Ryokan Biyunoyado

This ryokan is the perfect blend of East meets West! Here you can experience the magic of a traditional Japanese village while enjoying all the comforts of home. The rooms are spacious, extraordinarily clean, and have everything you need to relax. You can choose between a Japanese-style room, including futon beds, low tables and tatami mats, or select a western designed room with standard beds and furniture. Both are well appointed, thoughtfully furnished spaces. The staff speaks English, and cannot do enough to ensure that your every need is met. The onsens (traditional hot baths) are a delight! While visiting, you can use one of the beautiful indoor onsens, or splurge for a private rooftop open air experience. Meals at Ryokan Biyunoyado are something you absolutely must include in your stay. The Kaiseki feasts are out of this world in both quality and quantity! This kitchen prepares only the finest, freshest ingredients, and the dishes are incredibly diverse. For example, one such meal will include beef, chicken, sashimi, cooked fish, pork, and far too many side dishes to mention. The presentation is extraordinary, easily the finest we have had in all of Japan! Lastly, this hotel is perfectly situated, offering a wide variety of activities for every guest. The hotel provides shuttles to take you up the mountain for skiing or snowboarding in the colder months, or hiking in the warmer months. Just a few minutes away, you can see the famous Snow Monkeys who bathe in their own onsens! We are experienced travelers who have visited all 50 United States and over 60 countries around the world, and we can honestly say that Ryokan Biyunoyado is an exceptional value and a MUST if you are visiting Japan. It's just a train ride away from Tokyo, easy to get to and impossible to forget. Don't hesitate to visit this enchanting place, come visit the "real" Japan. We promise you won't regret it!

The breakfast and dinner was very good. The food was typically Japanese style which we loved, and there was plenty. We booked the rooftop onsen (for a fee), which was quite good. Though as we booked it at night time, you couldn't see any views. There was a cafe a block away, next to the post office, which was pretty good. The guy there is passionate about coffee and is worth checking out. Being from Melbourne and loving a good cup of coffee, my husband loved it. The pick up and drop off from the train station was handy.

Great Ryoukan! There is a van (shuttle bus) to and from the yudanaka train station to the ryoukan. You can also walk, but it's an uphill walk. The van will time things to be there when the trains arrive. The same van also takes people to the entrance of the snow monkey park and back. The return trips are timed so you can head straight to the train station again after a quick stop to pick up any luggage at the ryoukan. The room itself was amazing with incredible views. I was only on the 4th floor, the first floor with rooms, and it was incredible. Highly recommend booking the private onsen on rooftop. The traditional dinner and breakfast are also good, if you enjoy traditional Japanese meals. Staff was always helpful, and deferred to English speaking staff to help when needed.

We stayed 3 nights which I highly recommend to be able to fully experience everything this place has to offer. We had 2 traditional tatami rooms next to each other for our family of 6. While small and a bit hard to fit all our luggage it was what we expected for traditional Japanese rooms in a ryokan. We provided traditional Yukata dress which we wore to breakfast and dinner which was included in our cost. The traditional meals were delicious and so well prepared and served so beautifully in their dining room. The owner was present each evening, greeting all her guests and she even turned up one evening in a beautiful kimono. All their staff were so friendly. We used the private Onsen which were in the rooftop looking over the town. This was truly spectacular and so memorable. We also loved the big open lounge area which had amazing views over Yudanaka town. It was truly breathtaking to watch snow falling while sipping cocktails and hot chocolates from their bar. They also have their own gift shop which had lots of local sweets and biscuits which we loved. They also offer a free shuttle service to the snowfields and to the snow monkeys which was very handy.

The staff were incredibly helpful. Even driving us to the snow monkey park as we'd arrived earlier than the shuttle. Their english was really good and they were very happy to accommodate our needs. We stayed in the Deluxe Western Room with open air bath. The room was incredible. Reclining lounges, great size, super comfortable beds and personal balcony onsen! Soaked to our hearts content without leaving the comfort of our room! Hot onsen while snow falls is just beyond amazing. Location was nice and close to the station and food. They do station pick up and transfers and also run a shuttle to the monkey onsen park. Just a really great place to stay!