I Looked Into Hotel Karuizawa Elegance

I've been looking into hotels and inns that seem reachable without a car, and I'm still going through them one by one.

This time I looked into "Hotel Karuizawa Elegance." I'm an indoor person, and even though I have a driver's license, I don't drive, so my eyes naturally go to places I can walk to from the station and relax in once I'm inside. I found out that the breakfast French toast is apparently the hotel's signature dish, and that made me curious enough to read through the official website carefully.

What Kind of Place Is Hotel Karuizawa Elegance?

It's a hotel in the Kyu-Karuizawa area of Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture. The guest rooms are split between an East Building and a South Building, and the official website also had information about a wedding chapel and meeting rooms. It seems like a facility that can be used in all sorts of ways, not just for staying overnight but also for dining and ceremonies.

Here's the basic information, as far as I could tell from the official website.

• Check-in: From 3:00 PM, apparently (according to the FAQ page). I couldn't find the check-out time
• Booking: Besides phone reservations, it looks like you can also book through the inquiry form on the official website. The form lets you choose from three types: accommodation, dining, and weddings
• Price: I couldn't find the room rates on the official website
• Smoking: All rooms are non-smoking, and apparently there's a smoking area on the grounds
• Pets: Not accepted for overnight stays, apparently
• Parking: There's apparently free dedicated parking on the grounds and nearby. The number of spaces wasn't listed

The official website is https://newart-elegance.jp/.

Komorin

Since the prices weren't listed, I'd have to use the inquiry form or call to find out if I wanted to stay. As a possible side trip for my hokans (hotel + vacance) outings, it got me imagining how I could spend my time there.

The Signature Breakfast Buffet with French Toast Soaked for Over 12 Hours

What caught my eye the most while researching was the breakfast. It's a buffet, and the signature item is described as original French toast (pain perdu) soaked for over 12 hours.

Apparently soup, miso soup, salad, sausages, quiche, bread, yogurt, and more are lined up too. It gave me the impression that you could pick either Japanese or Western dishes depending on your mood.

• Chef: The official website says a chef who honed their skills at top-class restaurants works in the kitchen personally
• Sweets: Sweets are apparently available too
• Breakfast hours and price: I couldn't find these on the official website
• Dinner: I couldn't find a dedicated page, so I don't know whether it's offered or what it includes

Since I couldn't find any information about dinner, it might mean looking for evening meals around Kyu-Karuizawa. That's something I'd want to check when booking.

Checking Rooms and Amenities as an Indoor Person

As someone who spends a lot of time relaxing in the room, I'm curious about the room facilities too. According to the official accommodation page, the room types are as follows.

• East Building: Twin / Triple bedrooms
• South Building: King bedroom, semi-double twin room, family room

The number of rooms and room sizes weren't listed, so I couldn't confirm them.

The listed room amenities included a humidifier, an electric kettle, pajamas, a hair dryer, bath towels, hand towels, a toothbrush, a razor, a comb, cotton swabs, shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. Having pajamas provided would be a help for someone like me who wants to pack light.

Items available to borrow apparently include an iron, glasses, plates, a wine opener, a smartphone charger, and a desk lamp. With glasses, plates, and a wine opener on hand, it seems like you could also enjoy things you bought yourself in the room. Note that I couldn't confirm on the official website whether there's a public bath or any other bathing facility.

Getting There Without a Car

As a driver in name only, this is an important point for me. The FAQ page on the official website says it's about 700 m north along the main street from the north exit of Karuizawa Station, roughly a 10-minute walk. It's also said to take about an hour from Tokyo to Karuizawa by Shinkansen, so it looks like you could do the whole trip by train and on foot.

• Train + walking: About a 10-minute walk from the north exit of Karuizawa Station
• Taxi: Apparently around 700 to 800 yen for the minimum fare from the station. However, there are reportedly no taxis you can flag down in town, so you might need to arrange one in advance for the return trip
• Car: There's apparently free dedicated parking, but no route details were listed
• Shuttle: I couldn't find any mention of one on the official website

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

I use Rakuten Mobile, so I check whether I'll get a signal every time. I looked up this facility's location (Kyu-Karuizawa, Karuizawa Town) in the official "my Area Communication Simulation," but no result was displayed. The page switched to a message along the lines of "Temporary maintenance is currently in progress," and no result came up.

So I'll record the result of this check as "unknown." I couldn't judge the signal conditions at this point.

If you're concerned, please check again with the official Rakuten Mobile "my Area Communication Simulation" around the time you're thinking of staying.

Komorin

No result came up this time, so I can't really say anything about the signal. If you need the internet, I think it's a good idea to look at the official tool beforehand.

Wrapping Up

To sum up, my impression of Hotel Karuizawa Elegance is that it's a hotel in a location that looks reachable in about a 10-minute walk from Karuizawa Station, with a breakfast buffet featuring signature French toast soaked for over 12 hours, which seems easy to enjoy even without a car.

The rooms in the East and South Buildings apparently come with things like pajamas, humidifiers, and loanable chargers. On the other hand, I couldn't confirm the room rates, check-out time, or whether dinner and bathing facilities are available on the official website. It might be reassuring to ask through the inquiry form or by phone before booking.

As for Rakuten Mobile signal conditions, the official tool didn't show a result, so it came back as "unknown." If you're concerned, please check for yourself with Rakuten Mobile's official "my Area Communication Simulation."

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Related Links

• Official Site