The gardens are very beautiful and the staff are friendly and helpful. The hotel is very safe, clean and comfortable. The manager collected us from the station and showed us some places of interest. We liked the snow monkeys and the walk through the forest. The staff were wonderful and helped explain the breakfast foods, showed us restaurants and things to visit and do. We enjoyed the old town and was very happy to see traditional culture. It was not crowded and over-run with lots of tourists. We felt special to be in a small town with lots of locals using the onsen(hot springs). We did enjoy the private onsen. Very relaxing after lots of walking. The town would be nice to visit in winter but autumn was also pretty.

Luise and David Manning
From Brisbane, Australia
Sept. '08
Stayed at Shibu Hotel, Shibu Onsen, Nagano Prefecture