Okay so you’ve just landed in Tokyo after a rather long, tiresome flight! What better way to nurse the jet-lag and sooth your muscles than a couple of days spent hopping in and out of Japanese onsen baths.
We highly recommend heading to Shibu Onsen to start you trip in true, traditional Japanese fashion.
Shibu Onsen was everything we had pictured of traditional Japan! An old town in the valleys, surrounded by forest and snow-capped mountains. Its charm is still intact and cobbled streets wind past ryokens, onsens and old, inviting restaurants. It was a peaceful little place!
The spa town is the main draw for most visitors to the area but there’s also good skiing and snowboarding, and it’s a great base for visiting the snow monkey park.
About Shibu Onsen
Shibu Onsen is a traditional spa town with a long history that dates back over 1,300 years. It’s a place that’s frequented by many visitors, and in the past perhaps even visited by the odd priest or samurai.
The town is located along the Yokoyugawa river, the scenery is beautiful and the streets are lined with traditional shops, restaurants and old wooden ryokans (Japanese Inns). There are also plenty of shrines and temples to discover and you’ll see people in yukata robes as they make their rounds to and from the local bathing spots.
As you explore the town you’ll find places to dip your feet in the hot springs, places to drink warm spring water, and there’s even fresh eggs boiled in spring water. There’s also a number of small shops around the town that specialise in items such as origami, or locally produced sweets called onsen manju – a type of small bun that’s filled with red bean paste.
Onsens
The nine Soto-Yu baths are located in Shibu Onsen and each one is believed to hold different healing properties. It is popular for visitors to visit and soak in each of the nine baths as it is said to bring good fortune, however you will need to be staying in one of the traditional inns to visit them all, as they require a master key. There are also other onsens visitors can use such as Oyu, the town’s largest bath.
If you plan on visiting all nine baths during your stay then don’t forget to grab a junyoku towel with the names of each bath on it. These towels make for a great souvenir, you can purchase them for a small fee from one of the town’s shops. Once you have a towel you can visit all nine baths and get it stamped at each one, followed by one final stamp at the temple. It is popular belief that you will then be granted divine favors.
Ryokans encourage guests and visitors to wear a yukata robe and wooden geta sandals around the streets as this is the traditional dress to wear when visiting onsens.
The onsens have two separate areas, one for men and one for women. We also arranged to use a private, outdoor onsen through our accommodation, this allowed us to bathe together.
Snow Monkeys
The Snow Monkey Park is located in the Yokoyu River Valley and is just a short journey from Shibu Onsen. The valley is surrounded by steep cliffs, and is usually covered in snow, It’s also where hot water comes steaming up to the earth’s surface and creates natural hot springs. Visitors flock here each year to see a special group of Japanese Macaques that bathe in the natural hot springs. These are the only known group to exhibit this behavior.
Upon entering the park from the drop-off point there is a gradual 15 minute walk up to the ticket office, from there you will be directed along a short path towards a hot spring where the maqacues bathe.
When we arrived it was raining hard but to our surprise there were around 15 monkeys relaxing in the hot springs. It was fascinating to watch, and good to see that the monkeys honestly didn’t seem threatened or bothered by us humans.
We definitely recommend coming here if you plan on visiting Shibu Onsen, but try to arrive early as it can get crowded around the hot spring.
Most accommodations in Shibu Onsen will offer guests a shuttle service to the snow monkey park, alternatively you can take a leisurely stroll, and there are also buses that go between the town and the park.
Location
Shibu Onsen is located in the Shimotakai District of the Nagano Prefecture.
Getting There
It takes around 2 hours 30 minutes to get Shibu Onsen from Tokyo. The quickest way is to get a Shikansen train from Tokyo Station to Nagano Station, and from there you can get the limited express, electric railway.
If you don’t have a JR pass, the cheapest way will be to get a bus from Tokyo to Nagano Station. There are a number of daily buses that go there, but we can recommend the Willer Bus.
Where To Stay In Shibu Onsen
We recommend staying at a traditional ryokan in Shibu Onsen, but if you can’t find accommodation there, then Yudunaka is a good alternative. Yudunaka is also an onsen town that is only a short walk or bus ride from Shibu Onsen.
We stayed at Koshiya Ryokan, which we highly recommend. It doesn’t have it’s own onsen and you aren’t able to go to the nine Soto-Yu baths, but you can use two other public baths very nearby or the amazing private bath like we did. There are set times for booking the baths and the staff will take you to them and pick you up. One of the owners was also kind enough to pick us up from the train station when arrived.
We really enjoyed our stay in this old ryokan. The owners are very helpful, the breakfast is delicious and they provide yukata robes, slippers and wooden geta sandals to make the experience even more traditional. Hotels and ryokans can be expensive in Shibu Onsen and Koshiya offered excellent value for money.
Where To Eat In Shibu Onsen
There are a number of restaurants in Shibu Onsen and nearby Yudunaka. Many of the restaurants sell soba noodles, ramen dishes or sushi.
We ate at Koshiya Ryokan, which is where we stayed and the food was delicious. It offers a western style menu with tasty and beautifully presented curries, spaghetti and pizza.
We also went to Soba Yariya, a small, traditional Japanese restaurant specialising in soba noodles, including the local buckwheat soba noodles. It’s easy to miss this restaurant as there wasn’t a menu outside, but we went in anyway and were so pleased we did. The food was delicious and great value and the whole restaurant had quirky memorabilia on its walls. Soba Yariya is just a few doors down from Koshiya Ryokan and can be recognised by more quirky memorabilia being presented on the outside of the restaurant.
If you’re looking for more Japan inspiration check out these posts:
