I Looked Into Karuizawa Marriott Hotel

This blog has been gradually expanding its scope beyond campsites and day-use hot springs to include hotel stays as well, but this time I decided to try something a bit different and look into a place that leans more toward a "hotel vacation" style stay.

This time I looked into "Karuizawa Marriott Hotel." I came across some information mentioning that you can enjoy two different hot springs there, which caught my interest, so I decided to put together what I found.

It Seems to Be a Hotel Where You Can Enjoy Two Hot Springs Blessed by Mount Asama

Karuizawa Marriott Hotel is apparently located in Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture. One of its major features seems to be that it offers two different hot springs.

One is called Oze Onsen, which you can apparently enjoy at the large communal bath and outdoor bath on the B1 floor of the Main Wing. The water quality is alkaline simple hot spring water, commonly known as the "beauty skin bath." It's said to be sourced from around 1,150 meters elevation on Mount Asama, and is believed to have benefits for neuralgia, muscle pain, poor circulation, and fatigue recovery. The operating hours are apparently 5:00-10:00 and 15:00-24:00, and it seems to be reserved exclusively for hotel guests. It also seems that, in principle, guests with tattoos cannot use the bath, though it appears they may be allowed in if the tattoo can be covered with a cover seal of the specified size.

The other is Shiozawa Onsen, which apparently opened in summer 2017 and can only be used within the guest rooms of the North Wing. The water quality is sodium chloride-bicarbonate hot spring water, and because it contains a lot of salt, it's apparently commonly known as the "heat bath," said to have a strong warming effect. Being able to soak in a hot spring right in your room is a pretty appealing point for someone like me who prefers staying indoors.

• Oze Onsen: B1 floor of the Main Wing, large communal bath and outdoor bath, guests only, alkaline simple hot spring water
• Shiozawa Onsen: Available only in North Wing guest rooms, sodium chloride-bicarbonate hot spring water, said to have a strong warming effect

I wasn't able to directly check the relevant page on the official website for check-in/check-out times or room rates, so I'm listing those as unknown this time. If you're interested, it's probably best to check the latest information on the official website or a booking site.

Komorin

Being able to soak in a hot spring right in your room really struck a chord with me, since I hate going outside. It sounds less like a trip and more like an excuse to just stay cooped up in the room the whole time.

I Also Looked Into How to Get There

This hotel apparently offers a free shuttle bus. Normally it seems to run between the hotel and Karuizawa Station (South Exit), but during busy seasons, it may switch to departing from and arriving at Naka-Karuizawa Station (South Exit) instead, depending on traffic conditions in the area. During times when the roads get congested, it seems drop-off may also happen at the North Exit of Karuizawa Station. The specific timetable appears to be posted as a seasonal PDF on the official website, so it might be a good idea to check it in advance based on when you plan to visit.

If you're driving, it looks like the route via the Usui-Karuizawa Interchange on the Joshin-etsu Expressway is recommended. I wasn't able to confirm details like travel time this time. Reservations appear to be available through the official website.

Even though I technically have a driver's license, I barely ever drive in practice, so having shuttle bus access from the station feels like a real plus for me.

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

When I checked this hotel's location using the official "My Area Connectivity Simulation" tool, no result actually came up this time. Instead, it just showed a message saying something like "currently undergoing temporary maintenance." It seems this kind of message can appear when no data is available for the address in question.

Because of this, I'm treating the overall assessment for this case as "unknown." Since the result wasn't clearly good or bad, if you're actually considering using this hotel, it's probably worth checking again yourself at a later time.

Komorin

Getting no result at all was a pretty unusual case. As someone who actually uses Rakuten Mobile myself, I think it's important to be upfront about these "unknown" results too, rather than just skipping over them.

Wrapping Up

To sum things up again, my impression of Karuizawa Marriott Hotel was that it's a hotel where you can enjoy two hot springs, Oze Onsen and Shiozawa Onsen, both blessed by Mount Asama. Beyond just the large communal bath in the Main Wing, the fact that you can soak in a hot spring right in your room in the North Wing felt pretty appealing to me as someone who prefers staying indoors.

In terms of access, there's apparently a free shuttle bus available, so even people who don't drive, like me, should find it easy enough to get there from the station, which is reassuring. On the other hand, as for Rakuten Mobile signal conditions, no result came up this time, so the status remains unknown. If that matters to you, it's probably a good idea to check using the official Rakuten Mobile tool yourself.

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Related Links

• Official Site