Hotel berhampiran Shirabayashidai Camping Ground, Chino

今次本人是與家人自駕去長野縣旅行。若不是自駕的話，小水鳥酒店並不易到達。可能四月已過滑雪旺季。路上和酒店周邊的風景和氛圍都是一片冷清蒼涼。酒店據說翻新不久。所以設施乾淨企理。惟獨門前上斜波的樓梯級殘舊不堪。我們訂了酒店早餐和晚餐。食材都是本地新鮮產品。烹調味道尚可。因入住當天只有我們一組客人，貸切溫泉給我們一家輪流包場使用。一般般的沒有什麼問題。整體來說，這小小的酒店，沒有什麼令人不滿處，亦也沒有什麼驚喜之處。

一見地味なペンションですが、ご主人の独特の雰囲気、話題の豊富さが楽しみいっぱいでした。食事がないのも、自由な宿と捉えれば最高です。満喫させていただきました。

朝食が良かった。フルーツ盛りができるくらいフルーツが出る。肉、魚、野菜、惣菜があり、フライばかりに逃げていないところが好感持てます。ヨーグルトもあり、連泊しても飽きずに色々食べることができました。 ベットもシモンズでいいです。 椅子もしっかり背もたれでした。 温泉は小さいけれど本物でした。 ウォーターサーバがあったものプラスです。 紅茶、緑茶、ドリップコーヒーが部屋にあったのでお水を貰ってきて飲んでました。 早めに予約するとお得に泊まれるようですが、コスパはなかなか良いと思います。

I stayed in a room with an open-air bath. It was clean and the hot spring water was soft and made my skin smooth. We also visited the large bathroom downstairs, which was spacious and had nice spring water. Dinner was prepared in a separate private room. Again, this was a nice Japanese-style room with a relaxed atmosphere. The food was very tasty from the starters and I felt happy. And the staff were very helpful, both at the front desk and in the restaurant. She saw me off when I left, and at that point she pointed to the roof of the hotel and said, ”Look. I looked at the roof and saw a real heron perched on it. And when we got in the car and started driving away, the heron flew away too. That was the last service at the Saginoyu(Heron’s Bath).

We decided to stop in Suwa to break up a long drive back to Tokyo. Shinyu looked very good and the price was reasonable. The hotel is renovated and gives a nice modern spa hotel atmosphere. The greeting at the hotel is very nice and the lobby area is beautiful. We felt very welcomed when we arrived. Our room was facing the lake. It was Japanese style with tatami and futons. Nice room, nice view. The public bath was nice. Not huge but felt very good. They have an indoor bath, small outdoor bath, a sauna and a cold bath. Dinner was great, as was breakfast. They were both courses and delicious. Service? Well, this is what makes all the difference. When we book hotels we need to detail my daughter's food allergies which are serious. For this trip we had booked many hotels in a row and for some reason when we booked Shinyu and checked-in we just forgot. It was our fault and when we sat for dinner we saw her prepared meal that she obviously could not eat. The staff at Shinyu didn't miss a beat. The didn't make a big deal about it. No stress. The quickly adjusted and made a wonderful dinner for my daughter and also prepared for her breakfast in similar fashion. Wonderful. Such great service. Maybe the building isn't perfect. But the service was perfect. Shinyu was our last stop on our trip and we left with a smile. Shinyu gets an ”Excellent” from my family.

ロケーション、ホテルの設備、朝食、すべて良かったです。お勧めのホテルですね。しいて言うなら露天風呂が外ですが周りに囲いがしてあり景色が見れなかったのは残念ですが。

We stayed at Sui Suwako in late October as part of a long Honshu road trip, and we couldn't be more pleased with our experience at Sui Suwako. It's a hybrid Ryokan/Hotel of sorts... it's a 4-story building that lacks a grand entrance or massive property grounds. But it offers rooms that are modern and comfortably appointed, the Omotenashi hospitality of a family-run Ryokan, an onsen bath in each and every room (as well as a terrific rooftop co-ed bath) as well as a terrific Kaiseki dining experience. Given its location in the middle of Nagano, it also serves as a good overnight rest spot if you're coming to/from places such as Tokyo, Fuji, Nagano, the Hokuriku Region, Tsumago/Magome and Karuizawa. Sui Suwako is located on the banks of the enormous Lake Suwa (”Suwa-ko” in Japanese), although there's a somewhat busy road as well as a small park/boardwalk between the property and the lake itself. It's not in the most secluded of locations, but upon entering the building and walking into the reception/common area you'll find that Sui Suwako is an oasis of tranquility. The furnishings and decor are a combination of traditional and modern - liberal use of brightly-colored wood, large windows facing a small yet charming garden, the earthly tones of the furnishings and a smattering of Shoji (dividers that consist of white, semi-translucent sheets on a lattice frame) lend an airy, homely feel. The same is true in the rooms themselves - it's a country home-style feel that gives it a warm, inviting vibe to the entire place. There are a total of 8 rooms (2 on each of the 4 floors) with two slightly different room categories. We choose to stay in the larger of the two types, dubbed the ”Wide Japanese/Western-style Room with Open-air Hot Spring Bath, 75m².” It's slightly larger than the standard rooms, although every room contains a private, (semi-)open-air Onsen (hot springs) bath with views of Lake Suwa towards the far end of the room that also serves as a terrace of sorts. Our room was on the top (5th) floor with wonderful views of the lake, and was sufficiently spacious with a generously-sized living room and a separate bedroom with two large Western-style beds. Another neat feature of Sui Suwako is the open-air Onsen bath on the roof of the building. It offers commanding views of the lake, and it's also co-ed - unlike most Onsen baths, you're permitted to bathe in bathing suits, which allows for an enjoyable Onsen experience with friends and family of the opposite gender. And, given that only a maximum of 8 group of guests will be staying there at any given time, you're more than likely to have the bath all to yourself than sharing it with other guests. I recommend that you go just before dinner during the sunset hours. It's a gorgeous time to chill out and marvel at the beauty and serenity of the area. The dining experience was definitely a highlight. To start with, meals are served in one's own room (horray!) We love this aspect of the ryoka

レセプションは親切な応対。 本館のシングルに宿泊。設備はやや古いが掃除は行き届いていた。 大浴場は6Fにあり、夜と朝で男性用／女性用の入れ替え、露天風呂はやや狭かったが人が少なかったので気持ちよく入浴ができた。 朝食はバイキング形式。和食が中心で種類は多い。パンは3種類と少なかった。 たまたま宿泊した日に諏訪湖の花火大会があり、7階の観覧テラスが開放され、間近で見ることができた。

お仕事ではなく趣味のツーリング、信州周りで使わせていただきました。連休中ということもあって同じような方もたくさん、それだけツーリングにも向いているということでしょうか？ 到着日は寒かったのですが大浴場であったまれました。真夏だとしっかり汗を流せるでしょうか。 Wi-Fiの繋がりもよく、朝食バイキングも美味しくて、減点するところがありません。 またいきます。