Beyond amazing. The owners are incredibly helpful and welcoming. They picked us up from the train station and took us to and from the monkey park, along with recommendations for the best restaurants in town. You don’t get this kind of service anywhere else. The town is gorgeous and the rooms have great views of the countryside. The private onsen was genuinely one of the nicest bath houses I’ve seen, better than major company ones. I think anyone who didn’t enjoy Shimaya has trouble enjoying anything in life. Stay here you won’t regret it!!!

It’s the smallest things here that makes the biggest difference. Really clean room, toilet and common onsen area. They leave a giant flask of hot water and new towels at your door each day. The personalised touch by the genuine owner to bring you to the monkey park and let you know what to do as clueless tourists. The simple and super affordable buffet breakfast that selects the best ingredients from milk to the bread. Private onsen that’s up for booking. It’s really pure and good water, skin felt soft and supple after. Most importantly, it really feels like a second home. It’s our second time being back and nothing has really changed, and we were so sad to leave. Shimaya and the owner is the reason why we’ll be back at Nagano again. 🙂

I stayed here in November, and had a great time. The owners (who speak English well) are very nice and drive all their guests to and from the monkey park. You can also walk to the monkey park in an hour. Its a very nice picturesque walk. It's also a 10 minute walk (up a short hill) from the Yudanaka train station, although there are taxis that meet every train if you want to take one. The Shimaya has a very nice outdoor onsen (natural hot spring bath) overlooking the city that you can use for $6 (It is worth it!) I stayed in a very large Japanese style room with bathrooms down the hall for a very good price. There are restaurants close by as well as a little food mart if you are on a budget. My room had a fridge. This is a very nice hotel and I would recommend it to anyone.

We had an amazing stay in Shimaya. Such a great place, very cozy. Ask the owner about tips and then just go and do it. It will be great! We stayed 4 nights in the private room on the 3rd floor and I think it was just perfect. After 2 months in Japan it was the first place that felt like being home :) Thank you very much!!!

The owners are so nice. They drove us to the monkey park and train station, we could bath in the Onsen even though it was super late and I assume already closed. Highly recommend it. Rooms are basic, but traditional Japanese. Excellent price/value

This is the best hotel I have stayed at in Japan. Traditional Japanese rooms, lovely 24/7 onsen on site and a wonderful host. The owner personally drove me to the snow monkey onsen in the morning (incredible experience by the way), gave me a great sushi recommendation for dinner and overall was so happy and helpful the whole time. 10/10 would stay here again!

The friendliness of the staff was incredible! I am glad I could talk to the owner and learn more about this place from him! The rooms are spacious and comfy, yukata was beautiful! I relaxed so much! I also relaxed the private bath. Just keep in mind that at a traditional Japanese ryokan, the bathrooms are usually shared 😇

We had a great three night stay here. The attentiveness of the hosts was a real standout for us. Yumoto San always greeted us when we were entering or leaving the hotel, gave us advice on where to eat, ski, or sightsee. Our room was nicely traditional, had great heating, and a great view. The hotel onsen was very handy. We also really enjoyed the outdoor onsen. Our only negatives were that the hotel is showing its age a bit and doesn't have an elevator - good for those that want to get their steps in, though!

Fantastic authentic Japanese inn with lovely local owners. Owner drove us to the Jigokudani Monkey Park free of charge, and showed genuine interest in our travel plans, offering advice where possible. Rooms are comfortable and the higher floors offer nice views of the mountains. Very accomodating and friendly to foreigners; would absolutely stay again.

I recently stayed at a hotel that exceeded all my expectations. The cleanliness was impeccable, and the staff was incredibly helpful and friendly. They went out of their way to assist us, from booking dinner reservations to providing accurate directions. When we accidentally left my husband's shorts in the hotel room, they even drove to the monkey park to bring them to us. Despite not having an elevator, they graciously helped us with our luggage. It was truly the best hotel experience I've ever had. I highly recommend this hotel for its exceptional service and kindness.

We have 02 nights in here and feel very supportive from the host. The room is comfortable. No elevator and public onsen is quite old with only 02 shower.

The owner was exceptionally accommodating, driving us to the monkey park and showing us a lovely route to walk back. Close walk to the train station. Would recommend

Shimaya is a nice ryokan with tatami floors, some good views of the city, and a very kind man running it. Expect to sleep on a futon bed on the floor. One pillow is provided per futon so if you need more, make sure to ask. Some of the rooms look out over the city below while others are on the side with more limited views. The ensuite shower room is traditional and has a small space for showering next to a deep, but narrow, tiled tub. I am a fairly large, 5'8" 235lb man but found the tub to be very comfortable. The toilet is in a separate ensuite room. There is a sink and mirror in the main sleeping area. Our room came with a small, usable balcony and also had windows that could be opened in the bedroom and bathrooms. The room also came with a tea making set and safe. As for other amenities, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and towels are provided. Shimaya does have an onsen located about a 3 minute walk away. The onsen is private and must be reserved at the front desk. Reservations are in 40 minute increments and cost 700 yen per person. The onsen could likely fit over 10 people and looks out over the city. Two words of warning: 1) The water is _extremely_ hot. I was eventually able to submerge fully, but it is no joke. 2) There are some nearby houses/buildings that overlook the onsen. These generally all had blinds in the windows and seemed empty, but it is a little strange compared to the total privacy we've experienced at other onsen. We still enjoyed it. See the attached pics of the onsen. Note that this ryokan does _not_ include access to all of the famous bathhouses in the historic district. Only a specific few do. One of them is available to the general public though. The man running the front desk (owner?) is very nice and helpful. He drove us to the entrance of the monkey park for free. He also lent us umbrellas for the day and helped answer a few questions about the town. We had a very enjoyable experience at Shimaya and definitely recommend staying there.

The hotel has traditional style rooms that are nice to experience if you’re in Japan. The owner offers great service by offering recommendations and he drove us to the monkey park. It’s clear that he takes hospitality seriously. The onsen was great too!

Great location, beautiful surrounding atmosphere, . Ichiro was friendly and helpful, it was lovely and great first impression of hotel. Everything about the hotel was exceptional. It was clean, stylish, with excellent service . The Room itself was well equipped and comfortable. I was very pleased with my stay. We hope to be back for a longer visit in the future. Ichiro was kind enough to drive us to the monkey park and also pick us up from the park.

We loved Shimaya and stayed in both 2018 and 2023. A ryokan that feels like you are staying in a family home. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. A good base for visiting the snow monkeys and Obuse. The food is amazing. The western breakfast room is an amazing step back in time. We will definitely return again to see our “Japanese family”.

The owner is really nice and helpful and does everything to make sure you have a pleasant stay! He drives you to the Snow Monkeys if you want and can give you other tips to walk back for instance. The place is a bit old but clean and has some really nice public and private onsen (for guests). One private onsen has a view overlooking the city and mountains, you have to pay for that one but it isn’t expensive (900 yen per person). The other onsen are free to use for guests.

Thank you Shimaya for the comfortable and enjoyable stay. The onsen was hot and refreshing. The service was impeccable, offering to drive us to and fro the snow monkey place. Lovely stay 🍎

Lovely place to stay for the snow and to explore Yudanaka. Snow monkey Park was great. Mr Ichiro is an amazing host and goes above and beyond, providing great dinner recommendations and suggestions of what to do.

Friendly and hospitable service is what made my stay a positive one. The family that runs this ryokan was very welcoming and went out of their way to take care of me while I was there. The car service to and from the monkey park was greatly appreciated. They even offered me some sturdy gumboots for the walk in the snow and showed me the live monkey cam before I went to the park. It is an easy walk from the train station and close to local restaurants and bars. The hotel itself is a bit old and in need of refurbishment, but the room was clean and comfortable and the duvet was thick and warm. The onsen located on the ground floor was small but clean and I appreciated having it all to myself during covid-19. Thanks for a lovely stay!

This ryokan was just what we needed. Warm greetings right out the gate. The room was traditional and felt like we went back in time. We ended up having the onsen to ourselves. Everything was perfect. We got a ride up to the snow park too. Definitely want to come back and can’t recommend it enough

Visited with a friend in November 2022. The place is at walking distance from Yudanaka Station, Shibu Onsen discrict and the famous Monkey Park. The room was larger and more comfortable than we expected, we slept very well and woke to the morning light seeping through the traditional screens. Most importantly, the owner was an absolute delight. We spoke Japanese to him, but he always has his translating apps and dictionary at hand to communicate with foreign guests. He kindly drove us to the Monkey Park after checking for us that the monkeys were there. He was very friendly and even taught us some Nagano dialect. The outside bath is currently not available, but we used the private international one to relax before bed.

We had a wonderfull stay at Shimaya. At first it felt a bit outdated but it is clean and Mr. and Mrs. Yumoto are the most incredible hosts. Mr. Yumoto drove us to the entrance of the Monkey Park for free. Let us borrow a pair of snow boots to walk the muddy path in the park. We haven't found this level of service anywhere else! We were lucky that we had the chance to enjoy a private onsen at Shimaya. This was a great experience. Free hot green tea at your Ryokan style room (no water or coffee). We opted for the traditional Japanese breakfast, which was fresh and tasted wonderfull. Definitely recommend this place if you are looking for an affordable good place to stay.

The owner Ichiro san was very helpful in giving us a personal ride to the Snow Monkey Park and even lent us some boots (free of charge) so that we don't get are shoes all muddy on the hike up. He also gave us some great recommendations for the rest of our trip. The staff were equally adorable and helpful. The building is not too far away from the train station. The rooms were spacious and clean and onsen was lovely. Overall I had no complaints during my stay.

They were very kind to us and drove us to monkey park. The service overall was amazing

It was a great stay in a Japanese style ryokan. Delicious dinner and breakfast in a private dining room, onsen which is open 24 hours inside, and for additional price another one in 3 min walking distance, where you can enjoy the sunset or the view on the moon. It is close to the Snow Monkey National Park where you can see the monkeys taking their bath in the nature. Also a good option for skiers as many ski resorts are within 20-30 minutes by car. Thank you, Yumoto family for the great service and helping us to get around. Definitely going to come back in summer! :)

Without doubt my favorite ryokan during my time in Japan! The first day we were directed to a nearby town to a beautiful traditional art museum and a series of buddhist mountain temples by the mountains, which had spectacular views, artifacts and art pieces from the monks.The scenery was beautiful and it was a relieve to walk in such a quiet and peaceful environment. Upon arrival to the Shimaya we were warmly welcomed by the staff and general manager, and their family and we were called by our names properly and we were given a special access to a nearby secret rooftop hot spring facility. The natural bath on the end of the first day was a great way to end the trekking. The staff was extremely friendly, the food was incredibly varied and very flexible (appreciate this!) so the cook deserves a special thanks. We had a great evening here, and the staff was kind enough to show us around the next day after breakfast on a separate hike after we took a morning bath in the in-house onsens which obviously also added up to our experience. The second day in the morning we visited the nearby Kannon Statue Temple and famed monkey hot springs at the heart of the Jigokudani Valley which we loved and I profusely recommend. I truly enjoyed walking the two of us through the onsen town and then through the forest to the valley. The atmosphere is so quaint and special that it really felt like home to me. All respect for the general manager and the family who does a great job here; a true sample of excellent hospitality, as attested by all the monkey art and messages left on the staircase mural/collage by the guests and talented artists of all origins who have stayed there!

Traditional Japanese guest house, 100% foreigner friendly, the staff is so nice and friendly.

My stay here was amazing the owner is great very helpful. The private onsen was very nice, little hot for my friends but I personally loved it. The rooms are nice with traditional futons for beds. My room didn’t have a private bathroom but they do offer rooms with those for at the time of this post $10 USD. I again cannot complement the owner of this hotel enough. Next time I come to Japan I will be staying here. Absolutely loved my stay.