Name: Ikoisanso
Address: 3365-9 Nagakuru, Karuizawa, Karuizawa, Karuizawa, 389-0111, Japan
Rating: 8

Shopping on site

Air conditioning

Smoke-free property

Heating

Security guard

Ticket assistance

Express check-in/check-out

Garden

Terrace

Outdoor furniture

Reception desk

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Family room

Indoor Fireplace

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Concierge services

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Coffee/tea for guests

Breakfast

Restaurant

Vending machine

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Car rental

Transfer services

Transfer

English

Multi-language staff

Japanese

Chinese

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Bike rental

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Picnic area

Barbeque

Sun Deck

Recreation

Parking

Parking nearby

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Event facilities

Fax and copy machine

Conference Hall

Business

Cycling

Tennis court

Golf сourse (within 3 km)

Sports

Doctor

Massage

First Aid Kit

Beauty and wellness

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Ski storage

Skiing

Skiing Off-site

Winter sports

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

Hotel features

Matsumoto Airport

Ikoisanso

Karuizawa

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Although this hotel had one of the cheaper room prices (for the duration that we were staying), the overall experience was average / slightly below average and on hindsight we might have splurged a little to upgrade to a bigger room in a more central location. 

The room was very small – after clearing out whatever furniture we could (table was packed in the cabinet where the bedding was kept and most other things had to be stacked on top of each other to maximise space), there was barely enough space to lay out two mattresses right beside our luggages (note that you have to set up the beds yourself). We spotted some strange black spots on the futon covers which deterred us from using the futons. We did, however, appreciate that the room came with a small refrigerator, a small key-operated safe box and a working heater. 

The walls and floors are thin, so you will hear footsteps along the corridor and (if you are unlucky, as we were, to have a room next to the toilet) gurgling sounds from the plumbing system. Bathrooms and restrooms are shared. The communal shower area on the first floor has a small bath (could accommodate approximately 3 strangers, any more would be uncomfortable), but the water is still and I'm not certain if it was actually from the hot springs. We were grateful that the usual amenities were provided (toiletries, body lotion, hairdryers). There were other onsens nearby which were open for day trips, but we were turned away by the prices (bearing in mind that we had just travelled from onsen heaven, Kusatsu town). 

Location-wise, while we were given a free shuttle ride from and to Karuizawa Station during check-in and check-out, we had to find our own way around the rest of the time. There are some attractions in the Naka-Karuizawa area, but the main highlights are nearer to the Karuizawa Station. The walk from the hotel to Naka-Karuizawa Station (one stop away from Karuizawa Station) takes about 10-15 minutes, and the street lights can get rather dim by 7pm and are almost non-existent by 10pm. Alternatively, there are buses that ply the area, but the bus fares were nearly double the train fares and accessibility of information was an issue (it was hard looking up bus timetables online). Another alternative is to rent bicycles from the hotel at ¥1000 per day.

Service-wise – hit and miss. Some of the staff were friendly and helpful, others not so. A few of them were able to communicate in English. 

Food-wise, there were some decent options (e.g. Harunire Terrace), but not always budget-friendly and most close by evening (sans restaurants, with pretty steep prices). There is a 7-11 about 100m away but consumption of food in the store is not allowed. It closes at 11pm. 

All in all, if you're fine with sacrificing some creature comforts and travelling longer distances to save on accommodation, this hotel could be one of your considerations. But if your budget is not the main priority, there may be better options elsewhere.

Penny wise, maybe pound foolish

It is very nice hotel. We stayed in rooms that had a tatami, and they were very authentic and comfortable too. Breakfast and service overall was also great, all the staff was very nice and accommodating. The hotel was also near a public onsen – only took less than 10 minutes to get there. The hotel was in a great location, easy to find, and easily accessible. I will definitely come back to this hotel the next time I visit karuizawa.

Hotel is clean, staff was very nice.

Due to the construction of the hotel - sound travels. Along with the thumping of children running up and down the halls and loud conversations close to midnight. Accommodations were clean for the prices we paid for the room but not enough to guarantee a good night’s rest if you so happen to have inconsiderate neighbors.

The communal baths can also be proven difficult for women on their periods.

Sleep is for the weak

The Ikoisanso hotel provides value-for-money basic accommodations with an extremely attractive strong point, which was its proximity to the Hoshoniya area. 

The  hotel location is excellent for exploring the Naka-karuizawa area - namely the wild bird sanctuary, Hoshinoya Onsen, Harunire terrace and Bleston Court. A morning walk within 10 minutes from the hotel takes you to the forested Hoshinoya area that was relatively quiet and without crowds in the morning. The hotel was also 5 minutes to a convenience store and and about 15 minutes walk from the Naka-karuizawa train station.

The hotel's staff were extremely helpful and friendly too. The only point for improvement was that the basin in the toilet had brown stains and I had expected a higher level of cleanliness for a Japanese hotel. 

If one is not driving and would like to stay within close proximity to nature walks and forests, the Naka-karuizawa area is highly recommended and Ikoisanso is a very reasonably priced hotel with a great location there!

Value-for-money hotel near Hoshinoya area

We had a wonderful experience at Ikoisanso! 

Our room was cozy, elegant, and clean, with a lovely view. Two of the three futons were comfortable, but one was strangely harder. I slept on it the first night and thought I might just be pickier than my husband, but when we switched, he couldn't sleep until he brought out the third futon.

The food was delicious and plentiful. The first night was hot pot with the most delicious beef, and sashimi, and perfect rice, and many more small dishes. The second night fried chicken with several side dishes, beautifully presented. We could not finish the dinners either night because they served so much food but we greatly enjoyed as much as we could! Breakfast was definitely worth including as well. First morning was western style: eggs, sausage, fruit. Second morning was rice porridge with all sorts of savory mix-ins.

The service was kind and courteous. We got in later than we expected, and they very considerately picked us up from the station and had dinner for us when we got in. We have a 9-month-old baby and they provided a high chair and child silverware for him.

The only difficulty in this place is the location. It is pretty inconvenient to get to from Karuizawa station. The train ride to Naka-karuizawa is only 4 minutes, but it only runs once or twice an hour, and seems very ill-timed with the Shinkansen, so it can add an hour to your trip. In our case, we flew in to Tokyo (from the US) at 14:30 so getting all the way to Ikoisanso was a bit ambitious, and we wouldn't recommend it for your first night in Japan if you have a baby lol. Most sites are also from Karuizawa station so add the commute each way every day.

It was absolutely worth the trip, however! Ikoisanso was the highlight of our time in Karuizawa, and the value for the price was incredible.

Excellent experience - worth the trip.

I had a great experience at Ikoisanso.  We walked from the train station - about 10-15 minutes, slight uphill (there are also buses).  We stayed in a traditional Japanese style room, which was lovely.

A few high points:
- The futon was gloriously comfortable.  It was seriously like sleeping between clouds.  The pillow had some buckwheat filling, but enough synthetic filler that if the traditional style isn't your thing, you won't even notice.
- The onsen was clean, had great amenities, and was not at all crowded.  My husband and I went in the evening (~5:30), and I snuck in a second visit before checkout in the morning (~9).  Those were both times I expected it to be pretty full, but both times it was completely empty!  The toiletries provided were luxurious, the shower stations were comfortable, and most importantly, the bath itself was very hot, and seemed extremely clean.
- It is a bit pricey (and has a large tax that's not obvious from the posted booking fee), but it is actually one of the better values for the area.
- There's a 7-11 half a block up the road if you need an emergency tea, ice cream, etc.
- It's pretty easy walking distance from Picchio nature center (~10-15 minutes, slight uphill again).
- Comfy yukatas provided for in the room and walking to the onsen.
- We didn't take advantage of this, but they seemed to have both umbrellas and bikes for visitor use.

A few small negatives:
- The shower in the room was pretty bad - basically zero water pressure, and hot/cold seemed to cancel the other out so it took me a long time to find the one adjustment that was neither burning nor freezing.  This is actually a really small issue though - just do your bathing at the onsen, which had fantastic shower heads!
- For me, the AC in the room was extremely loud, and it pushed air sporadically which meant that it sounded like gusting wind rather than a steady noise.  This made it pretty hard for me to fall asleep, and with it turned way down to where the noise was better, the room got hot.  That said, I've never had trouble sleeping in a more comfortable hotel bed!
- If you have any reason to be picky about food (medical needs, prefer a light breakfast, likes/dislikes...) don't get the breakfast!  I tried both here and on their website to figure out what the breakfast entailed and couldn't, so we just went for it.  I've got a lot of food allergies, but I figured worst-case scenario, I'd just look at the menu/buffet and say, "Oh, I'm not that hungry, I'll just have tea."  But, it was actually a (Western-style) pre-fixe menu, and things started just coming out to the table, with no real option to say no thank you.  I ended up just running back to my room because I felt so uncomfortable about not being able to either eat or refuse anything!  Then, because they had planned out, cut, prepared etc all of the ingredients for exactly the number of people they were expecting, they apparently brought my husband double food, which made him feel like he had to eat it.  And he said it was only decent, not awesome.  So, if a large surprise meal is your thing, it may be a good value, but if you might not want everything they bring out, you're probably better off just getting something for a few hundred yen at 7-11.

So, overall, we had a really great experience there, but a few small things kept it out of the 'amazing' category.

Ikoisanso

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