic local ingredients.

Onsen ryokan hot spring inn SOKI ATAMI is collaborating with Shiseido’s skin and mind brand BAUM to offer a special new accommodation plan for the spring season. SOKI ATAMI x BAUM -Fresh Verdure & Healthcare- will run from May 1, but pre-bookings are already open on SOKI ATAMI’s website.

Free gift bag to the first 100 people who make a reservation

Enjoy deep relaxation with sachets filled with natural smells like wood

A candle-lit night under the starry sky

Fresh verdure and caring for one’s health is the theme of this event which takes place deep within Atami. The plan includes the Forest Twin bedroom which is fitted with a half open-air hinoki area that faces the mountains and lets guests feel like they are surrounded by the new green leaves of spring. Rooms are also kitted out with amenities such as BAUM’s Hydro Essence Lotion which captures the essence of fresh trees and shrubs. Guests are invited to experience Atami’s hot spring culture and cuisine as they allow their mind and body to relax, ultimately benefitting their health. This season is known for its bounteous verdure and refreshing breeze, but it’s also said to help alleviate the May blues which many Japanese people experience after starting school or work again, the negative feelings of the rainy season, and more, all of which can put one’s spiritual state out of kilter. The scent of trees will rid guests of stress, nerves, and tension, and bring about relaxation, peaceful sleep, and a good detoxing.

BAUM is a skin and mind brand that helps support the strength of one’s skin by focusing attention on the water storage, growth, and environmental protection of trees and forests while showing the importance of looking after your mind and body. The brand is giving free gift bags to the first 100 people that make a reservation to show how anyone can enjoy a sustainable life using an everyday item.

On the top floor of the inn is a tearoom where guests can make their own sachets using hinoki cypress. Guests can also enjoy the Aroamtic Room Spray and Aromatic Candles provided by BAUM, all to further aid in relaxation and restoration. In the evenings, the lights will be switched off at the cafe and be replaced with candlelight which will serve as a romantic replacement to shine against the overhead backdrop of the starry night sky.