Shibu Onsen Japan: An Awesome Experience Or Complete Hassle?

A top thing to do in Japan is to visit natural hot spring baths (an onsen) in an onsen town. There are several onsen towns in Japan, but I opted to visit Shibu Onsen in the Nagano prefecture mountain range.

As with any onsen town, a getaway to Shibu Onsen Japan is about relaxing in the many onsens and staying in a traditional ryokan. Although Shibu Onsen isn’t necessarily the best onsen in Japan, there are some experiences you can only get here… so, is it worth it for you to visit?

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You Have To Go To At Least One Onsen Town In Japan

As I mentioned, a must-do experience in Japan is to go to a onsen town. An onsen is a natural hot spring bath that contains different beneficial minerals for our health. So locals like to bathe and relax in the natural onsen water.

An onsen town in Japan is filled with several public onsens that visitors can use. A trip to an onsen town is all about going from bath house to bath house wearing a traditional yukata (light bathrobe).

It’s truly a unique experience, and one you can only get in Japan.

shibu-onsen-japan-people-walking-to-public-baths-in-japan

Why Shibu Onsen Is NOT The Best Onsen In Japan

There are several other onsen towns in Japan, so you don’t have to visit Shibu Onsen. Here’s why you might not want to visit Shibu Onsen Japan…

Shibu Onsen Is Far & Hard To Get To…

Shibu Onsen is by far not the easiest onsen town in Japan to reach.

Although without a car, I’m not sure any onsen towns are that easy to reach. That’s just the nature of them after all! They’re in remote locations, usually in the mountain ranges as this is where they found the natural hot spring water.

But to put it into perspective, if you’re coming from Tokyo, you will need over 4 hours to get to Shibu Onsen by public transport!

P.S. I found a way to more easily include a visit Shibu Onsen by adding it to a larger route across Japan. See how I did it in my two-week Japan itinerary.

P.S. Options To Get To Shibu Onsen

To get to Shibu Onsen, you can take the JR line to Nagano (this is the easy part!). Then depending on timing, and where you want to go you have a few options…

You can take the Snow Monkey Express bus and have a 10 minute downhill walk to Shibu Onsen. If you’re interested you can also visit the Snow Monkey Park… which is one of the main reasons to visit Shibu Onse… but more on that in a bit!

Or you can take the express train from Nagano to Yamanouchi (Yamanouchi is the main city in this area!). From the Yamanouchi train station, Shibu onsen is about a 15 minute walk from the train station… uphill! I don’t recommend walking this route in the summer.

Depending on the hotel you book in Shibu Onsen, some hotels (like the Kokuya on Booking.com) actually offers pickup and drop off at the train station in Yamanouchi.

hot-spring-river-running-through-the-centre-of-town-shibu-onsen-japan — *Natural hot spring water running through Shibu Onsen*

English Is Be Sparse In Shibu Onsen Japan

Shibu Onsen Japan is very local. It’s for local tourists from Japan, not foreigners. This can be both a pro and a con.

On the one hand, it’s very nice to feel as though you’re having an authentic experience in Japan. But you will struggle with communication (p.s. so Google Translate will be your best friend in Shibu Onsen!).

Let’s just say that my hotel knew who I was the second I walked in, I stood out quite a bit…especially when I asked for a spoon for my miso soup… I didn’t realize I was just supposed to drink it straight from the bowl (give us a break though it was my second day in Japan!).

Although you may feel out of place, everyone is still beyond accommodating.

yamanouchi-shibu-onsen-japan-closest-town-no-english

Other Onsen Towns In Japan Have The Same Problems…

The reality is that all onsen towns in Japan will have the same struggles as Shibu Onsen. You aren’t in a major city anymore so they are all harder to reach and will have minimal English.

More Popular Onsen Towns In Japan

If you are looking for a more popular choices, Hakone and Kustatu are the more well known onsen towns in Japan.

Hakone is the closest to Tokyo, and most famous for being the place to stay if you want to Mount Fuji. I opted against visiting Hakone as my onsen town in Japan because there is a low chance of actually seeing Mount Fuji… And as I mentioned, it’s still pretty hard to get to!

Kusatsu is another very popular onsen town in Japan. It’s a lot closer than Shibu Onsen, but still just as complicated. It has a tantalizing green pool of rushing hot spring water in the centre of town, it really does look beautiful!

mount-fuji-in-the-summer-in-japan-no-snow-cap

Why Shibu Onsen Is The Best Onsen Town In Japan!

Even though there are other, more popular, onsen towns in Japan, there are a few things that Shibu Onsen has that the others don’t…

Kanaguya Ryokan – Inspiration For Spirited Away

The main reason I opted to stay in Shibu Onsen over other onsen towns in Japan was for the Kanaguya Ryokan. This 250 year old ryokan was one of the inspirations for Studio Ghibli’s 2001 Spirited Away.

But beyond that, it’s just an incredible piece of architecture. But if you are a Ghibli fan, this is better than any official Ghibli activity you can do in Japan. If you book your stay at the Kanaguya, you can walk around inside and not only admire it from the outside. P.S. read my review for the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, or for Ghibli Park in Nagoya.

P.S. How To Book A Room At The Kanaguya In Shibu Onsen Japan
It’s not easy for foreigners to book a room at the Kanaguya. You used to have to either contact their English travel agent, or attempt to navigate their website with Google Translate… which I somehow managed to book my room under Princess Meghan… now unfortunately, you can only book online or call them. I also booked this ryokan because they had the most private onsens for their guests to use.

kanaguya-shibu-onsen-ryokan-with-private-onsen-bath

Snow Monkey Park (The Monkey Hot Spring Japan)

One of the main benefits of adding Shibu Onsen to your Japan itinerary is that it’s the closest place to Snow Monkey Park (aka the monkey hot spring in Japan!). If you don’t know, Snow Monkey Park is where monkeys come down from the mountains to “bathe” in the natural hot spring water.

To be honest, I only stumbled on Shibu Onsen because I wanted to visit Snow Monkey Park! Shibu Onsen is a 50 minute walk to the park – and yes, you have to walk it, there’s no other way to reach the monkeys!

In the end, I didn’t get a chance to see the monkeys because the park closed due to COVID a day before I arrived… So it looks like I’ll just have to make a second trip there!

monkey-in-japan-arashiyama-park — *Monkey in Arashiyama Kyoto*

Bonus Cities You Might Not Visit Otherwise

I used Shibu Onsen as an excuse to visit other towns and cities in the area that I otherwise wouldn’t have visited!

Explore Nagano From Tokyo To Shibu Onsen

If you’re coming from Tokyo, Nagano is the halfway point to Shibu Onsen.

But you actually have to get off the train here to either transfer to another train or a bus. So if you have some extra time, why not head into the city to explore it a bit!

Visiting Nagano was actually a complete surprise. I only planned my day here while on the train from Tokyo. As it turns out, Nagano has one of the oldest wooden Buddhist temples in Japan, Zenkōji temple.

Before you even make it to the temple though you’re greeted with Nakamise market street. It leads you straight to the temple, but you’ll fill up on local sweets (like Oyaki) and buy local souvenirs on the way!

At the temple, make sure to pay for the full experience… where you may have to search for Buddha’s key in complete darkness… let’s just say, it’s not for the faint of heart!

Visit Kanazawa On Your Way From Shibu Onsen To Kyoto

Kanazawa is the perfect halfway point between Shibu Onsen and Kyoto. I even opted to stay the night to explore even more of the city, because there’s A LOT to see in Kanazawa!

Kanazwa felt like a hidden gem in Japan that otherwise isn’t that easy to add to your itinerary. The city feels like Kyoto before it became popular. It has all the traditional Japanese experiences without the over tourism.

Kanazawa is the leading producer of gold leaf in Japan, has one of the only last surviving Samurai houses, and has castle grounds and gardens to explore!

kanazawa-japan-hidden-gem-old-tea-district-must-see-in-japan

How To Add Shibu Onsen To Your Japan Itinerary?

Although Shibu Onsen seems out of the way in Japan, I seamlessly added it to my Japan itinerary.

I made Shibu Onsen a part of my route from Tokyo to Kyoto, even though it’s in the complete wrong direction! Granted adding Shibu Onsen added a lot more travel time between the two cities, but it also added experiences I couldn’t get anywhere else.

So instead of going directly from Tokyo to Kyoto I detoured to Shibu Onsen, then Kanazawa for a night before finally arriving in Kyoto.

P.S. Plan the ultimate trip to Japan with the help of my digital Japan travel planner.

How Long Do You Need In Shibu Onsen Japan?

I was worried that one night was not going to be enough, but you really don’t need that much time in Shibu Onsen. It’s a very small town with not much to else to do other than walk around in your yukata enjoying the different public baths.

I arrived in Shibu Onsen for my hotel check-in around 3:00 P.M. and left the following morning before check out at 10:00 A.M.

This was more than enough time to enjoy the traditional ryokan, relax in an onsen, have a kaiseki dinner, and explore the rest of the town at night.

Where To Stay In Shibu Onsen (Shibu Onsen Kokuya)

You definitely want to stay in a traditional Ryokan when visiting Shibu Onsen.

I stayed at the Kanaguya (the inspiration for Spirited Away). Although it’s the main attraction of the town itself, it is old and not easy for foreigners to book… Until I actually checked-in, there was a possibility that I didn’t actually have a reservation.

So unless you’re a big fan of the movie, I’d recommend simplifying your life and book the Shibu Onsen Kokuya across the street instead. I actually booked this as a back up while waiting for a booking confirmation from the Kanaguya.

Ryokan Shibu Onsen Kokuya is a lot more modern, and I have a feeling they have more experience with foreign travellers. Plus, you can easily book a room on Booking.com.

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