Such a lovely place and our first taste of an authentic ryokan. Very clean, quiet, and comfy sleeping on the traditional beds on the tatami floor. The room was huge especially after coming from Tokyo. The staff were very kind and warm. Enjoying a private outdoor onsen among the snow was a magical experience. Note there is no shower in the room, so you must take an onsen to bathe. Location was convenient - 7 min walk down a steep hill from Yudanaka train station which was also where the snow monkey park bus departed. We also enjoyed walking 20 min or so along the river to Shibu Onsen to explore the next town. Highly recommend!

An amazing outdoor onsen, which can be reserved privately for your room in the evening (for half an hour), and there’s also an indoor onsen that is always available without reservation. We ordered a kaiseki dinner – everything was delicious and authentic. In January, the room was a bit chilly if you’re someone who gets cold easily, but each room has a heater. I was comfortable sleeping without the heater under a warm blanket. The ryokan is located near Yudanaka Station and about a 30-minute walk from Shibu Onsen. We took a walk there after dinner; the evening lighting was very beautiful.

Showers are only available in the indoor onsen, so to reach the outdoor one, you’ll need to get dressed again and walk through the ryokan.

The staff is truly amazing! The lady who runs the Onsen is a delight. She speaks great english and she is very helpful. They all make you feel very welcoming. The place is neat, everything and everywhere is super clean. You can see that they truly embody the Japanese spirit of putting the heart into everything they do. I'd totally recommend this place to anyone who wants a true Onsen experience.

The time schedule to use the hotsprings felt a bit off, especially if you're a man, as they split it by gender. But quite frankly, its a small thing in the big scheme of things. It didn't compromise my experience, at all.

High quality of Service, Food and options for Onsens. Sincere staff (mainly a capable family of mother, daughter and a brother) providing the best attention to guests. Made me feel looked after from all aspects. It is the best experience in my two weeks trip in the winter as a solo female older aged traveller.

Not the easiest access from the station but manageable after asking several people. The hotel had respectfully told me that they don't offer transport (pickup) so it is not a disappointment to have to find my way to reach the premises.

It's a Ryokan, don't expect hotel-like grandeur. Staffs could speak basic english and were very helpful. Once they helped you settle in, you can make yourself at home in the entire ryokan. The onsens (indoor and outdoor) are both great. The nearby restaurants were great, because the location is slightly secluded, most of the times you get private service in the restaurants. All basic amenities were provided and very convenient. We explored around the ryokan's, shibu onsen and the snow monkey park. The entire area is very serene and has all the countryside beauty.

Travelling to the location can be quite a hassle as you can only access Yudanaka with the Nagano Dentetsu Line that is not covered by JR Pass and you can only use cash to buy the train tickets, and you can only buy 1 way. The only convenient store is located near the station which you have to climb a hill to get to from the ryokan. You can only shower in the onsen place of the ryokan, there is no private shower in the rooms but there is a private toilet. There were no place for lunch at all once it passes 1pm. Most restaurants open only for dinner but we had fun and great food nearby.

The service as this Ryokan was 10/10, and was the most authentic one we stayed in during our 4 weeks in Japan. The staff were so lovely, and spoke great English. They showed us to our room, and gave us essentially a "room tour" whilst we drank complimentary tea. They gave us a map with nearby restaurants and ammenties noted on it. The private outdoor onsen was SO nice! You book a slot upon arrival, which you can access in the evening with 30 min slots. The onsen was large and the perfect contrast with the fresh cool air in the evening. Yukatas were provided for us as an option to wear around the hotel - both my partner and I are bigger than the average Japanese person (Wife is plus size, I am 6ft 2) and we both comfortably fit into the ones picked out for us. The only thing that threw us was that during breakfast, they cleared the beds from our room - had we known people would go in, we'd probably have neatened the room a bit haha! P.S don't skip the sushi restaurant a few doors down from the hotel. The sushi was EXQUISITE and they even have a phonetic Japanese to English page at the front so you can have a go at ordering properly with the chef.

Not something we didn't like as we were prepared, but you do have to go down (therefore back up!) a large slope to get to the hotel from the station. Putting it here in case people plan to travel with a lot of luggage for example! But obviously the slope is out of the hotel's control - don't let it put you off!!

This was by far our most favourite accommodation in the whole trip and we wished we'd stayed longer. Everything was exceptional - we had the largest room by a long way on our trip, the most comfortable bed and the hospitality was second to none. We dropped our bags on arrival before heading off to the snow monkey park and they were in our rooms when we returned. The lovely receptionist explained access to the onsens and booked us in for a private session which was sheer bliss. We were provided with kimonos, slippers and towels and enjoyed a wonderful dip in the outdoor natural hot spring. It was so relaxing and perfect if you're shy about getting naked in front of strangers! The next day we were provided with a traditional Japanese breakfast, including an egg cooked in the hot spring! It was delicious and plentiful and we really enjoyed it. Vegans and vegetarians are catered for so everyone was happy. I didn't realise it was ok to go down to breakfast in your kimono so I got dressed but I noticed the Japanese guests did this with the grey jacket provided slipped over the top and I would definitely recommend doing this for comfort. The owners are so kind. They gave us a map detailing all the restaurants in the town and as it was raining on our last day and they offered us umbrellas and a lift to the station. The price was very reasonable and we would definitely stay there again.

There was nothing we didn't like. The owners have put a great deal of thought into providing top class hospitality and we were very touched by the attention to detail and kindness expressed to us. They should be very proud of what they have achieved here and we would recommend the inn to anyone.

They’re confidently located near the train station and a 5 min walk to the bus that takes you up to the monkey park. This was my first ryokan experience and it did not disappoint. The room was spacious, so nice to have a sitting area! The in-room toilet and sink were both good and very clean. The BEST part about the stay was the meals: I ordered the dinner and it came with breakfast. All I can say is go hungry cuz they feed you a lot of delicious food! The ladies working there are the sweetest. I can’t say enough good things about this place.

Small thing: the shared shower in the in-door onsen has a timed faucet so I had to keep one hand on the handle to keep the water running.

Yudanaka Tawaraya exceeded our expectations! It didn't appear as new or fancy as other Ryokan we stayed at, but it was well maintained, clean and had a lovely charm. My favourite stay on our 18 day trip of Japan. Upon check in, we were given the opportunity to book the private outdoor Onsen at no extra cost. Other ryokan charge for this privilege. The outdoor Onsen was fantastic, private, large and beautiful in the snow. We were shown to our room by one of the staff who sat us down in our room and poured us tea to welcome us. As we checked out and left, two lovely staff members showed us out to the street and then watched us and waved until we were all the way up the street and out of sight.

I didn't like that we didn't stay longer. In addition, showers weren't included with our room and showering was done at the public baths in the ryokan. We were aware of this, but might be a shock to anyone expecting or used to a private shower.

The main purpose of visiting was taking an outdoor onsen (an amazing experience that now I want to do more often). The owners are welcoming and kind, they do their job with love and effort! It was also my first time trying traditional Japanese dinner - I'm glad I decided to order it (the breakfast was great too). They also sell nice souvenirs. There is Snow Monkey park not far from the town, I highly recommend to visit! As well as two local cafes I also visited: CASE山ノ内 and Tea Salon Miyako.

The bedding (especially the blanket) is warm but the room overall was little chilly. So I would recommend to bring some warm fluffy socks and pajamas to wear while you use toilet, sink or just stay in the room (they provide a Japanese-style bathrobe but I didn't want to wear it before onsen experience).