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Naraya Ryokan in Kusatsu Onsen 2006/10/12 13:39
Based on a recommendation by another very helpful poster, I've been desperately trying to make reservations at the Naraya Ryokan in Kusatsu. After calling them up, they told me there was no availability for the dates I wanted (english was a bit hard to understand). Maybe they confused October with November??
Either way, I went to this website: http://jtbhotels.jp/ShisetsuDetail.aspx?ck=3237&st=015
and was able to book the Naraya for the dates they said were not available.

Now my question is... did I goof something up? I'm a little bit worried that the reservation will not hold for some reason. Also, there is something called Selection and Regular. They seem to be the EXACT same room, except one is about $40-50 cheaper than the other.
Can anyone explain what I'm missing here?

Finally, I received a confirmaiton number after booking on the above link, but I don't know who to contact to actually confirm that this went through ok. Can the Ryokan verify a booking number placed online by this place?

Sorry this was so long. I've found the users on these forums so helpful. I hope someone can help me.
by Greg  

... 2006/10/12 16:34
JTB is the largest travel agency in Japan. They purchase large numbers of hotel rooms to sell them at lower prices to their customers. Therefore, it sometimes happens that travel agencies like JTB still have availabilities for dates that the actual hotel has no more availabilities for.

If you made a reservation through the JTB website, I see little reasons why your reservation should not be accepted.
by Uji rate this post as useful

meals in ryokan 2006/10/12 22:03
Selection / Regular: Reasons for different prices in a ryokan for the same room can be: The price is per person, so when you occupy room with 4 persons the per person rate is lower than when you occupy with 2 persons. Weekdays are lower than weekend and day before weekend/holiday. Higher class ryokan offer different courses in different qualities in dinner and/or breakfast and this highly influences the per person rate, too.
by Peter rate this post as useful

... 2006/10/12 23:29
Thank you for the information! I'm worrying less now :).

I'm still a bit confused for the Selection/Regular rates, since they didn't describe any difference between the two. Either one supports 2-5 people, but Selection is always lower rates. I assume this means the mean is far superior in the Regular rate? It seems like $30 is a wide spread for food, but I'm hoping the Selection one will be pretty good.

I have another question, itinerary-based.
I'll be going to Japan with a couple of people for 3 weeks. I'd like to know if 2 days is good to visit Kusatsu, or if there's enough to do to fill up 4 night stays in the area?
Is hiking a good activity there in mid-November? Are there other things to do in addition to the hotsprings?

Thanks again for your help!
by Greg rate this post as useful

Two days . . . 2006/10/13 08:51
"I'll be going to Japan with a couple of people for 3 weeks. I'd like to know if 2 days is good to visit Kusatsu, or if there's enough to do to fill up 4 night stays in the area?
Is hiking a good activity there in mid-November? Are there other things to do in addition to the hotsprings?"

Two days is PLENTY enough for Kusatsu. While Kusatsu has a lot of things to see compared to most onsens (usually it's just the main stream where the onsens all drain to and maybe some picturesque bridges), you can easily see everything in maybe half a day, unless you venture to the upland areas where there are probably many recreational activities, campgrounds, parks, etc.

If you really want to stay four days in the area, Nozoriko lake has a nice and easy walking path around it. I've been there on a JR hike though, where they booked a bus for the hike. But there is a good chance there is a regular bus there from Naganohara-kusatsu-guchi (whew!) station or even Kusatsu.

As the road will still be open over Shiga Heights, you can easily visit Yudanaka where they have the popular monkey hot spring.

Only other area nearby is Ikaho Onsen with the famous stairs with onsens on each side. There is a 'Green Farm' nearby with a very entertaining sheepdog show and an interesting, small modern art museum. There is also a small town near Ikaho which is known for udon.

Kusatsu gets a lot of snow and I'm thinking November might be too late for autumn leaves.
by Clevor rate this post as useful

... 2006/10/13 14:02
As the road will still be open over Shiga Heights, you can easily visit Yudanaka where they have the popular monkey hot spring.

Bus service between Kusatsu and Shiga Heigths and Yudanaka stops on November 5. After November 5, you will need a rental car to go from Kusatsu to Yudanaka.
by Uj rate this post as useful

Driving fr Kusatsu to Shiga 2008/1/20 21:07
Uji, just saw this post. We would like to drive from Kusatsu to Shiga Kogen ski area via Shiga Heights. Do you know when the road (route 292) closes for the winter ?
by lccl rate this post as useful

... 2008/1/21 08:12
It is scheduled to be closed from November 16, 2007 to April 23, 2008.
by Uji rate this post as useful

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