Enjoying the snow at Manza Onsen
The winter season is right around the corner, and with it comes a biting cold that can feel never-ending. But despite the cold, winter has a lot to offer, including one of my favorite parts of the season: warming up at one of the many amazing onsen Japan has to offer!
For families traveling with children, staying at a traditional style Japanese inn or hotel like ryokan and using the onsen with children might seem a bit daunting for first-timers, but rest assured it can be a really fun and rewarding part of travel, especially as they get older.
With that in mind, choosing to visit an onsen is an easy decision; it's which one to choose that's the hard part! After reading through many options around the Kanto region, my husband and I settled on Manza Onsen in Gunma Prefecture. We'd never been, but had heard good things about it, especially about the water. Once we decided on a place, the hotel was the next order of business. We chose Manza Hotel Juraku, an all-inclusive style hotel that seemed like it would suit our family's needs, from the several available on our trip dates.
Manza Onsen
The day of our trip dawned bright and early, but before we could hit the road, there was one important thing to take care of first: making sure we could safely drive up to Manza Onsen. We live in an area that rarely gets snow and thus don't bother having snow tires on our car, but Manza is 1800 meters above sea level, high up in the mountains where snow is guaranteed. In addition, although the weather where we were was clear, it was forcast to storm in the mountains, and we didn't want to be caught in a snowstorm without proper gear. So we stopped by a car center to buy tire chains for the ride up. Although a bit of an unexpected expense, we were very grateful to have them, because it did indeed storm!
We arrived safe and sound, albeit a bit later than planned, at Manza Hotel Juraku. We rushed in from the snow to find a cozy and warm hotel with a beautiful lounge several guests were already enjoying. After checking in and bringing our luggage to our room, we then got the chance to relax and enjoy the complementary beverages and snacks in the lounge as night slowly fell and we waited for our dinner reservation time.
Dinner is buffet style, with a huge amount of dishes that were all delicious. I enjoyed trying the many different foods available, and although my children aren't picky eaters, if that is a concern everyone is sure to find something they enjoy from the large selection.
After we stuffed ourselves at dinner, it was time to try out the baths! The hotel features indoor and outdoor baths for both genders, and was as relaxing as I'd hoped for. The atmosphere of the outdoor baths as it snowed was amazing. Warm, cozy, and relaxed, we went back to the room for the night.
Manza Prince Ski Resort
The next morning we woke up to bright blue skies, as the snowstorm from the night before had finished sometime during the night. We went down for breakfast (and a morning bath for me), then went back to the room to get ready for playing in the snow at the Manza Prince Ski Resort. The resort is a quick 5 minute drive from Hotel Juraku and features a ski slope with a few runs, and a snow play area with a separate entrance fee, called Manza Snow Field.
We bought our Snow Field tickets and then stopped by the store as I'd forgotten to bring the kids' snow goggles. My husband also needed to rent snow boots, as his were too old. As with most ski resorts in Japan, the facilities are very kid-friendly. The resort is small but well-stocked with essentials, and the snow play area had many activities that kept us occupied the whole morning. We tubed, sledded, climbed the snow mountain, explored the multi-room snow hut, and even bounced in the snow bouncy house!
While we were relaxing up on the snow hill after some intense sledding, I saw something peculiar: one of those big inflatable boats, normally only spotted on lakes and rivers, barreling down the ski slope tied to a skier. I had to try it. I headed to the front to ask about it, and made a reservation for the four of us to do it. It was a little pricy for what looks to be all of 30 seconds of thrill ride, but when else will we have the chance to ride a boat down a ski slope? Thankfully the lift is included in the ticket, so the four of us headed up to the top. We were walked through a safety briefing and all given helmets to wear on our ride down. The skier can also control the speed of the boat, and we were given the choice of how fast we wanted to go. My husband rode with my son, and they chose to go the medium speed, while my daughter of course wanted as fast as possible! I was a bit worried my son would be scared, but he really enjoyed it a lot!
Since nothing could top that experience, we gave the kids a few more minutes to play after our snow boat ride, then packed up and headed back to the hotel for lunch.
Manza Hotel Juraku
For guests staying multiple nights, the hotel conveniently provides lunch. We had the choice of curry, which both kids wanted, or udon, which both adults got. It was delicious, and hit the spot after playing in the snow all morning! I really appreciated the option of being able to have every meal at the hotel, which is part of the all-inclusive style it offers. As any parent knows, sometimes simple is best, and not having to worry about finding a restaurant with kid options or choosing from many different dishes can be well worth it when everyone is tired and hungry after playing hard.
After lunch, we explored the hotel and tried out the wide range of activities available.
After that, my husband wanted some quiet time, so I bundled the kids off to the baths. While I relaxed in the warm water, the kids had a fun time using the snow around the outdoor baths to make little snowmen. I think they spent more time out of the bath than in, but had a good time dipping back into the bath when they got too cold.
Generally, pictures are not allowed in onsen to preserve other guests' privacy, but this hotel has a short time slot each morning after the baths are closed for cleaning that guests can visit and take pictures, so this picture is from that time the next morning. I was surprised that some of the snowmen the kids made were still there!
Our day finished back in the lounge taking advantage of the drinks and snacks there. The hotel also has a special activity featuring a Japanese craftsman as a gift for hotel guests. Both days we stayed we had the opportunity to have calligraphy made of a kanji character of our choice. My family chose the kanji characters of their name to be made, while I got the name of our city. It was a very neat little souvenir I'm thinking of framing! The activity didn't seem to change day-to-day, but there were some examples of different activities the hotel had featured before, so it does seem to change on occasion.
The day was almost finished. We watched the sun set and color flood the sky before it turned dark, then had dinner at our reserved time, and finished off the day with yet another bath before heading to bed.
We woke up once again to blue skies on our last morning in Manza Onsen. I was going to miss the baths, so took one last opportunity to take one before breakfast. We cleaned up and packed up our room, I grabbed that picture of the onsen while I had a chance, and then we checked out, saying goodbye to a great stay. The kids begged to play in the snow one more time before leaving for good, so we went back to the ski resort area and let them play in the snow around the parking lot. Then we dragged them away and into the car, and headed on home.
