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forumWhat families say
Rakuten Travel rating 4.38 out of 5 (1,505 reviews). Guests say the communal bath has plenty of washing stations and lockers, so it rarely feels crowded even for families. Guests praise the spacious open-air bath fed straight from the source, and rate the creative Japanese set meal and half-buffet dinner highly. On the other hand, some point out that because the baths are in a separate building, getting there can be a bit of a hassle on rainy days and in winter.
Kids Facilities
Private-hire baths
Private-hire baths
Private-hire baths where you can enjoy onsen water fed straight from the source in a private space. There are 4 in all, 2 built in stone and Japanese cypress and 2 with a barrier-free design, available from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning. They give you a way to bathe together with children at an age when the communal bath is difficult.
- •Available from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning
- •Guests with tattoos are not permitted to bathe
Rooms with an open-air bath or a semi-open-air bath
Rooms with an open-air bath or a semi-open-air bath
On the Lake Akaya side, there is a Japanese-style bedroom with an in-room open-air bath fed straight from the source, as well as Japanese-style bedrooms and Japanese-Western rooms with a semi-open-air bath. The tubs of the in-room open-air baths come in two types, Japanese cypress and cast iron, so your family can enjoy the onsen on your own without leaving the room.
Japanese-style tatami rooms and Japanese-Western rooms
Japanese-style tatami rooms and Japanese-Western rooms
On the Tanigawa mountain range side, the 8-tatami-mat Japanese-style tatami rooms sleep 1 to 4 guests and the 10-tatami-mat rooms sleep 1 to 5 guests. On the Lake Akaya side, the Japanese-Western rooms (twin beds plus 6 tatami mats) sleep 1 to 4 guests, and the Japanese-Western rooms with a semi-open-air bath (twin beds plus 12 tatami mats) sleep 1 to 8. Counting Japanese-style tatami rooms, Japanese-Western rooms, Western-style rooms and rooms with an open-air bath, there are 52 rooms in total.
Categories
Overview
Sarugakyo Hotel is an onsen inn run by Itoen Hotels in Sarugakyo Onsen, in Minakami, Gunma. Its 52 rooms look out over either Lake Akaya or the Tanigawa mountain range, and include Japanese-style tatami rooms, Japanese-Western rooms, Japanese-style bedrooms and rooms with an open-air bath. Alongside a communal bath and an open-air bath fed straight from the source, there are 4 private-hire baths. Dinner is a creative Japanese set meal with a half-buffet, and breakfast is a buffet. Children's rates are set as follows: babies and young children are charged 60% of the adult rate with bedding, elementary school children are charged 90% of the adult rate, and co-sleeping is limited to 1 child.
Rooms
There are 52 rooms in total, counting Japanese-style tatami rooms, Japanese-Western rooms, Western-style rooms and rooms with an open-air bath. On the Tanigawa mountain range side, the 8-tatami-mat Japanese-style tatami rooms sleep 1 to 4 guests and the 10-tatami-mat rooms sleep 1 to 5 guests; there are 22 of the 10-tatami-mat rooms. On the Lake Akaya side, the Japanese-Western rooms (twin beds plus 6 tatami mats) sleep 1 to 4 guests, while the Japanese-Western rooms with a semi-open-air bath (twin beds plus 12 tatami mats) sleep 1 to 8, so even larger families have rooms to choose from. Tatami rooms make it easy to put a small child down to sleep, and the Japanese-style bedroom with an open-air bath on the Lake Akaya side measures 12.5 tatami mats plus 8 tatami mats. The 8-tatami-mat Japanese-style tatami rooms and the Japanese-style bedrooms on the Tanigawa mountain range side are limited to one per floor, so if you book more than one room, your rooms will be apart from each other. Every room has a bath and toilet, a toilet with a washing function, and free Wi-Fi. Pets are not allowed at the hotel.
Dining
Dinner is a creative Japanese set meal that the head chef has put great care into, paired with a half-buffet where you help yourself to side dishes, salads, desserts and more. The Japanese set meals are laid out in advance at assigned seats for each guest. Dinner normally starts at 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. (7 p.m. at the latest) and lasts 90 minutes. Breakfast is a buffet ranging from Japanese side dishes to Western and Chinese dishes. Both breakfast (buffet) and dinner are served in the restaurant, and in-room dining is not available. No information on children's menus or children's tableware is published, so please confirm with the hotel. Itoen Hotels does not prepare meals for food allergies and does not disclose ingredient lists. Only the person with the allergy may bring in safe food, such as retort-pouch or frozen meals, along with their own tableware, so please let the hotel know when you book and again at check-in. Outside food and drink are generally not allowed in the restaurant, but baby food and therapeutic diet food may be brought in.
Baths and Onsen
There are a communal bath and an open-air bath fed straight from the source for both men and women, each open from 3 p.m. to midnight and again from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. the next morning. The spring water is a calcium-sodium sulfate spring (hypotonic, weakly alkaline and high-temperature). There are 4 private-hire baths in all: 2 built in stone and Japanese cypress, and 2 with a barrier-free design. They are available from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning, and give you a way to bathe with your children without worrying about other guests. On the Lake Akaya side there are room types with an in-room open-air bath or a semi-open-air bath fed straight from the source, with tubs in two styles: Japanese cypress and cast iron. There is also a sauna and a cold-water bath. Guests with tattoos are not permitted to bathe. Children aged 7 and over may not bathe in the communal bath or open-air bath for the opposite sex. If you want to bathe together with a child aged 7 or over, the way to do it is to use a room with an open-air bath or a private-hire bath. Babies and young children who are not yet out of diapers (not yet toilet-trained) may go into the communal bath itself, but they are not allowed in the tubs. Since every room has a bath and toilet, you would use the bathtub in your room in that case.
Family-Friendly Features
Co-sleeping is limited to 1 child. Elementary school children, in both the upper and lower grades, are charged 90% of the adult rate. Babies and young children are charged 60% of the adult rate with bedding, and are free of charge with no meals and no bedding. The age brackets for young children and the options you can choose differ by plan. On one plan, for example, young children are defined as children aged 0 to 5 who have not yet started elementary school, with meals and futon bedding for ages 3 to 5, and no meals and no futon bedding for ages 0 to 2. No information on cribs or bed guards is published, so please confirm with the hotel. There is no childcare service, and there is no indoor or outdoor pool. Itoen Hotels states that the building is not fully barrier-free, but 2 of the 4 private-hire baths have a barrier-free design, the tubs in the communal bath have handrails, and wheelchairs can be borrowed by advance request, as numbers are limited. You are free to bring food and drink into your room, so you can bring along foods your children are used to. The hotel has karaoke, billiards and table tennis, all available from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at no additional charge. For karaoke, you write your room number in the reservation book beside the karaoke room on the day. Table tennis and billiards switch groups every 20 minutes, but only when it is busy. Go, shogi (Japanese chess) and mahjong sets are lent from the front desk for use in your room. The bathing tax is 150 yen per night for adults only; children do not pay it.
Access
The hotel is about 20 minutes from the Tsukiyono IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway along Route 17 toward Niigata. From Jomo-Kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen, it is 35 minutes on the bus bound for Sarugakyo, or about 20 minutes by taxi. A free shuttle bus makes one round trip a day between the hotel and Jomo-Kogen Station and Gokan Station. Outbound, it leaves Jomo-Kogen Station at 2 p.m. and Gokan Station at 2:10 p.m., arriving at the hotel at 2:40 p.m. On the return, it leaves the hotel at 10 a.m., arriving at Jomo-Kogen Station at 10:30 a.m. and Gokan Station at 10:40 a.m. The shuttle requires an advance reservation, so contact the hotel by the day before your stay. Parking is free for 70 cars. Check-in is at 3 p.m. (last check-in 6 p.m.), checkout is at 11 a.m., and checkout cannot be extended.
Access & Information
| location_onAddress | 1171 Sarugakyo Onsen, Minakami-machi, Tone-gun, Gunma 379-1403 |
|---|---|
| directions_carAccess | By car: about 20 minutes from the Tsukiyono IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway, along Route 17 toward Niigata. By train: 35 minutes from Jomo-Kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen on the bus bound for Sarugakyo. A shuttle is available; please inquire. |
| trainNearest station | Jomo-Kogen Station |
| local_parkingParking | Parking for 70 cars, free of charge. |
| callPhone | +81-570-069-780 |
| paymentsCards | VISA, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Mastercard, Rakuten Card |
| languageOfficial site | https://www.itoenhotel.com/sarugakyo/open_in_new |
Map
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Reference price. Rakuten Travel's lowest rate (for 1 guest, in the cheapest season). Rates for families are often higher than this, so please treat it as a rough guide. Please check the booking site for actual rates.
Check rates & availability
Opens the booking site in a new tab.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ages is Sarugakyo Hotel best suited to?
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It has facilities that work especially well for babies and toddlers (ages 0 to 2). There is no age limit, and families with children of any age can stay.
Is there parking at Sarugakyo Hotel?
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Parking: Parking for 70 cars, free of charge.
How do you get to Sarugakyo Hotel?
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By car: about 20 minutes from the Tsukiyono IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway, along Route 17 toward Niigata. By train: 35 minutes from Jomo-Kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen on the bus bound for Sarugakyo. A shuttle is available; please inquire.
Is there a private-hire bath?
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Yes. Private-hire baths are provided, and there are also rooms with an open-air bath, a communal bath and a sauna.
What are the check-in and checkout times?
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Check-in is between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and checkout is at 11 a.m.
What are the rates for elementary school children and babies?
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Elementary school children are charged 90% of the adult rate, and babies and young children are charged 60% of the adult rate with bedding. Co-sleeping is limited to 1 child. The age brackets for young children differ by plan, and if you choose no meals and no bedding, the child stays free of charge. Children do not pay the bathing tax.
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Information on this page was compiled by directly consulting Official website, Rakuten Travel, Ikyu.com (a Japanese booking site), Jalan (last verified: September 2026). Prices, availability and seasonal operations change. Please check each booking site for the latest information.
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