Karuizawa Trip Winter 2026

Karuizawa has two sides: serene nature and modern glamour. Last week, I went to a very old ryokan (Japanese inn) in Karuizawa with my wife. We went hiking to a nearby waterfall, and it was astonishing, with no one else besides us visiting that hidden gem. On our way home, however, we went to Prince Plaza Street, and it was completely different.

A few weeks ago, my wife was stressed by her PhD studies and told me that she wanted to go somewhere for a holiday. We decided to go to Karuizawa just two weeks later. It was the most accessible option compared to many other candidates on our winter destination bucket list (I don’t feel confident driving on possibly snowy roads). Luckily, we found a very traditional ryokan with an affordable price there, Kose Onsen Hotel.

I chose that ryokan because my wife had never been to one before, and I made sure to pick one of the most traditional-looking ones. As a bonus, it also has a private onsen. My wife hadn’t been to a public onsen before because we Indonesians do not go to public baths back home.

We arrived a bit early at the ryokan. We took the 3 p.m. bus from Karuizawa and arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later. I initially thought we could take a walk around Karuizawa Station before going to the hotel, but since the last bus was at 4 p.m., I didn’t want to take any chances. However, that turned out to be a blessing, as we had more time to explore the nature around the hotel.

We went to the nearby waterfall, Ryugaeshi no Taki. The place was only a few minutes’ walk along the hiking route, but there was nobody else there except us. Probably because it was very cold and the last bus had already departed. After an arduous journey, trying not to slip on the trail made slippery by snow, we arrived there. One word to describe what I saw: beautiful. I put a photo below:

After this, we went back to the ryokan and were served dinner. They say that the main attractions of the ryokan are its dinner and its onsen (natural hot spring bath). The dinner was really good; I particularly liked the fish, iwana (Japanese charr).

My second aim here was to visit the onsen, but before that, we went outside again to stargaze. This time, I managed to take a picture of the Andromeda galaxy. However, it is not very clear because I only used my iPhone camera.

Finally, it was time to go to the natural hot spring bath. Luckily, this ryokan has a private bath that you can use for free for 40 minutes at a time. Going to a hot spring during winter is the best! Now I understand the feeling of the Japanese monkeys (the ones with red faces) in snowy mountains.

Morning came, and we ate our breakfast. It was a traditional Japanese breakfast, super tasty and healthy. Afterwards, we checked out and went to visit yet another waterfall, Shiraito no Taki. This time, it was more accessible than Ryugaeshi no Taki, and therefore we were not alone. Many people were there, but it was still good, although I liked the other one better despite its smaller size. Probably I just like being in nature.

As I got hungry, we bought snacks there. I bought a deer meat bun, while my wife bought an ice cream, in winter… At a temperature of −8°C…

Finally, we decided to go back to the town near the station. It was a bit hard for us to leave the nature, as we liked it so much, but we had to go home. Before departing, we visited two more destinations: Old Karuizawa and the Prince Plaza Street.

Old Karuizawa is not bad; it has a European town vibe. One thing I remember is that Karuizawa has many summer villas. In fact, one of the first villas was popularized by a Canadian Anglican priest (I hope I’m not wrong about the denomination) who built a summer retreat here.

Our last destination was the Prince Plaza Street. As an introverted couple (some people mistakenly think we are extroverts), we were surprised by the sheer number of people and branded shops. After escaping busy city life for the mountains, this place was too much for us. We jokingly said that we could probably settle easily in Norway, as we’ve heard it has a lot of nature and nothing else (no offense! I heard that from my DNV colleagues). As for the shopping center, I’ll just say that it’s not for us.

Finally, this marks the end of our escape from work and study. I definitely recommend Karuizawa’s mountainside, especially Kose Onsen Hotel, for a brief respite in nature. If I had another chance to go there, I would set aside more time for hiking. And wear better hiking gear! Our shoes were too slippery for the winter trekking.