Kawaichiya Ryokan

We really enjoyed our stay here. It is a good location and comfortable inside. The breakfast was good, different food every second day and some aspects different every day. No coffee though. The rooms were really nice and comfortable. We were in a Japanese style room though and they did forget to make our bed up so we had to request it be done. We found the bed to be super thin, even for Japanese style so we did not sleep that well. On one of the nights, there was no hot water. The onsen was great. The outdoor onsen seemed to be a bit mossy/water had things in it but we presumed that was meant to be. The indoor onsen was spotless. I would probably book it again.

This ryokan is going to be the best of the best that you can find in the area! Most accommodations in Nozawa are quite old, but this ryokan was beautifully renovated and furnished to meet and exceed the modern traveler's expectations, while keeping the Japanese ryokan feel. But what deserves to be highlighted the most is the staff. Their warm and welcoming smiles, their willingness to help you any way that they can was really inviting and made us want to stay longer! Thank you for an amazing stay - we'll be back for sure!

I visited the middle of this August, an extremely hot day. The parking lot was easy to find but it was very small and difficult to park. It must be a very old building but remodeled beautifully. The staffs are very friendly and polite. The room we stayed in is "Buna" , tatami room with two beds. Very nice room, but the window in the bedroom has only Shoji (paper) curtain, so it was quite bright in the morning. Like hotels, hope there is light-shielding curtain. Food was average Onsen Ryokan, no impression. One of their speciality products of two different kinds of beef was hard to chew. Onsen was a disappointment... the bathtubs, both inside and outside were very small as well as washing space. The outside bathtub was dirty. Onsen was too hot that it could not be soaked slowly. Maybe Nozawa Onsen is better for those who enjoy skiing.

We could not rate this Ryokan highly enough! Our room was clean, spacious and warm. We travelled here in March 2019 for the snow. It was only a short walk to the shuttle bus pick up point to the ski fields, and drying rooms and lock up facilities for your ski gear available at the hotel. Perfect to come and go to the fields as you wish. Only a short walking distance to all restaurants/attractions/town square and even the ski field if you don't have to carry your gear! We enjoyed the traditional Japanese breakfast and found all the staff to be welcoming and helpful. Upon arrival by the Nozawa Onsen bus we had trouble finding the Ryokan, thankfully for google maps we found the it as there is no sign out the front and alot of the street signs are in Japanese

We felt welcomed from the moment we shed our street shoes for the comfy slippers we wore always inside this fantastic authentic Ryokan. The staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating. We do not speak Japanese, but the international language of hospitality was enough to get us all we needed to know whenever we needed. Once settled in our zen-like room, we visited the onsite private Onsen which was a short walk through a hallway where the Nozawa river babbled with verve (the onsen fed from the cities' famous natural hot springs) and were immediately relaxed and felt far away from a wester hotel experience (a ritual we recreated every morning before skiing, and afterwards in the afternoons). The meals (breakfast and dinner) were fantastic and made with love. If you are after an authentic experience, and ready to ease into what Japan has to offer (vs. expecting a western experience) we could not recommend this enough! We look forward to coming back to our home away from home in Nozawa!

Our room was lovely, for two of us it was very spacious. Superior twin. The breakfast was beautiful, filling, different piece of fish and egg style everyday. The dinner we had included in our stay was a kaiseki which I have always wanted to try and it was sooo impressive. The restaurant service is out of this world. Many chopsticks were dropped and there would be a person with a new pair within 20sec! The beds were comfy, duvets warm and the Onsen is one of the nicer ones. We used a posh hotel one that someone had called ‘exquisite’ And I would say kawaichiyas is much nicer. The outdoor Onsen is so good and the indoor ones have a choice of hotter or slightly less hot. There is good showering area and changing area. It’s a Small walk to the Onsen. As in it’s in another building but there is a covered walkway the whole way which soo beautiful and Japanese. Not a major issue. The internet is super fast. It’s only 5mins to the town. We got Shuttle from Chuo terminal to Nagasaka station everyday and you can leave your board etc on lockers at all stations. Most are 100-200 yen for a locker and 200-300 for your board There is a boot room in kawaichiya. I had a really good time in nazawa onsen and this family run ryokan Was an excellent base for our snowboarding. We would def stay again.

Traditional Japanese breakfast, sleepy town when not ski season.

昔ながらの温泉地で、建物の古さはありましたが、アットホームな感じの旅館でした。階段の登り降りが多く、お風呂の脱衣所も広くないので、お年寄りにはオススメしません。 サービス面では、夕食時に座席に座るなり、挨拶も飲み物のオーダーもされず、いきなりお料理の説明を一方的にされて、他の接客に向かわれたのにはビックリしました。 忙しいとは思うのですが、かなり残念でした、

We loved this place & cant wait to come back again!!!

Relaxing and homely

Clean, modern, and a mix with traditional Japanese style. It's 5 mins walk to the Main Street of the area. Free car park is next to the Ryokan. Breakfast is good. I did have the dinner here but it seems they have a great menu.

ホームページの印象と違う感ががありましたが接客や食事はとても満足できました。

We loved this place. Family of 4 adults stayed 5 nights in a superior twin room (room 210), which included 2 mattress beds and 2 futons. Room was a bit tight with luggage etc, but really no complains there, and a nice view from our room. Included a hand basin and toilet, no shower. Our 15 and 18 year old boys were apprehensive about using the share bath (onsen) but after the first visit, they loved it, and looked forward to the daily visit to the onsite onsen. Daily Japanese style breakfast was so filling we couldn’t finish it all. One son was not so fussed on the Japanese breakfast, so he would eat the rice and eggs supplied, which was more than enough until morning tea time. Had the Kaiseki dinner one night as part of our package, which was gorgeous. We opted to make our way to the Hikage ski area each morning, which was about a 5min walk, then another 5mins on the travellator-easy. We hired our ski boots, poles and stocks from a hire shop in the Hikage ski area (heaps of hire available on the slopes), so we left our gear there overnight and walked to and from the ryokan with our apre boots. Otherwise, there is apparently a free shuttle bus that takes you to Nagasaka. This is a wonderful chance to stay in a ryokan in Japan, so go for it.

We had a great time staying here. The staff are friendly, even though most of them do not speak English. They tried their best to provide the answers to our questions via simple English and sign language. The ryokan rooms are modern and the rooms looks new as it was recently renovated. We had a family room and it fits us nicely for a group of 4. We opted for a shared bath type of room as we found that most of the time, we prefer to use the Onsen rather than showering in our room. The room has attached toilet and a wash basin. We stayed in the main building, which has a lift (which is important especially after a tiring day on the ski slopes). Two friends of us decided on a room with private shower instead. The drawback is that it is located in another part of the building which has no lift, hence need to climb the stairs and carrying their suitcases with them as well during checking in and checking out. We stayed more than 5 nights and it comes with a complementary dinner, which is delicious. The ryokan is not far from the shuttle stop (i.e the central bus station) but it is still a hike (especially if you are wearing ski boots) as the ryokan is located in the lower part of the village slope. The Yu walkway is about 10minutes walk uphill, not recommended with ski boots. There are quite a few restaurants nearby (nozawa is small village and most of the places are within walking distance). Reservation is recommended. Overall, this ryokan is highly recommended and will stay here again in future.

We arrived a little before check in, however our room was ready so we were allowed to go straight in. Right from the check in the staff were absolutely beatuiful, so helpful and friendly. We had booked a Japanese style room with a private bathroom and were given room 310, which was huge, accessible via the lift, with a beautiful view over the mountains and village. We had futons to sleep on, although when we first got in the foom, it was a bit confusing as the mattresses were in the cupboard and there were no sheets or anything, so we were unsure how we were meant to make the beds up..until later that night one of the staff came in and made up the futons on the floor. There was little sitting room as well with the traditonal seats on the tatami floor, which was all very quaint. The bathroom had our own toilet and a small bath, with the set up being for the tradititional way of washing. There was a small fridge and plenty of cupboard space. The down side to the room was that the walls were super thin, so it was easy to hear everything from the room next door Our room rate included breakfast, which was a beautiful japanese breakfast in the dining room. The attention to detail was unbelievable, with the meal including, a piece of fish, a vegetable type of hot pot, green tea, an egg (cold), a type of yogurt and some salad. The breakfast was lovely, although by the 5th morning it was a bit much for our very western palate. It would have been great to get an explanation of how to eat the dishes sometimes. The location was great, just a couple of minutes’ walk to the main street, and about a 10-15-minute walk to nagasaka ski area, which is where we usually started our skiing from each morning, or just a couple of minutes’ walk to the bus top to catch the town shuttle. The staff were always so attentive and ready to assist in any way possible. We had our luggage forwarded to and from the ryokan and they assisted us with this with no hesitation. The ryokan had a drying/storage room, it's own onsens, a laundry room and small gift shop area as well as restaurant I would recommend this place if you are looking for a friendly, well located traditional ryokan. If a more western style hotel with up to date mod cons is more your style, than I would suggest maybe not choosing this place. Overall, we had a lovely stay here

Kawaichiya is full of authentic Japanese charm, and run by some genuinely lovely local people. They have a spacious and useful heated storeroom for all your kit and boots, they even have clothes rails so you can dry jackets and gloves etc. The rooms are small and fairly basic, but have everything you need and are very clean. The bus stop for the free shuttle is only a 2 min walk away and is super easy to find. We had breakfast each morning which we asked to change to a western style breakfast and they were so accommodating, they went out their way to make us feel comfortable and looked after. We ate in the restaurant one evening and the food presentation was beautiful and so authentic, I told them that I was vegetarian and they ensured I had a delicious spread of local vegetables and delicacies regardless. I would suggest finding out about the meal options first if you are quite picky, as they are all traditional Japanese meals and may contain meats/dishes you aren’t used to eating! My favourite thing about our stay was the Onsen and getting my freshly pressed Kimono on to go downstairs and have a lovely wash, then a soak in the super warm natural spring water. You’ll feel incredible for it and it’s great on the muscles after a day riding powder! I left my jacket at the Ryokan and one of the hotel staff even came and dropped it to me at Iiyama station and I’ve never been so touched and grateful. Thanks Kawaichiya for a lovely stay!

This is a delightful low key family run, Ryoken, looking nothing like s hotel. The best part is the in-house Onsen baths. Hot volcanic water serving inside and outside onsens , separate for men and women. There is a 12 course healthy Japanese breakfast served every day as part of the stay package. It sets you up for the day . You can buy a beer from one of the vending machines on site for $2. Or bottle of locally brewed Sake onsite. Another treat is if you stay 5 days there is Japanese banquet ( my words) served up with 12 -15 courses included in the cost of your stay. It was the highlight meal of our stay. The staff are over the top helpful, and attentive. You will enjoy your stay here.

We stayed here for 5 nights in a superior twin room (Room 306). It was warm and spacious with western-style beds, a living area and an ensuite toilet. We used the pleasant on-site onsens for bathing. The wifi was good. We appreciated the free guest laundry (the washing machine and drier are free; pay for powder). The ryokan has only recently started to take western guests and was keen for feedback on how to improve our experience. We didn’t have much to suggest. The breakfasts were good Japanese-style breakfasts with much more food than needed (so we didn’t need to eat anything we didn’t really like). We had one kaiseki dinner, which was perfectly fine but not one of the best I’ve had. Nozawa Onsen is compact so it’s easy to get anywhere from this ryokan, including several public onsen. If the weather is good, it’s easy to walk to and from the main ski terminal rather than use the (free) ski shuttle.

We stayed at Kawaichiya for 9 nights in January 2018 on our 6th trip to Nozawa-onsen, skiing. This was our first stay at Kawaichiya ryokan, having stayed previously always at Sakaya ryokan, another high-end ryokan in the village. Three of us (adults) stayed in a double Japanese room, with 2 western beds and a futon in the living area. It was snug but comfortable. Good WIFI for my 2 sons and capable of running Netflix! There was a good Japanese toilet and basin in the room. A highlight was the afternoon onsen in the ryokan after skiing. While not as grand as the onsen at Ryokan Sakaya, it was still excellent. We find that having the onsen inside the ryokan is very convenient, as compared to using the village onsen. Breakfast each day was Japanese - excellent quality. We had one evening dinner in the ryokan and it was as good as any high-end Japanese meal we have had over the years. We definitely recommend Kawaichiya ryokan to others.

Right from the moment we stepped in we were treated with great hospitality and attentive service. We stayed in the deluxe room that had its own private outdoor wooden bath. It was lovely after a day of skiing to relax in and also amazing to be showering and bathing outdoors (albeit undercover) while it was blizzarding outside. The room had one bedroom with 2 beds a "lounge" area with a low table and floor "chairs" and there was another study room that had a raised floor and small door. Our teenage daughter slept in this room that was big enough for the futon. This gave both her and us some privacy. The ryokan is a decent 10-15 minute walk uphill to the Yu Road, moving walkway but only 3 mins into the main restaurant and shop area. The indoor baths were great, very clean and well appointed and we also used the public onsen nearby which was small but a great slice of tradition.

My family of 11 stayed in 3 rooms, only one of which included a shower, but all of which included toilets. Clean rooms with traditional style and futon beds in the largest room which included a shower. Ask for a mountain view room as these are beautiful. Staff have limited English but are very enthusiastic, unfortunately, their recommendations for dining were not very good, however that is the only negative. There is a drying room for ski gear, lockers for shoes, and an on-site Onsen. The food deserves a special mention. Both dinner and breakfast is an absolute treat. Having come straight from the gastronomic delight that is Tokyo, having the food traditionally prepared and beautifully presented here was still a revelation. The location is closer to the edge of the village, however, due to the small size of the village, everything is only a few minutes walk away.

*Stayed in the deluxe Japanese room with the private open air bath. The room was fantastic, lots of room. The outdoor private bath was the highlight, being able to have your own private onsen after a days skiing is fantastic. Bed was firm but comfortable, room clean. The traditional breakfast included was the best breakfast I've had anywhere, a great start to the day. Staff where friendly, short walk to all the restaurants & bars. Couldn't complain about anything.

The staff is nice but the heater used and the air conditioner in my room emits gasoline smell. It gave me a very bad headache after that. The outdoor onsen for ladies is half of that shown in the picture. Really small.

Location was very good, you can take the shuttle bus from Iiyama Station. Every morning, the hotel van will bring you to the Nagasak Gondola Station for your ski/snow boarding activities. You have to walk back, which is fine cos it's downhill going back to the hotel. It's a small town so you can walk to the main street in 5min. You can also walk to other onsens. The rooms are clean and spacious, but if you take the western rooms, it is only accessible by staircase. So choose wisely! The breakfast was beautiful, the full array of salad, rice, fish, soup, and hotpot, yoghurt, etc. Some ryokan serve only cold dishes so I'm really happy with this ryokan! They also have a dry room for your ski/snow boarding equipment. The frontdesk staff are very friednly and very helpful, even if some don't really speak English. Thye more than make up for it with their enthusiasm and infectious positivity.