Dormy Club Karuizawa

A small resort hotel with 24 rooms in total, in the Sengataki area of Naka-Karuizawa (about 3 minutes by car from the Hoshino area). It is certified as a 'Welcome Baby' inn by the Miki House Child-Rearing Research Institute, and the property is designed with babies and kids in mind.

The rooms come in three family-friendly types:

• New-wing Japanese-Western room (40 sq m, up to 5 adults, Simmons beds, a twin or double room plus a tatami room) - suited to three-generation families; babies can crawl on the tatami
• Maisonette (33 sq m, up to 5 adults, Simmons beds, 1st-floor living room plus 2nd-floor bedroom, with a villa-like feel) - suited to energetic kids
• Spacious 13.5-tatami-mat Japanese-style room (40 sq m, up to 5 adults, a kotatsu is set up in winter) - suited to three-generation families and families with babies

Bathing is in gender-separated bathing areas (an open-air bath and an indoor bath). The open-air bath is built with two kinds of wood - pale, unfinished timber and red pine - and opening the door brings a waft of steam along with the scent of wood. The new wing also has two types of private-hire bath (a hinoki-cypress bath and a stone bath). The water is a semi-natural onsen called 'Togoru no Yu' (an artificial hot spring), and bathing hours run from 3 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. the next morning, with no swap between the men's and women's sides. A diaper-changing table is set up in the women's bath.

Dinner is a course of original French cuisine. For kids, you can choose from three options by approximate age - a 'kids' lunch' (about ages 3-6), a 'hamburg steak set' (about ages 6-10), and 'adult-style dishes' (age 8 and up). Baby food can be warmed on request, and sharing from adult dishes or bringing your own baby food is also fine. Allergies must be reported at least 3 days in advance. For meals, the hotel also provides a fork and spoon, a bowl, small plates, a bib, a Bumbo seat, a kids' chair, and a belt to secure a child to a chair.

Free rental items (limited quantities) include low-irritant shampoo and body soap, a step stool for kids, wet wipes, a shower chair, a baby bath, a baby bath chair, a bed guard, a water thermometer, bath toys, picture books, a training toilet seat, a bedwetting mat, outlet covers, and a kids' toothbrush. The kids' space next to the restaurant has picture books and toys, and the 1st-floor ice pop corner can be used free of charge. The building has two floors and no elevator.