Checking Out Sakudaira Plaza 21

I've been researching one place after another, mostly inns and hot springs that look easy to get to without a car.

This time I looked into Sakudaira Plaza 21. It's close to the station, and it seems you can either stay at the hotel or just soak in the hot springs for a day trip. As a homebody, that caught my attention.

The Short Version

It's a 2-minute walk from Sakudaira Station, and there's a health land with overnight stays attached, so it came across as easy to use even without a car.
The official tool rated the Rakuten Mobile signal here as “C,” so if staying connected matters to you, I'd recommend checking beforehand.

I've put the details below.

What Kind of Place Is Sakudaira Plaza 21?

It's a facility in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture, where a hotel and a health land are combined in one. Apparently it's run by a company in the Ikenotaira Hotel & Resorts group. The hotel has 97 rooms, and it seems hotel guests can use the health land at no extra charge. You can also use just the health land for a day trip.

Here's the basic info, as far as I could confirm on the official website.

Health land hours: 6:00-24:00 (last admission 23:30), apparently.
Times you can't use it: it seems to be closed every Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 for maintenance, and from midnight to 6:00 a.m. for cleaning.
Hotel check-in / check-out: check-in starts at 15:00 and check-out is by 10:00. If a specific plan has its own times, those seem to take priority.
Day-trip admission (tax included): for regular visitors, adults (junior high school age and up) are 1,000 yen and children (age 3 and up) are 600 yen. For members, adults are 800 yen and children are 400 yen.
Admission for hotel guests: it looks like it's free.
Other fees: it seems the official page also lists prices for multi-use tickets, free passes, late-night nap use, and so on.
Room rates: the official website doesn't list prices, so it looks like you check each plan on a booking site.
How to book: for stays, you apparently book through an external online reservation site linked from the official website. I couldn't find a clear mention of phone reservations on the official site.
Reservations for day-trip use: they seem unnecessary, but I couldn't find anything clearly stated on the official website.
Regular closing days: the official page doesn't mention any for the health land itself.

Here's the official website. For room rates and the finer booking conditions, I think it's safest to check the latest information.

Komorin

Being able to choose between staying at the hotel and just dropping in for the hot springs feels like a nice side trip for a hotel staycation. Free admission for hotel guests is a nice, easygoing touch too.

The Baths and Ways to Spend Time Inside, for a Homebody Like Me

Apparently there are 7 kinds of baths in total. The ones named on the official page are the Togoal bath, a flowing-water bath, a Binchotan charcoal bath, a lying-down bath, and an open-air bath. I couldn't find a full breakdown of all 7. They seem to use the Togoal® Spa System. For the sauna, it looks like you can choose between high and low temperatures.

I was curious about how to spend time inside, too. On the 2nd floor there's apparently a relaxation room, a relaxation lounge, a large hall, and a game corner. The nap room also has a comic corner attached. It looks like you could take it easy inside after your bath, which sounds great to me since I don't really want to wander around outside even when I go out.

As for a restaurant, the health land page didn't have any details or opening hours, so I couldn't confirm anything. Bringing in your own food and drinks is apparently not allowed.

There were also a few rules worth knowing before you go.

Tattoos, including fake tattoos: people with them are apparently not allowed in.
Age conditions: after 23:00, children under 16 can't enter, and children under 13 seem to need a guardian with them.

Can You Get There Without a Car? I Checked the Access

According to the official access page, it's a 2-minute walk from the Tateshina Exit of Sakudaira Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Since it's within walking distance of the station, it felt like a low hurdle even for someone like me who hardly ever drives.

On foot: it seems to be a 2-minute walk from the Tateshina Exit of Sakudaira Station.
By train: the only guidance on the official site is to get off at Sakudaira Station. I couldn't find routes or travel times from other stations such as Karuizawa.
Taxi: from Sakudaira Station, it seems you contact the company directly (apparently there's a link to Matsuba Taxi). There was no mention of fares or travel time.
Shuttle bus: I couldn't find any mention on the official site. There was a note that the expressway bus from Ikebukuro stops at Sakudaira Station, but that doesn't seem to be a shuttle bus.
By car: apparently 10 minutes from Saku IC. The parking lot holds 8 large buses and 200 regular cars, but I couldn't confirm fees or conditions of use on the official site's top page or access page.

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

I used the official “my Area Connectivity Simulation” to check this facility's location (the area east of Sakudaira Station in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture). When I actually tried it on October 6, 2026, the overall rating came up as “C.”

For now, it seems the connection could vary depending on the spot and how busy it is. If you're planning to watch videos or send work files inside, it might be a good idea to check ahead of time.

If you're curious, please try the official Rakuten Mobile “my Area Connectivity Simulation” yourself too.

Komorin

As a Rakuten Mobile user, a C rating was a little disappointing. Still, if you're just lounging around in the baths and the nap room, going easy on the phone might not be so bad.

See Rakuten Mobile Details

Wrapping Up

To sum it up, my impression of Sakudaira Plaza 21 is that it's a hotel with a health land attached, a 2-minute walk from Sakudaira Station, where you can stay overnight or just take a day-trip bath, and it looks easy to use even without a car.

Access: a 2-minute walk from the Tateshina Exit of Sakudaira Station.
Baths: 7 kinds in total, and the sauna lets you choose between high and low temperatures.
Prices: 1,000 yen for adults on a day trip (regular), and free for hotel guests, it seems.
Rakuten Mobile: the official tool rated it “C.”

I couldn't confirm room rates, restaurant details, or parking fees on the official website. It's safest to check the latest information before you visit. If signal matters to you, it's probably a good idea to check with the official Rakuten Mobile tool.

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