Ogiwarakan

Context: I booked this Hotel because I was travelling the Tateyama-Kurobe-Pass during peak season and I wasn't sure the I will arrive in Nagano to pick up my baggage. Therefore I was looking to an hotel not that far away from Nagano but with an onsen. I chose the hotel because of a picture in the internet showing an older lady in traditional japanese kimono. When I arrived, I really was greeted by an lady in kimono. And my name was displayed at a board next to the hotel entrance. I really felt honored. The building is a little bit older and you can see it here and there. It is a building made of concrete. But if you are in your room it doesn't matter. It looks the same XXX I didn't ordered dinner, because I was not sure when I will arrive at the hotel. Don't miss it. The hotel provides kaiseki style dinner. The room: I had a traditional tatami room that was big. I had my own bathroom. The room was clean. Onsen: The hotel provides an indoor bath and an small rotenburo on the roof with a view to the mountain next to the ctiy. There is nothing special to describe. At an onsen there is only one thing that counts: How much you can relax. And the onsen at the Ogiwarakan fulfilled this purpose perfectly. Context: I booked this Hotel close to Nagano because I was travelling the Tateyama-Kurobe-Pass during peak season and I wasn't sure the I will arrive in Nagano to pick up my baggage. This stay was therefore some kind of fallback solution. And it was a good solution. Location: The Ogiwarasan is in place a few train stations away from Nagano. more than half way to Ueda, called Togura Hot Spring. It is a nice laid back town. There are no big attractions. Sum up: Even if the building is not a traditional japanese building made from wood, the hotel is a place where you can feel the traditional hospitality of an onsen hotel.