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Reviews of Shimaya

2.5 out of 5
Shimaya
Yudanaka Onsen, Yamanouchi, Nagano-ken

Reviews

9.2

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 109 out of 174 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 50 out of 174 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 12 out of 174 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 174 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 174 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

9.6/10

Staff & service

7.8/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.6/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Paige, Tokyo

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing stay at Shimaya. The owners, as mentioned in other reviews are outstanding. Gave us a ride to the Snow Monkeys and were very helpful. The breakfast (¥700) was simple and quick - toast, fruit, yoghurt, coffee and juice! Onsen was clean and great. We were on the fourth floor and the views were unreal. Will for sure be returning in the winter!
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

kelly

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Thomas Frank

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2024

6/10 Okay

Thomas

Traveled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Very traditional japanese style accommodation. Was decent accommodations, but a bit expensive.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
This is a small ryoken (bed and breakfast). You can reserve a private onsen (where you and your opposite gender companion) can bath together. The proprietor is nice and gave us a ride to see the snow monkeys. He spoke some English which was helpful as an American and the messages of gratitude from many countries and languages all over the walls suggest that many other travelers from all over the world had good stays.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Hannah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly recommended ryokan
If I could rate Shimaya an 11 out of 10, I would. The inn itself was so charming and wonderful, and that's long before you get to the wonderful hosts' hospitality, joy, and kindness. When we shared our plans for Nagano, we were told we HAD to check out Obuse...which was a worthwhile stop on our trip and definitely added to the richness we enjoyed in Japan! Thank you so much.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Deborah

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Rolando

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff managing the hotel are warm & very helpful.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

John-Ross

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Shimaya is a traditional inn with comfortable futons on tatami flooring. Nicely hot onsen, unique deep soaking bath in the room. Owners are lovely and it was extremely useful to be driven to the monkey park in time for it opening. That's a taxi fare of about 2000 yen so a generous honour provided by the owners. Great location

10/10 Excellent

Melanie

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very comfortable, clean, and close to snow monkeys!! Owner was very hospitable, drove us to/from snow monkey park. Thank you for a very memorable stay!
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lilian

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

4/10 Poor

Robyn

Traveled with group, Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Although the room was spacious and parking was included, this was a very disappointing stay. The Onsen was dirty, the facility was extremely old and in need of an update. The breakfast was expensive for what you got. They did not restock breakfast, just not worth it. There is no elevator, the bedding is old and there are barely any restaurants around. We went to Goen restaurant - which was good… but also the only one open and nearby. Would not stay here again.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

Albert

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hos was really nice
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

SYDNEY

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Stay
The man at the front desk is the sweetest. He drove us to/from the monkey park at no extra cost. Highly recommend the onsen. You do need to book a timeslot with the hotel. The room was cozy and clean. All 4 of us slept great. Not much to do in the area but the snow monkeys and mountain views were worth it for 1 night.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Thomas Frank

Stayed 5 nights in Jan 2023

10/10 Excellent

Cara

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing place to stay. The onsen was perfect after seeing the monkeys. Got a ride up and back by the owner.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Naomi

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The owner was very kind. He gave us a ride to the monkey park and to the train station.

10/10 Excellent

Hayden

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great stay. Mr Yumoto was super friendly and accomodating.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Old but clean ryokan with indoor onsen not outdoor
This was the first time we stayed at a ryokan. We expected this hotel to be quite old but it’s surprisingly clean, from tiles to tiles! Toilet’s location in the room is unusual to us for it is kind of outside of the room at the enclosed balcony area. We are still glad that it is a private toilet and we have private bathroom. It is a bit pricey for ryokan not including breakfast. One thing which is a bit misleading in the property description is the outdoor onsen. It was the main reason why we booked this ryokan, but found out they only have access to that outdoor onsen. We had to pay extra 600 yen per person and walked a little to get there which is like backyard of another house. And we couldn’t shower there so it made me wonder how clean the onsen was.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022

8/10 Good

Prudence

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This was our second trip to stay at Shimaya. Very convenient to Yudanaka Station and free shuttle to Snow Monkey Park are a must for us with young children. Breakfast teas delicious but unfortunately western style was not available. All staff are VERY friendly and all speak English. Staff will assist at all times.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2022
Response from Shimaya on 2022/2/18
Thank you for your stay. We are thinking of improving the Western-style breakfast so that it can be accommodated in the future. We want to help make your trip a memorable one. Please come and visit us when you come here again.

10/10 Excellent

Nagayya

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021
Response from Shimaya on 2022/2/19
Thank you for your high evaluation

8/10 Good

Justin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2021

10/10 Excellent

Aaron

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great family hotel.
The owners are very nice and helpful. They offered to drive us to the monkey park. The indoor onsen was quite nice as well.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Friendly, accommodating proprietors. Available breakfast, tasty and convenient.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Ryan

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stellar Experience
This hotel was amazing! Definitely worth the effort to get to. Ryokan style room is wonderful plus a traditional Yukata to boot. The family that runs the place are very gracious. They are kind enough to shuttle you to and from the Monkey Park. Both the indoor onsen and the outdoor is an incredible experience! This has been my fondest memory of my trip! I deeply regret only staying here for 1 night and will be sure to stay here again!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Our host was fantastic! Gave us a ride to and from the Monkey Park. He also offered to take us to the train station. Breakfast was enjoyable!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

SUMMER

Traveled with family
Liked: Staff & service
This ryokan is a cosy place to stay. The hospitality of the old couple running the inn is really good and sincere. The owner will offer a complimentary ride to and fro the snow monkey park, The downside is that this place is about 700m from the train station up the slope and the town is not very lively after dark. The owner will kindly give some recommendations. However the rooms are very dated and the toilet very small. Only very basic amenities are provided like 3 sachets of wash for a family of 4 over 2 days. A change of towels required 100 yen, Considering that we are paying a hotel room's rate for this ryokan, the lack of amenities is a bother. Also the futon sheets are not too clean. My children were bitten by dust mites all over, Overall it is the hospitality is great but entirely not my top choice to stay in given the price we paid.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Mr Yumoto drove us twice to the snow monkey park. He also arranged an outdoor private onsen for us on the roof top. He even provided us with brochures for our next stop in Japan. Their Japanese breakfast was superb. Super cute family owned ryokan and a very pleasant stay!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Charlene

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Shelly

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely traditional ryokan
My friend and I stayed for one night in this traditional ryokan. Mr Yumoto and his wife we’re lovely. We ordered breakfast for the morning; one western style and one Japanese style. Both were great and filling. We got a phone call at 8am to say breakfast was ready. We did not use the Onsen due to limited time. The host collected us from Yudanaka Station after I messaged him so state our arrival time.it is a 2 minute drive uphill. He also gave us a lift to and from the snow monkey park in the morning and let us use his selection of wellies as it was muddy that day. He gave us a lift back to the station. Overall a lovely stay. Thank you :)
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Joshua

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Kindest host ever
The owner of this place made my stay wonderful and was a highlight of my entire trip to Japan! He is one of those people who loves helping his guests find the enjoyment in the local sights so he's very involved in making sure you're getting the best out of your trip. Very much enjoyed his hospitality, would stay here again!!
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Tara

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely hotel ryokan
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Shimaya. Mr Yumato was very kind in recommending various places to visit that were perfect for our interests. Ms. Yumato prepared a lovely Western breakfast that filled us up for our trip to see the monkeys in the park. Parking was easy and free just across the street. The baths onsite and the outdoor bath just a short walk away were so nice and relaxing. Everything was clean and quaint. Definitely recommend a stay here and visit to the area!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Ichiro made sure we were well taken care of! The inn was clean, beautiful, and had plenty of amenities! We enjoyed two of the onsens in our one night stay. Ichiro makes sure that your stay is nothing short of fantastic! We would absolutely stay here again.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
They provide great services including driving us to and from the snow monkey park, change the onsen to private for me and my husband. Their breakfast is delicious. We had a very nice holidays. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Yamato.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Stella, Singapore

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The property is a bit old. Regardless, the service made up for it! The owner drove down to train station to pick us up and also sent us to the snow monkey park! Despite being old, it has everything you need and I would still recommend this place to anyone who visits!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Anson

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Mr Yumoto was more helpful in bringing me and my wife to the snow monkey park and to the train station on our departure, he has also readily suggested routes to take when we said we will just be walking around the town. Would definitely stay at Shimaya again if i ever head to yudanaka again.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This is a traditional six generation Japanese stay. We absolutely loved it! Mr and Mrs Yumoto are great hosts, very friendly and accomodating. We requested and were given a traditional Japanese breakfast one morning. It was delightful. One of our main reason for our stay was to visit the Snow Monkeys. This location is absolutely perfect. Just down the street from the Yudanaka train station. Our hosts gave us a ride to and from the park which made the stay that much more awesome. These accomodations offer Private Men and Women Onsen's and a shared one as well. There is also a private outdoor Onsen option a few minutes walk away which Mr. Yumoto took us to himself. We watched the sunset it was so nice and the temperature was perfect. We highly recommend the Shimaya for your stay in Yamanouchi. John and Michelle from BC, Canada.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Sung

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing owner!
I think I have left a positive review already and I would like to add that the owner of the hotel is more than Kind to the guests. He gave me more information than the information centre and he took me to the snow monkey park at the extra cost and moreover he gave me information about the neighbour city such as Obuse and I feel grateful that I was able to make a visit to Obuse on the way to Tokyo and I discovered a very interesting and very cultural small town.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This property has a very non Western, traditional Japanese style which was a lot of fun. The staff is so helpful and friendly. Don’t skip the breakfast they offer for an extra charge, it was delicious and well worth it!! The player piano in the background was a nice touch.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The owners of this small hotel are very friendly and kind. They shuttled us back and forth from the train station and the monkey park. We had a really heavy luggage and there is no elevator but they helped us carry our bags up three flights of stairs.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Joanne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic place to stay
Fantastic stay, host are amazing and happy to help in anyway. Highly recommend the private Onsen experience.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Very good stay. The owner Mr. Ichiro Yumoto was exceptionally friendly. He explained the local area, gave me a ride to the entrance of the park in the morning, picked me up when I was ready to go back, and even took me to the station (which was just a few minutes walk downhill). All this without my asking! He offers boots, boot grips and umbrellas to borrow, if needed. There is also onsen at the hotel. Japanese-style breakfast was good. I highly recommend this place.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is a very worn facility; it felt like it last got attention in the 1970s. Though the toilet was described as en suite, it was actually outside on the balcony. The proprietor never offered or explained the onsen facilities and was helpful only in the ways he wanted to be helpful. He did drive us to the Snow Monkeys but he insisted we wear mudboots, which were ill-fitting and falling apart. He was not available at check-in and the rest of his staff could not help, so we had to wait. We had to wait at check-out too; one group missed their train because they could not check out in a timely fashion. For the price we paid, I expected more.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

DB

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Shimaya is a great choice in Yudanaka. The hosts are extremely helpful, arranging drop off and pick up to the snow monkey park, lending gumboots and generally providing very useful advice. The breakfasts are good value. For a small additional fee, Yumoto-san can book you in to an outdoor onsen with a great view- wonderful to do on a cold Winter night. It’s also easy walking distance to the station, Lawson and local restaurants. We would happily return!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018