How about becoming a hot-spring-town local for a few days?
Take your bath bucket to the neighbourhood bath, do a little work, then wander out for noodles, dumplings or whatever smells good. Find a café, lose track of time, and fit in another soak. No tasting menu, no dress code, no particularly ambitious plans.
Feeling more energetic? Hakuba’s ski areas are about 90 minutes away by car, depending on the resort and conditions; allow longer in snow. Spend the day skiing or snowboarding, then come back to Asama Onsen for a simple supper and a hot bath. There are worse routines to fall into.
Or borrow a little inspiration from Takeshi Kaiko, a beloved Japanese novelist, winner of the Akutagawa literary prize and world-travelling angler. He spent three months at the mountain lodge that became our Oze stay.
In his day, it was lit by lamps. We have since added such distractions as electricity, Wi-Fi and a hot spring. Walk in the mountains, plan a day trip to Oze, go fishing, or spend a rainy afternoon with a book. Cook a simple supper in the shared kitchen and pour something you like. You do not have to write a novel. Though we would be delighted if you did.
Art in the countryside. A hot spring after the gallery.
At Yuzawa Uonuma, make the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale and Art Field the heart of your trip: artworks in villages, rice fields and places you might otherwise never find. They are spread across a wide area, so check opening dates and plan your transport before setting out. In winter, swap art-hunting for skiing or snowboarding.
Back at the stay, nine guest rooms have their own semi-open-air hot-spring baths, with shared baths and saunas too. You will also be next door to Jiyujin’s headquarters and editorial office. We began as a magazine publisher; somehow the office acquired a hot spring. Your own workplace may have some explaining to do.
A members’ stay, open to visitors too.
Only the registered lead guest and their booked companions may stay. Reservations cannot be transferred. Guest details already registered through Booking.com or another booking site do not need to be registered again here.
Simple stays, without conventional hotel service.
We do not provide meals.
Jiyujin began as a magazine publisher and later created hotels known for their food. So you might reasonably ask: where is dinner? We love a good meal too. At 10 Stories Stay, however, meals are not included.
But doing so would add substantial costs. Cooking with seasonal local vegetables is more demanding than it may seem. Many producers are small-scale, supplies fluctuate, and a constantly changing menu creates significant work for the kitchen team.
10 Stories Stay leaves out that meal service.
Yuzawa Uonuma and Matsumoto have plenty of casual restaurants and izakaya — Japanese pubs where food is as much the point as drinks. Eating out is a good way to meet the neighbourhood. At Uonuma and Oze you can also cook in the shared kitchen; buy ingredients before driving up to Oze, where there are no shops nearby. Matsumoto has microwaves and kettles for reheating, rather than a kitchen for cooking meals.
Jiyujin also has a food-production and retail company, Jiyujin no Kurashi. For more than 20 years, we have worked with producers across Japan to bring carefully sourced vegetables, fish and meat to people’s homes. We make prepared foods too, using traditional seasonings and no additives as our guiding principles.
Part of Stay Yuzawa houses that production kitchen, where we make curries, soups, side dishes and sweets. A selection is sold frozen at 10 Stories Stay. You will need to do a little preparation, such as cooking rice, but we are rather proud of our curries and rice-bowl toppings. We hope you will give them a try.
Please bring your own toiletries.
Hotels generate an astonishing quantity of disposable amenities. Since opening Satoyama Jujo in 2014, we have asked guests to bring their own, while continuing to find practical ways to provide what is needed. At 10 Stories Stay, our basic approach is straightforward: please bring your own toiletries and personal amenities.
Ideally, we would like guests to bring towels too. But with hot springs and saunas at the heart of Yuzawa Uonuma, asking everyone to pack two bath towels is not practical, so we provide them. Please reuse your bath towel where possible and help us reduce laundry and detergent use.
Unlimited towels create enormous amounts of laundry, especially when sauna mats and bath towels are included. Thoroughly washing out sweat and oils also calls for powerful commercial detergents, which are not particularly kind to the environment.
Towels are available at Yuzawa Uonuma for use as needed, rather than for unlimited replacement. Please return used towels to the collection point near the entrance. Thank you for helping us reduce unnecessary laundry.
The registered lead guest must stay, with only the companions included in the reservation.
Only the registered member or lead guest and the companions included in that reservation may stay, within the room’s booked occupancy. You cannot book for friends, relatives or anyone else to stay in your place while you are absent. Reservations cannot be transferred or resold, and another person’s name cannot be used to gain access.
Entry is subject to a security check. Someone arriving in place of the registered member or lead guest will not be able to enter. Late-night arrival does not create an exception. Before travelling, check that the reservation names the actual guests and read the entry instructions.
If these rules are breached, you will be required to leave and a cancellation charge of 100% will apply. Subscription members will have their use suspended immediately, without refund of membership fees or reduction of the minimum contract term.
On your first stay, you will be asked to present photo identification so that we can confirm your identity. Thank you for your understanding.
- Plan your stay
- If you have already registered your guest information through Booking.com or another booking site, you do not need to register again on this website. The reservation must contain the details of the people who will actually stay.
