Zenkōji Temple 善光寺 
Amazing onsen at Yorozuya Annex Yurakuan |
After a brief stop at Zenkōji Temple 善光寺 near Nagano Station 長野駅, we took the train to Yudanaka Onsen 湯田中温泉 for an overnight stay at Yorozuya Annex Yurakuan よろづやアネックス湯楽庵, a dated hotel with stunning outdoor hot springs - the best I've been to in Japan.
The whole place is quite dated and not very well-maintained so not really worth the pricey stay, but the outdoor hot spring bath on the Momoyama 桃山風呂 side is absolutely gorgeous, with the facade of an old wooden Japanese house/temple, stone lanterns, bamboo and other trees like you're bathing in a beautiful Japanese garden's pond. It's just incredible lit up at night - like a dream to the past. 2pm to 9:30 pm for women and 10 pm to 9:30 am for men - the other way around for the baths on the other side. Other indoor and outdoor baths are decent enough. Our package included a private 30-minute bath - it's nothing special but pretty large. High quality local food that's very well-made for dinner & decent breakfast buffet. One of us doesn't eat seafood so we made a note on the booking site and they did a great job substituting many of the dishes! The main building looks much better than the annex. Wifi works well. Good service-the receptionist eagerly explained everything upon check in. Free shuttle leaving for Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park 地獄谷野猿公苑 at 9 am and returning at 11 am. If you leave your bags at reception, they drop it off for you for free at a cafe called Miyako (都) next to Lawson by the station. Around here, it's a 20-minute walk from Yudanaka Station to Shibu Onsen 渋温泉 up the river where you can easily spend an hour wandering the very atmospheric little streets. |
by the entrance of Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park |
ground quite slippery in December |
Best souvenir ever! |
Nagano soba tea, good for hay fever |
