Outstanding staff; always friendly and helpful (before and during the stay). Authentic ryokan within walking distance of the Snow Monkey Park. The highlights were the meals and private bath. Highly recommend booking with dinner and breakfast included (at check-in we were offered dinner seating times at 6, 6:30 and 7PM; breakfast seating times offered were 7:30, 8 and 8:30AM). The meals were course-after-course of beautifully prepared foods (you will not walk away hungry). In addition to having two public baths onsite (one for men, one for women), a private bath is available onsite (booked in 50 minute increments) suitable for 1-4 people. If you want to ensure bath availability--or meal timing--request in advance. I believe they can also assist with visits to local baths, but we found their baths perfect for our use. Additionally, they have a shuttle to the Snow Monkey Park at 9:45AM (sign-up during check-in)--they don't offer a return shuttle, though it's a beautiful hour-long walk back. Finally, they offer a very useful shuttle to the train station (request time at check-in: 9:05, 9:30, 10:20, or 10:50AM).

This is not related to the lodging, but ensure you have a solid transportation plan to get to/from the area (schedules change throughout the year). There is a Snow Monkey Park voucher that includes train/bus to/from Nagano, entrance to the park, etc. It's a good deal--but more important, it's flexible and convenient.

Overall hospitality of the staff, kaiseki dinners and breakfasts and onsen facilities were simply outstanding! It is conveniently located not too far away from Snow Monkey park.

The kaiseki dinner was incredibly delicious but VERY generous, almost more than I could handle! I'd suggest to make individual courses a bit smaller, I'd hate to waste wonderful food and leave anything on the table. I guess it is a good problem to have!

Convenient access to monkey park. Owner involvement in meeting & greeting us, despite language challenges. Nice meals.

Overall very good, but could have been great if: a) better attention to communication before check-in. I asked regarding arrival pickup from station weeks before, but response was late (actually almost reaching Yudanaka!) b) since monkey park is so near Masuya, perhaps can offer guests pick-up also (& I'm willing to pay if required) Much opportunity to improve.

Authentic Japanese style accommodation but with private bathroom and toilet in our room. Very quiet and comfortable. First time for us sleeping on futon on tatami, and all the customs of the Japanese inn were explained to us by the amazing staff. Speaking of which, the staff were incredibly welcoming and took great care to make us happy and comfortable. We learned so much and increased our vocabulary of Japanese words, and they were very patient and good-humoured with us. We chose to book all inclusive with dinners and breakfasts, without making any special requests or dietary requirements, so we left it all to chance whether we would enjoy it. The food was very different to western style, and was a bit of an adventure, but every dish was presented beautifully and it was obviously made with great care. And we ate so much! Left the table full and satisfied every time, and tried many new things. Very high quality. At the inn you are supplied with yukata (cotton robes) and slippers to wear in your room and throughout the property. We wore the yukata to dinner and breakfast and most other guests did too. The whole experience was so much more than a place to stay, it was an immersive cultural experience we will never forget. If you want to try a Ryokan or Japanese accommodation but worried about how you will go as a westerner, don't worry, and we highly recommend Masuya. Convenient to Snow monkey park, onsens, and the ski area is just a short way up the mountain.

Our stay at Wafu-no-Yado was nothing short of amazing. We booked a half-board stay (breakfast and dinner included) and it was the best decision we made. Our meals were carefully prepared and tasted so good (even better than some omakase courses we've had in Japan). We found ourselves looking forward to meals! The private onsen and shower area in our room was also amazing. The ryokan staff were so hospitable and caring, and did everything they could to ensure our stay was comfortable and pleasant. There truly isn't anything to dislike about our stay. Would totally come back!

We loved everything about this place - the location right on the main onsen town street, their own onsen, the wonderful dinners nd breakfast, and the very attentive service. The first night we arrived late, tired and hungry to find out that we need cash for the sushi that was the only one still open. They were so kind and generous, and realizing the despair, that the person at the front desk hoped in her can and drove us to an ATM that was 20 mins away. this level od attantivnedd remained throughout our stay. We enjoyed it so much we extended a day.

Stunning location right along the riverbank and a short drive from the snow monkey park. The open air onsen was the best part of the entire trip and was very clean and spacious (perfect for the winter season!). The rooms were clean and well stocked with amenities and snacks/tea. The futons were super soft! The kaiseki dinner was a wonderful experience and my group and I (8 people) were lucky to have an entire room reserved for us along with a view of the river. The staff here were so incredibly accommodating and made the treck out here worth it! They took our entire group up to the snow monkey park with a private bus owned by the property, as well as managing to fit all 8 of us (suitcases and all) to be driven to the local train station. I could not have asked for a better place to stay here in Nagano, and will definitely come back if given the opportunity! 本当にありがとうございました！楽しかった。絶対戻ってきます！ヽ(´▽｀)/

Nothing! Everything was perfect. The staff do know english (though limited) but knowing Japanese helps you go a long way

I wish we spent more than just one night here. Yamanoichi is fantastic and this Ryokan is great. The onsen was super nice! The dinner and breakfast were both really good. The staff were all super nice. A couple of our group members had tattoos and we had no problems using the onsens. They were not crowded on the weekday that we were there. We were in a room with a private bath. The room was spacious. The private bath could probably fit 2-3 people in it. There's many onsens on the street, I recommend going and exploring and collecting the stamps from them. The snow monkeys are also around an hour walk from the Ryokan.

Everything was truly exceptional. The room was clean and spacious, with everything you might need. The staff was very polite and helpful. There is an option to reserve a private onsen for an additional charge, but we used public baths and found that in less busy times (during the day and in the morning) we had the onsen to ourselves. There are baths both inside and outside, the experience in all of them was great. If you have the means, we suggest booking a kaiseki dinner and traditional breakfast. They truly added to our experience. There were transfer options for pick-up from the station to the hotel and back +they can take you to the Snow Monkey Park in the morning. Getting there from Nagano station was extremely easy.

This is an amazing ryokan. It is well Staffed and every single person was very nice and helpful. They will pick you up at the train station and have a once daily shuttle to the snow monkey park. There is also a regularly scheduled shuttle back to the train station. The osens are clean, well provisioned and so relaxing. As good as all that is, the food is what makes this ryokan. It is top quality in presentation, freshness and taste. The location is also great. While not in Shibu Osen proper and thus no access to the shibu onsen’s onsens, it ‘ts back door opens up to the main street which makes strolling through Shibu onsen super convenient.

The public areas and room decor are a bit dated, but it is clean and I think actually ads to the charm.