Overview

Escape to Le Grand Karuizawa Hotel & Resort, set across 230,000 square metres of countryside in South Karuizawa. From its hilltop spaces, you can look towards Mount Asama, walk through seasonal gardens, soak in natural spring water, and enjoy dining shaped by the produce of Shinshu.

The resort sits around 15 minutes by car from Karuizawa Station and the Usui-Karuizawa Interchange. A complimentary shuttle connects the property with the south exit of Karuizawa Station, making it easy to combine a highland retreat with shopping, art, golf, and sightseeing around the town.

Three accommodation areas give each stay a different character. You can remain close to the restaurants and main facilities in Hotel Main, enjoy the elevated setting of Yamanoue Suite, or choose a Villa Suite on the hilltop for more distance from the centre of the resort.

Accommodation

Hotel Main includes six room categories, all with generous floor space and a classical European-inspired design. The Deluxe Double Room measures 48.2 square metres, while the Asama View Deluxe Double Room offers 54 to 58 square metres and large windows facing Mount Asama.

The Premier Twin Room measures 60.3 square metres and places two beds together in a Hollywood twin layout. The 66.9-square-metre Mixed Style Premier Room combines beds with a Japanese tatami area, allowing you to relax at floor level during the day. Futons can be prepared in the tatami space when needed.

The Japanese Junior Suite measures 68.8 square metres and pairs beds with a larger Japanese room. The Junior Suite offers approximately 68.8 to 70.1 square metres, with separate areas for sleeping and relaxing.

Yamanoue Suite sits higher on the grounds. The Yamanoue Suite Double measures 60.7 square metres and uses warm colours, elegant furnishings, and a large double bed. The 69.8-square-metre Yamanoue Suite Twin gives you two beds and a spacious sitting area in the same elevated setting.

Villa Suites offer 66 square metres of space and come with either twin or double bedding. From the hilltop, you can enjoy wide views towards Mount Asama and a greater sense of separation from the main building.

Every room is non-smoking and includes a private bathroom and shower, Washlet toilet, air conditioning, Apple TV, Bluetooth speaker, refrigerator, minibar, humidifying air purifier, and free Wi-Fi. Pajamas, bathrobes, towels, slippers, toiletries, body cream, and feather duvets are also provided.

Dining

Vaas, on the first floor of Hotel Main, serves French cuisine prepared with seasonal ingredients from Shinshu. Dinner follows a full-course format, allowing you to enjoy each dish at an unhurried pace. Menus change with the season and may feature Saku carp, Shinshu salmon, highland vegetables, wasabi, locally grown apricots, and a choice of meat dish.

Breakfast is also served at Vaas from 7:30 to 10:00. Large windows open the dining room towards the garden, giving you a bright place to begin the morning.

At Yamanoue Suite, grill mille presents seasonal course dining with views towards Mount Asama. Dishes may include Shinano white fish, mountain vegetables, locally grown produce, fresh fish, and a chef-selected meat course. Dinner is available from 17:30, and the restaurant closes on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

For a more relaxed meal, visit minori beside Happu Onsen. Floor-to-ceiling windows face the surrounding trees and mountain scenery. You can enjoy fragrant soba made with flour produced through the traditional dochuki pounding method, creative Japanese dishes, and sake from breweries in Saku and Komoro.

Bar Rouge opens in Hotel Main during the evening, while the Poolside Bar serves drinks and light snacks beside the pool during its operating period.

Onsen and Wellness

You can choose between two natural hot spring facilities: KOMOREBI in Hotel Main and Happu Onsen in a separate area of the resort.

KOMOREBI is reserved for overnight stays and includes spacious indoor baths, open-air baths, cold-water baths, and a far-infrared sauna. Large windows bring the surrounding greenery and changing daylight into the indoor bathing area, while the open-air bath lets you soak beneath the sky.

The sauna accommodates around ten people and operates at a lower temperature than a standard dry sauna. From approximately December to March, you can cool down in the winter air as part of the natural ice-sauna experience.

KOMOREBI is open from 6:00 to 10:00 and from 15:00 to midnight.

Happu Onsen includes indoor baths, open-air baths, individual pot baths, a cold-water bath, and a sauna. You can visit from 10:00 to 22:00, with final admission at 21:15. Access is included with your stay, and you do not need to make a bathing reservation.

The water at both bathing facilities is a natural bicarbonate spring, often associated with skin-softening qualities. Its properties may also help ease lower-back discomfort, nerve discomfort, stiff shoulders, sensitivity to cold, fatigue, minor cuts, and dry skin.

Body soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair dryers, cotton swabs, and other bathing essentials are available. The women’s changing areas also include makeup remover, facial cleanser, cotton pads, hair ties, and shower caps.

Spa La Villa offers body and facial treatments using plant-based Bernard Cassière products. You can choose from facial care, deep-tissue body treatments, dry head massage, and longer combined sessions. Advance reservations are required.

Guests with Tattoos

If you have tattoos, you can use Happu Onsen, where tattooed bathers are accepted. The resort does not have a reservable family hot spring bath or a private hot spring bath inside the accommodation rooms.

Facilities

The resort includes a seasonal swimming pool, fitness gym, Spa La Villa, Boutique gift shop, rental bicycles, restaurants, bars, natural hot spring facilities, gardens, wedding chapels, terraces, event spaces, and free Wi-Fi throughout the property.

The summer pool operates from July 19 to August 31 and remains open from 7:00 to 22:00. The fitness gym is available throughout the year from 7:00 to 21:00 and includes running machines and exercise bikes.

Boutique sells Karuizawa sweets, gifts, and resort items near the main reception. Bar Rouge gives you a quiet place for an evening drink, while the Poolside Bar opens beside the pool at night.

Rental bicycles are available from Hotel Main reception between 6:00 and 19:00 on a first-come basis. Elevators connect the floors in the main buildings, and wheelchairs can be used throughout much of the property.

Complimentary parking is available for 91 vehicles. Free Wi-Fi covers the rooms, restaurants, lounges, and shared spaces. Pets cannot stay in the accommodation rooms, although you can sit with your pet on the terrace at minori.

Activities

Walk through the resort’s expansive gardens, where trees and flowers change with each season. You can pause at Happu Onsen, minori, the chapels, and hilltop viewpoints as you explore the grounds.

The Yamanoue Suite terrace hosts seasonal drinks with Mount Asama views. Morning coffee is available during much of the year, lemonade appears during the warmer months, and winter brings hot cocoa and roasted marshmallows beside the fire.

Children can explore the property through a year-round stamp rally. Summer activities may include firefly watching, insect collecting, and swimming, while winter brings the chance to cool down in the crisp air after using the KOMOREBI sauna.

Morioto Chapel opens for a short period around sunset when no ceremony is taking place, giving you time to step inside and experience its wooden interior.

Private outdoor experiences include guided walks through Old Karuizawa, cycling tours, winery visits in the Chikuma River Wine Valley, trekking on Mount Koasama, and winter snowshoe tours around the foot of Mount Asama.

Nearby, you can enjoy year-round strawberry picking, golf, horseback riding, curling, skiing, shopping at Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza, or autumn walks around Kumoba Pond.

Additional Features

Check-in begins at 15:00, and check-out is by 11:00. All accommodation rooms are non-smoking, with smoking limited to the designated area on the first floor.

A complimentary shuttle travels between the resort and the south exit of Karuizawa Station in around 15 minutes. You do not need a reservation, but seats are available on a first-come basis. The operating schedule changes during Golden Week, summer, and the New Year period.

Your stay includes access to KOMOREBI and Happu Onsen, free Wi-Fi, complimentary parking, and use of the Karuizawa Station shuttle. You can also arrange luggage storage before check-in and after check-out.