Bessho Onsen Ryokan Hanaya

It was a wonderful Accommodation that preserves the atmosphere of the Taisho era. I’ve decided this will be my go-to Accommodation for repeat stays in the future.

We stayed here on a couples’ trip. It was our first time traveling to Nagano, and while looking for an Accommodation and wondering where to go, we came across the samurai residence at Ryokan Hanaya and decided to stay—something we looked forward to very much.During the guided tour of the property, we were able to see various Rooms across the vast grounds, and it truly felt like an Accommodation filled with history. Staying in the samurai residence itself was also a valuable experience. The moment we opened the door, it felt as if a breeze passed through; while sensing the building’s age and history, we also found that cleaning and upkeep were thorough, so it was clean and comfortable. The amenities were more than sufficient.The open-air bath in our Room was wonderfully quiet with no unnecessary noise; hearing only the sound of flowing water outside created a lovely atmosphere, and we could soak slowly and relax. Our skin felt silky smooth afterward. The large marble public bath was also an interesting experience.For dinner, we changed to a course recommended by the Accommodation and chose the matsutake mushroom course. We enjoyed more than enough seasonal autumn flavors, and overall we were very satisfied with the content. However, dinner was served in our Room, which required many stairs up to reach it—I wondered if this might be difficult for the attendants. Also, there were fairly long gaps before each next dish arrived; by the time the steak was brought out, it had already cooked through quite a bit. There was also some waiting after ordering drinks, so we ended up having wine from our Room instead. Dining in the restaurant might have been better for us. Still, everything was carefully prepared; overall it was delicious and we were very satisfied.There is just one very disappointing point. We loved both the Onsen and our Room, enjoyed our meals greatly, and even after returning home we talked about wanting to visit again—when my husband received a call from the Accommodation asking him to confirm how many bottles of wine from our Room had been consumed. I called back to ask what this meant and was told: “This was due to an error on our staff’s part; we are sorry.” Even though they had resolved it internally at their end beforehand (apparently), there had been no prior notice or explanation given directly to us until that call came through later—leaving us feeling very uncomfortable. We have never experienced anything like this while traveling before, so unfortunately it became one of our disappointing memories from this trip.Even so, when looking back at our photos I still feel it is a place I would like to visit again—and I hope such mistakes will not happen in future for other guests as well.