Hoshinoya

Hoshinoya is a resort in the town of Karuizawa, about an hour from Tokyo on the Shinkansen line to Nagano. It is a blissful place and a great spot to chill out, sort of the anti-Tokyo.

Hoshinoya is an onsen (hot springs) resort built along -- or just about on top of -- a river, and water influences everything. You hear the sound of water everywhere when you're outside -- listen carefully and the sound is coming from multiple directions. There are two communal baths for guests, one a traditional indoor/outdoor onsen, and the other an indoor "meditation spa." The latter is special, and includes a set of rooms that grow increasingly dark.

There are 3 restaurants -- casual Japanese, formal Japanese, and casual French. I've stuck to the 2 Japanese ones (including a kaiseki room service set); the food and presentation were perfectly acceptable, but by no means exceptional.

The room accommodations are contemporary and comfortable. My room has an entryway, a bedroom with platform bed, living area with table and day bed, and a terrace with small table and day bed. As I recall, there are several different room styles available. Hoshinoya is not a small place by any means (maybe 50-60 suites?), and not all of the terraces seem especially private. The midweek clientele includes lots of families. As best I can tell, I'm the only Westerner here, but many of the staff do speak some English.

Karuizawa is at about 1000m/3300ft, so it's chillier than Tokyo. Fall colors have just begun, and there are plenty of trails for walking and enjoying the scenery. A few more photos: