Missed the hourly shuttle bus from Karuizawa station, so took a taxi there (2200 yen). Check in was fabulous, with a concierge walking you to your villa and making tea for you. Stayed in Riverside Villa no. 224 which was near to the private onsen, which is open 24 hours, luxurious and very exclusive. They provide yukata-type clothes and shawls,... More

My fiancée and I booked this Hotel/Modern Ryokan last minute when we decided to head out of Tokyo for NYE. We had NO idea what the experience would be and I cannot put into words how pleasantly surprised we were by our experience. One hour away from Tokyo by Shinkansen lies a quiet, amazing town named Karuizawa. When we got... More

Do not understand why this resort is on every page of travel mags and sites. Japanese ppl go wow when i told them I went to Hoshinoya Karuizawa. it looks nice from the pics but the whole property is depressing. When I entered the resort, the front staff was not even working. No bell boy , nobody. Paying thousands of... More

This is a beautiful escape from the bustle of Tokyo. A sense of calm pervades this place, from the beautifully laid out accommodation set around the lake, the small cascading waterfalls and the gorgeous trees whose leaves were turning fire red whilst I was there in the Fall. From collection at the train station through to the check-in in my... More

What a great start of our first trip to Japan! Stayed here a few nights. It was easy to come from Narita airport with a quick change in Tokyo station to shinkansen. In Karuizawa train station you have option to take a taxi, resort's bus or local bus which goes to Hoshino onsen. We took resort's bus, it is a... More

My wife and I went here in the middle of winter which was for me the best season to go. There is nothing in this world that compares to the tranquility of snow falling on to the grounds and riverside, with a hot natural spring bath soothing your stress away. Traveling here, we used the bullet train/shinkansen to come to... More

Once you enter this hotel you enter a state of Zen. The service is very personal, there are no front desk for you to check in, they lead you to a room and there is a girl playing ancient Japanense bells, the melody is so peaceful it truly relaxed your mind. They give you a drink while you wait for... More

Once I got to the Hoshinoya Karuizawa hotel, I realized why the English language reviews are so positive but the negative reviews are in Japanese. This is a hybrid between a traditional ryokan and high-end hotel. The service is exceptional, but traditional Japanese would be disappointed because there is no nightly tea with sweets in your room. You sleep on... More

There is so much goodness about Hoshinoya hence the long review… We wanted to stay at a Ryokan that is elegantly Japanese styled but with modern facilities. I scoured the Japanese sites for Ryokans and came across Hoshinoya. The website looked unbelievably good, so I checked out the Trip advisor reviews before we settled for Hoshinoya. We made our first... More