Nyuto Onsen: stay at Tsurunoyu or Taenoyu?

I am booking a trip to Japan for October 2022 and want to visit Nyuto Onsen area since we love hot springs and ryokan stays. I am debating whether to stay at the very famous Tsurunoyu Onsen (if I can get a reservation) since I read some reviews that the food is a bit basic and amenities a bit lacking as well (which is to be expected). Taenoyu also interests me since the food looks better there and the rooms look a bit nicer, I am just concerned the baths arenft as nice as the Tsurunoyu ones and so many reviews claim Tsurunoyu is a magical place to stay. Any advice from those that have been to both?

I have only been as a day guest to Tsurunoyu and wasnft at Taenoyu at all. However I think that Tsurunoyu has soooo many good reviews because soooo many people go there. Itfs definitely nice, but when I went (2017) it was very full of tourists.

However for staying, I think if you have a better feeling about Teanoyu I would take that one. You can still come to Tsurunoyu as a day guest and enjoy the same baths. So you can get the best of both.

Odd question to ask - but how do you plan on getting here? Public transport is quite sparse in this area and a car makes a huge difference.

I've stayed at Tsurunoyu Onsen and enjoyed the experience. The rooms were basic but clean. It was busy but it was mainly Japanese tourists which strangely makes it a bit better than a huge number of foreign tourists.

If you interested in the food - scroll down to the bottom of the following post and my dinner is shown.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3268

@LL

I've been to Tsurunoyu in spring 2016. I booked on https://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/

Our room was in one of the wooden buildings along the main entrance. Our room was provided with an irori and toilet.

The food was served around our irori. We were pretty happy with the food... mainly mushrooms, vegetables and some small fishes... there was a big nabe hot pot too.

Breakfast served in the common room with other guests. I guess they don't see many westerner at the ryokan.

As I said it was spring but also pretty cold up there. Lots of snow still present.

It took more than 4 hours to get there from Tokyo but it was definitely worthy. I will return there!


PS: no spoken english during my stay. You will probably be asked about when you plan to leave so they can arrange the shuttle bus to Alpa Komakusa.

Thank you, this is very helpfulcdefinitely sounds like we will at least want to take a trip to the baths at Tsurunoyu even if we donft end up staying there.

Re: mfedley on how wefre getting to Nyuto - we plan on taking a bullet train from Tokyo to Tazawako station and then a bus to the onsen areacshould be around 4 hours I believe, but wefll be staying a couple nights to make the trek worth it! We wonft have a car in Nyuto which is another reason I am a bit worried about the location of Tsurunoyu since it is a bit further from the other onsens in the area (we want to check them all out)

@mfedley: It's not difficult to reach the onsen area from the station by bus. There is also a bus between Tsurunoyu and the Taenoyu area. It operates less frequently, but as long as you are aware of the timetables, you can go to the other and back.

It should be noted though that the bus stop from the station for the Tsurunoyu is a 40 minute walk from the Tsurunoyu Onsen area. I found the walk to be really magical in the winter, but it's still something to be aware of. The bus that connects Taenoyu and Tsurunoyu goes directly to the actual onsen areas, so there is no walk with that bus.

The trip from Tokyo:

- Bullet train from Tokyo to Tazawako (BE CAREFUL because our train split in two parts at Morioka station)
- Bus from Tazawako station to Alpa Komakusa
- From there shuttle bus (it is better to tell the ryokan in advance) or 3 km on foot to the Tsurunoyu.

You may leave Tokyo early in the morning and have lunch in Tazawako.

@LL,
Tsurunoyu is indeed a magical place to stay.
We were there in late Oct 2013, perfect timing for Koyo. It is correct that normally rooms in this onsen are booked out months in advance. We were very lucky then, a late cancellation got us a room in the main building. Our room was big, clean, and comfortable, but no toilet. However, the lack of facilities turned out to be a blessing for us, not only we experienced staying in one of the old original rooms we were also pleasantly surprised to be offered the use of a kashikiri rotenburo located by a babbling brook adjacent to this main building. Guests who are not staying in the main building, may not be aware of this lovely kashikiri.  I am unsure if an internet reservation is available now, but here are the contact details for a phone reservation: TSURUNOYO ONSEN,  Ms. Kumisato +81-187-46-2139 . By the way, Ms. Kumisato speaks perfect English.

Regarding public transport in the area, if you are organized it is not a problem. There are public busses PLUS there are specific onsen busses that bring you to the doorstep of that Onsen.