Overview

Stay close to Takumi no Sato at KAREN Minakami Takumi no Sato with Dog, a pet-friendly mountain hotel surrounded by the countryside of Minakami. The former Hotel Familio Minakami ended operations in March 2026, and the building reopened under its current name in April 2026.

The hotel focuses on stays with dogs, giving you access to indoor and outdoor dog runs, grooming facilities, dog-friendly rooms, shared dining, and natural Okudaira Onsen water. You can spend the day exploring craft workshops, rivers, lakes, and mountain scenery before returning for dinner and a relaxing bath.

Takumi no Sato is around three minutes away by car or 15 minutes on foot. This countryside village brings together traditional craft studios, local food, old houses, fields, and walking routes. The hotel also places you within reach of rafting, canoeing, canyoning, skiing, and other outdoor experiences across Minakami.

Accommodation

Choose between a 45-square-metre Japanese-Western Room and a 30-square-metre Standard Twin Room. Every room welcomes dogs and uses carpet, carpet tiles, or dog-friendly tatami to provide a safer surface under their paws.

The Japanese-Western Room combines two 110-centimetre-wide beds with a six-tatami Japanese area. It accommodates up to six people and includes a small kitchen for simple food preparation. The bathroom, toilet, and washbasin sit in separate spaces, giving you greater convenience when you stay with family or friends.

The Standard Twin Room accommodates up to three people and includes two 110-centimetre-wide beds. Its Western layout gives you more open floor space, while the carpeted surface helps your dog move comfortably. This room also has a separate bathroom, toilet, and washbasin.

Every room includes heating and air conditioning, a television, refrigerator, safe, private bathroom, toilet, bath towels, face towels, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and a hair dryer. Other personal items are available from the amenity corner. You can also borrow samue clothing, an iron, humidifier, trouser press, or dog stroller.

Dog supplies include a toilet tray, pet sheets, food bowls, wet wipes, waste bags, deodorising spray, and cleaning equipment. Free Wi-Fi is available inside the rooms.

The private bathroom in your room uses regular water rather than natural hot spring water. There are no rooms with private onsen baths.

Dining

Dinner is a Japanese and Western buffet prepared with produce connected with Minakami and Gunma. You can select dishes at your own pace while spending mealtime with your dog in the restaurant.

The changing selection may include a local vegetable salad bar, soup, Japanese appetisers, pasta, quiche, meat dishes, doria, seasonal carpaccio, beef tendon curry, cakes, and a drink bar. When only a small number of people stay, dinner may change to an order-style buffet to reduce food waste.

Dinner normally begins at 18:00. During busy periods, the restaurant may use two sessions beginning at 17:30 and 19:30.

Breakfast is served between 7:00 and 9:30 as a picnic-style sandwich box made with local ingredients. Salad, soup, dessert, and drinks complete the morning meal. You can eat in the restaurant, take the box back to your room, or enjoy it outdoors when the weather suits your plans.

Meals are also prepared for dogs. Dog-friendly buffet selections are available during dinner and breakfast, and you may bring your dog’s usual food with you.

The restaurant labels nine main allergens in the dinner buffet. All dishes come from a shared kitchen, so cross-contact remains possible.

Onsen and Wellness

Relax in a large indoor bath filled with water transported from Okudaira Onsen. The spring is classified as an alkaline simple hot spring and is often valued for the smooth feeling it leaves on your skin.

The water is associated with easing joint discomfort, muscle discomfort, and nerve discomfort. It offers a welcome way to warm your body after cycling, walking through Takumi no Sato, skiing, or joining a river activity.

You can use the bath from 15:00 to midnight, with final entry at 23:00. Morning bathing is available from 6:00 to 10:00, with final entry at 9:00.

The bathing area provides shampoo, conditioner, body soap, hair dryers, and a weighing scale. Dogs cannot enter the bath or changing area.

The hotel does not have an open-air bath, private onsen, sauna, or natural hot spring bath inside the rooms.

Guests with Tattoos

You cannot use the shared Okudaira Onsen bath if you have tattoos.

Facilities

Four dog runs give you space to exercise your dog in different weather conditions. The hotel has two indoor areas and two outdoor areas.

The largest indoor dog run measures around 60 square metres and welcomes all dog sizes. A separate 12-square-metre indoor area provides a quieter setting for small dogs. The indoor runs are normally available from 15:00 to 22:00 and from 6:00 to 11:00.

The main outdoor dog run covers around 600 square metres and welcomes all dog sizes. A second 60-square-metre outdoor area is reserved for small and medium-sized dogs. The outdoor areas normally open from sunrise until sunset.

A grooming room allows you to wash and dry your dog after playing outside. It includes a dog sink, dryer, combs, shampoo, conditioner, an apron, and care equipment. You can use it from 6:00 to 22:00.

The hotel also provides a photo booth, rental bicycles, a shop, restaurant, café area, lobby, vending machines, an ice machine, microwave, delivery service, and a designated smoking room. The shop sells Minakami souvenirs, sweets, dog food, and useful pet items.

Free parking is available beside the hotel for around 50 vehicles. The building does not have an elevator, so second-floor rooms require you to use stairs.

Activities

Walk or cycle to Takumi no Sato, where you can try woodwork, bamboo crafts, Japanese paper crafts, painting, soba making, and other hands-on experiences. Small restaurants and shops serve local ingredients, sweets, and handmade products.

You can also follow the village’s countryside paths and stone-statue route with your dog. Fields, old houses, mountain views, and changing seasonal plants create an enjoyable setting for a slower walk.

Minakami’s rivers and lakes support stand-up paddleboarding, rafting, packrafting, canoeing, kayaking, and canyoning. Activity companies operate according to the season, river level, weather, and age requirements.

Winter brings skiing and snowboarding at resorts around Minakami. During the warmer months, you can enjoy hiking, cycling, fruit farms, lakeside experiences, and drives towards Mount Tanigawa.

Clear evenings give you a chance to watch the stars with your dog. Visibility is often strongest between December and February, when the mountain air becomes especially clear.

Additional Features

Check-in begins at 15:00, and check-out is by 11:00. When dinner forms part of your stay, you need to arrive early enough for the assigned meal session.

The drive from the Tsukiyono Interchange takes around 20 minutes. From Jomo-Kogen Station, the taxi journey also takes around 20 minutes. A local bus reaches the Takumi no Sato stop in around 20 minutes, followed by a walk of approximately 15 minutes.

All rooms are non-smoking. Smoking is limited to the designated area, and the wider grounds, including the parking area, follow the non-smoking rule.

Dogs must be at least six months old, free from fleas and parasites, and vaccinated against rabies and common infectious diseases within the required period. You need to bring proof of vaccination.

The number of dogs permitted depends on their size and your room type. The Japanese-Western Room can accommodate more dogs than the Standard Twin Room. Dogs can move through the building on a lead and can remain off-lead inside your room and the dog runs.