Shinshu Shibu Onsen Kokuyaya

I stayed for a Multiple Night Stay of 2 nights.Because I made the Reservation for the second night later when availability opened up, I stayed in different Rooms on the first and second nights.In the Room on the first night, I enjoyed the nostalgic atmosphere of a kotatsu for the first time in a while, and it was such a wonderful Room that I was very satisfied.On the second night, I stayed in a truly luxurious Room with an Onsen bath, thoughtfully arranged so you can listen to music while soaking.The private baths inside the property were also excellent—some let you enjoy baths fed by multiple hot spring sources, and others allow you to reserve an exceptionally large public bath exclusively—so even just exploring the baths within the property was more than enough to enjoy.Advance Reservations were accepted until around 9:00 p.m., and after that it seemed possible to use them if they were available; since I couldn’t Reserve some of them in advance, I was still able to try all of the private baths throughout the night.When people think of Shibu Onsen, they often think of “the Nine Bath Tour,” and after doing it myself, I felt this Accommodation is in an excellent location for it.If you go left you reach Baths 1–3, and if you go right you reach Baths 4–9; Bath 9 (Oyu) is almost next door. Since Bath 3 and Bath 5 are about equally far away—the farthest points on each side—I felt this place is located almost right in the middle of all nine baths.In particular, having Bath 9 (Oyu), likely one of the busiest baths, so close by is very appealing for Onsen lovers.This is my personal preference, but I couldn’t find hot spring analysis information showing water quality for some of the Onsen (in-Room and public bath)—though I may have overlooked it—so I reduced my rating by one star.That said, I was very satisfied with the Onsen; judging from what could be seen floating in the water (yunohana), there’s no doubt about its quality.The water qualities vary from bath to bath; personally, I even felt therapeutic benefits at times, and I would like to return again.

As an Onsen Sommelier Master, I’ve been gradually visiting Onsen around Japan.The water quality in Shibu Onsen is truly wonderful. I was surprised at how many international visitors there were. The public bath tour was crowded, so I couldn’t visit them all… but I was able to enjoy almost all of the baths in the Ryokan.The staff were very friendly and welcoming, which made my stay relaxing.Thank you to Mr. Y-guchi on the male staff for all the enjoyable conversations. If you have time, please do come visit Niigata again.