Shibu Onsen Sakaeya

The staff were all so welcoming & friendly, the room was great. Highly recommend adding on the meals as they were really special. We loved our stay. Thank you!

Not a negative, but just be aware there is no shower in your room, the hotel public onsen however is 24 hours and the facilities are great.

We had an unforgettable stay at Sakaeya, which was our first time in a ryokan. The building, well-located in Shibu Onsen, is large with a few floors and quite a number of rooms, but feels very peaceful and quiet when walking through it. The traditional room was comfortable and spacious, and the staff fantastic. The public onsen in the hotel is clean, modern and large, and we particularly enjoyed the outside area. The dinner far exceeded all of our expectations, and was a highlight of our whole trip in Japan. We found the price to be largely justified by the quality of the amenities, meals and service.

Everything was perfect

It was perfect - the most special stay. It was the most expensive hotel of our trip but worth every penny and more. The staff were wonderful, the room was exceptional, private onsen brilliant and the food was incredible. We've eaten at a lot of fancy restaurants but this was up there with the best of them. Really special to have your own private dining space and server. It's fab to wander around and try the local onsens too - the hotel provides towels, shoes, Yukata and key to the onsen. This wasn't as daunting as expected (as westerners) but we still preferred the private one at Sakaeya the best. Didn't want to leave and felt privileged to stay here. Shibu onsen is beautiful - do explore!

Before arriving, i loved the fact that they were so responsive with our messages. The property even texted us about our arrival time since we got lost and only arrived past 9pm. The property itself is very well maintained. The room was spacious for my 4yo to roam around and play. They also had a lounge where they had hanko, coloured pens, crayons and even water colours. My 4yo loved going there to pass the time. We were also given complimentary yukata to wear around town. It was a first experience wearing one for my family. Definitely go for their breakfast options. They served traditional Japanese breakfast in a private room. And the menu was never a repeat.

Eating options for dinner may be limited. Please bring some food ration in case of emergencies.

Beautiful boutique-feeling ryokan with really wonderful staff. We celebrated two birthdays and I was able to coordinate the delicious cakes over email. They even helped us take a photo and printed it out so we all had a little souvenir <3 So thoughtful! The rooms and building were lovely, as was the outdoor onsen. We did the private onsen experience too which was a little extra, but worth it especially to spend time with a partner. Food was tasty and yukatas were very pretty. Felt like a little dream.

Harder to get to without a taxi. But do-able and not an issue for us!

Everything about our stay at Sakaeya was a perfect experience. The facilities were wonderful, very clean and well-maintained. The hotel hot spring baths (indoor and outdoor) were so clean and relaxing, and the reserved private spa in particular was an exceptional experience (highly, highly recommend this). Our reservations included breakfast and dinner, both of which were fun experiences with absolutely delicious food. Every staff member we talked with was extremely kind and accommodating. The surrounding Shibu Onsen area and public baths were delightful as well. I'm extremely glad my friends and I were able to stay here, and would highly recommend this ryokan to anyone visiting the area.

This is an excellent place to stay. The staff are exceptional and the food for breakfast and dinner is wonderful. Very Japanese and traditional food which is hard to experience elsewhere. The amount of food is very generous. The room we had was very spacious, including a private onsen with view and all standard western facilities. It was fun to dress in traditional dress for dinner, although this was our choice. It complimented the special dinners presented and explained to us. There is only a small amount of English spoken in the Ryokan but enough to get by. All staff are very helpful in this regard and those staff that have some English, were assigned to us for our stay. I now understand why other reviews are so positive.

It would be great if they had a separate bar in the hotel however there is a small liquor shop down the road and you can have a drink with dinner. Hard to find other bars open in this small community however that is part of this unique village.

Great experience staying at Sakaeya. Staff were all really friendly and helpful. Both indoor and outdoor public baths were clean, large and comfortable to use, equipped with amenities you need. Service was excellent. Staff really pay attention to personal preferences and requests. The staff we interacted with spoke some english so communication was fine for us (also helped that we understood some japanese) . We tried both their in house breakfast and dinner meals and it was extravagant and delicious (ideally you should book this in advance) . Location couldn't be better for you to access all the local public bath houses in shibu onsen, very walkable. You can also talk a nice long walk up the hill to see the snow monkeys. You're also encouraged to wear your yukata throughout the town, it makes it more magical.Price was worth it for the entire experience. Only wished we'd spent a bit longer there. Thank you for a wonderful time.

Nothing

Everything about Sakaeya was wonderful: we were greeted by friendly staff and had tea while they checked us in. (By the way, it was about a 2 minute walk from the Shibu Onsen bus stop, so very convenient to get to.) Our room was spacious, clean, and comfortable. Our dinner and breakfast were amazing, delicious, and filling, and we enjoyed exceptional service. I cannot think of anything negative to say about our stay here -- we would gladly come again!!

Nothing -- everything was exceptional!

This place was amazing! Such service! Beautiful, quiet, soothing ambiance, spacious rooms, bidet that senses when you are coming and opens up! We were blown away. We regret not getting the set dinner and breakfast because the Japanese meal experience in your room is really special, so make sure to book that! This onsen gives you keys to the 9 pools to try.

Nothing, except that the 9 pools are so hot I could only get into one of them without scalding myself. Maybe it's better in winter. The experience is still fun and unique.