Ratings based on 63 Verified Reviews
4.3 Room cleanliness
4.5 Service & staff
4.1 Room comfort
4.1 Hotel condition
Expedia Verified Reviews
by A verified traveler
Posted 16 Jan 2024
The hospitality of the hosts were amazing! The food offered was delicious and the onsen was clean, safe and great.
Comment from Hotel Management
8 Feb 2024 by Tyler, Hotel Management
Thank you for your stay, and for your kind words. We are grateful you enjoyed our hospitality, our chef's cuisine, and our onsen baths. We still have a lot of improvements to make, but are slowly making progress. We hope you can come again someday and see the new changes.
by A verified traveler
Posted 6 Dec 2023
The property owner picked up us from the train station and dropped us off too. He gave us good advice around the area. I wish I could have stayed longer.
by A verified traveler
Posted 12 Sep 2023
The owner is so friendly and fun. He will introduce their town when we check in. He even drives us to the train station before we ask. It’s a great roykan and I definitely this property is my friends.
Comment from Hotel Management
17 Sep 2023 by Tyler, Hotel Management
Thank you for your stay, and for your kind words. We are grateful you enjoyed our hospitality. Our free shuttle service to/from Togura Station is available 15:00-17:30 for pick-up and 08:30-10:00 for drop-off. We hope you can come and relax at our inn again someday.
by A verified traveler
Posted 16 Jan 2023
Our stay at the Kamesei Ryokan with host Tyler-San was a superb highlight of our 2 week trip in Japan. We loved the traditional inn & room, the hot onsen baths, the amazing dinner they cooked, and the hospitality of Tyler during our stay. Tyler even picked us up and dropped us off at the train station. We were able to make a day trip to see the snow monkeys as well. Having the ability to experience such a traditional experience was only possible with Tyler’s perfect English and kindness. My son who is learning Japanese just loved it, as did the whole family (2 adults, 2 kids age 15 & 13). I would highly recommend and hope to visit again!
by A verified traveler from Pittsburgh PA
Posted 2 May 2019
Easy to get to, great service, friendly staff, and a great onsen to soak in. Lots to do in the immediate area, including tons of restaurants. The hosts are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the area.
Comment from Hotel Management
8 May 2019 by Tyler, Hotel Management
Thank you coming to Kamesei Ryokan, and for your kind words. We are grateful you enjoyed our hospitality as well as Kamiyamada's relaxing hot spring waters.
Our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada is fortunate to have such a great selection of restaurants so is paradise for guests wanting to experience 'local food'.
We hope you can come back again some day.
by A verified traveler
Lovely family run Ryokan with Onsen
Posted 6 Jan 2019 on HotelsWhat a great find! A lovely family run Ryokan with an Onsen, traditional garden and Japanese cuisine. We felt right at home having a relaxing few days here in Onsen town. Its a quiet retreat type of place, we were there in early January and so it was chilly outside and the hot baths made for a great way to spend the day.
Comment from Hotel Management
9 Jan 2019 by Tyler, Hotel Management
Thank you for coming and enjoying Kamesei Ryokan. We are grateful you appreciated our cozy inn, quiet gardens and our chef's kaiseki-style meals. And you're right -- winter can be the best time to soak in the onsen baths, especially when snow flakes fall on your face in the outdoor bath.
by A verified traveler
Lovely and Charming Onsen Hotel, Great Hosts
Posted 9 Apr 2018 on HotelsTyler and Mari are excellent hosts.
We took a bike tour with Tyler and absolutely loved it. We upgraded our room to one of the multi-room suites with private toilet.
The place is old, wood construction, and in a much older and more traditional Japanese style. It got cold at night in the hallways but the provided yukatas were plenty warm.
We ordered the breakfast and dinner combination and liked it so much we ended up eating breakfast here again our second morning.
If you reserve a room for 2+ nights you get usage of the private onsen for free, otherwise it costs to make a reservation.
It should be noted that the only showers, to the best of my knowledge, are with the onsen. So you should be comfortable with a public (sex separated) shower. There is no privacy.
We would definitely stay again and for more time to sample more of the local specialties.
Comment from Hotel Management
11 Apr 2018 by Tyler, Hotel Management
Thank you for your stay, and for your kind words. We are glad you liked the traditional charm of our inn as well as our chef's culinary magic.
Regarding the bathing facilities, we have 5 onsen baths in total: Men's indoor & outdoor, Women's indoor & outdoor, and private outdoor. Showering is with the Men's and Women's indoor baths. The private outdoor bath does have a shower but we have to turn it off in the winter due to freezing (we just turned it back on here in early April). However, it is outdoors so the showers with the common baths may be more comfortable. But for guests who prefer privacy over the typical Japanese onsen experience, there is that option.
Thank you also for participating our Zukudashi Eco Tours cycling tour. We hope more people take advantage of this very rewarding experience!
Recommended
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from DC
Wonderful! Great English-speaking hosts!
Posted 17 Feb 2018The hosts were amazingly helpful in every way. The hot springs were really wonderful as well. Don’t miss the real ryokan experience!
Comment from Hotel Management
8 Apr 2018 by Tyler, Hotel Management
Thank you for your kind comment. With an American-Japanese couple as your hosts, Kamesei Ryokan is one of the most foreigner-friendly traditional Japanese inns. Want an authentic Japanese ryokan experience but with the comfort of English-speaking staff, then Kamesei is perfect!
Recommended
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Alberta, Canada
Nice hotel with excellent hospitality
Posted 7 Dec 2017I read the story of Tyler & Mari saving the family 100 yrs old Ryokan & found it very touching. It’s the 1st time that a host/management ‘Tyler’ would contacted me after the booking. They made me feel very welcomed from the start till the end. The place is so nice & spacious. The hospitality is wonderful. The hot pools are great (men side is so much nicer than women side). I’d definitely go again.
Comment from Hotel Management
8 Dec 2017 by Tyler Lynch, owner, Hotel Management
We are glad you came and enjoyed our traditional onsen inn, and are grateful that you appreciated our hospitality. We try to always send guests a "welcome e-mail" and are happy to provide itinerary help so people can make the most of their visit to Nagano.
As you mention, one of our two main onsen baths is quite small -- normally we do switch the baths to let ladies enjoy the larger one during their stay. And actually, we have begun meeting with architects to start the process on building a new main onsen bath. It won't happen overnight, but hopefully if/when you come again, you'll have a new bath to soak in.
by maureen
Posted 26 Nov 2017 on Hotels
Had a nice time in Togara small town we were winding down from a hectic schedule. Walking tour with Tyler was very informative unlucky for us it was a public holiday . Our traditional dinner and geisha show was fun and enjoyable. The staff were friendly Tyler and Mari were excellent hosts thank you
Comment from Hotel Management
8 Dec 2017
Thank you for coming and enjoying Kamesei Ryokan as well as our onsen town, Togura-Kamiyamada. We are grateful we were able to provide you just the right amount of relaxation for the finale of your trip to Japan. It sounds like the 30-minute Geisha Show that we arranged as well as our Zukudashi Walking Tour were well-received. We hope more guests take advantage like you did of the great activities our town offers.
