Overview

Stay at Nitchoan Keigetsu in Hirugami Onsen, a mountain hot spring village in Achi, southern Nagano. With 20 rooms, seasonal kaiseki dining, and baths filled with the smooth water of Hirugami Onsen, you can enjoy a traditional ryokan stay surrounded by the countryside of the Ina Valley.

The name Nitchoan Keigetsu has a connection to Matsubayashi Keigetsu, a painter known for landscapes and images of flowers and birds. He wrote about the natural beauty of the Ina Valley in Chinese-style poetry and gave the name Nitchoan to a retreat owned by a previous generation of the family.

Inside, you find an open lobby, Japanese furnishings, tatami rooms, and dining spaces inspired by sukiya architecture. You can spend the evening enjoying a multi-course dinner, soak until late at night, and join one of the star-viewing experiences for which Achi Village is known.

Accommodation

Choose from five room types, including two Japanese rooms with private semi-open-air hot spring baths, a Japanese-Western twin room, and traditional Japanese rooms measuring 10, 12, or 12.5 tatami mats.

The Japanese Room with Semi-Open-Air Hot Spring Bath has a ten-tatami main room and a private bath made from Japanese umbrella pine. Natural Hirugami Onsen water flows into the bath, allowing you to soak whenever you choose. A separate shower booth is also provided.

Only two rooms include private hot spring water, making this category the best choice when bathing privacy is important.

The Japanese-Western Twin Room starts from 26 square metres and includes two beds with Airweave mattresses. Futons can be added when you stay with family or friends. The private indoor bath is made from aged hinoki cypress, but it does not contain hot spring water.

Traditional Japanese rooms are available in 10-, 12-, and 12.5-tatami layouts. You sleep on futons prepared on the tatami and have space to sit together over tea before dinner or after bathing.

Each standard Japanese room includes a private indoor bath made from aged hinoki cypress. These room baths use regular heated water rather than natural onsen water.

All rooms are non-smoking and include a television, telephone, electric kettle, tea set, refrigerator, humidifier, safe, and toilet with a bidet function. You also receive bath towels, face towels, toothbrushes, yukata, and slippers. Free Wi-Fi is available in every room.

Dining

Dinner is a seasonal kaiseki meal prepared with ingredients from Achi Village and other parts of Shinshu. Menus change with the time of year, bringing spring mountain flavours, summer produce, autumn mushrooms, and warming winter dishes to your table.

The standard kaiseki may begin with a seasonal aperitif and small appetisers before moving through Shinshu salmon and seasonal sashimi, maitake mushrooms steamed in an earthenware pot, and salt-grilled yamame river fish.

Regional flavours continue with kikuiimo noodles from Seinaiji in Achi Village, sweet-simmered Iida carp, seasonal vegetables, and shabu-shabu made with Gen-ton pork from southern Shinshu. The meal finishes with Achi-grown Koshihikari rice, Shinshu miso soup, local pickles, and a seasonal dessert or fruit.

For a more distinctive dinner, choose the Murasawa Beef Kaiseki. This rare beef comes from cattle raised by a producer in Achi Village and is sourced through the specialist butcher Ginkakuji Onishi in Kyoto.

The Murasawa Beef Kaiseki may include beef tataki, nigiri sushi, charcoal-grilled iwana, seasonal vegetables, and your choice of grilled beef or stone-cooked steak. Achi-grown rice, mushroom miso soup, Shinshu pickles, and an original dessert complete the meal.

A lighter kaiseki option gives you a smaller amount of food while retaining fresh fish, meat, local produce, and regional specialities.

Breakfast uses local ingredients in handmade dishes and traditional regional recipes. Western-style breakfast options may also be available depending on your dining arrangement.

Meals are served in Shikitei or another ryokan dining space according to your selected plan. Dinner normally begins between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Onsen and Wellness

Hirugami Onsen is known for its smooth bathing texture and high alkalinity. The spring has a pH of 9.7, and its sodium content helps the skin retain moisture after bathing.

The water is classified as a clear alkaline simple sulfur spring and emerges from the source at approximately 47.4°C. Traditional bathing indications include rheumatic conditions, mobility concerns, chilblains, wounds, diabetes, and menstrual discomfort.

The large communal baths use tubs made from Japanese umbrella pine. The wood adds a gentle natural fragrance to the bathing area and complements the soft feel of the spring water.

The baths receive 100% natural hot spring water without added cold water. Part of the water circulates for temperature control, and enough fresh water enters the baths to replace almost all the contents within approximately 24 hours.

Open-air bathing areas allow you to enjoy the mountain air alongside the large indoor baths. The two bathing sides switch between men and women at 7:00 p.m., giving you the opportunity to experience both layouts.

You can use the baths from check-in until 9:30 a.m. the following morning. Short closures take place for cleaning and the evening changeover.

When you choose one of the two Japanese rooms with a semi-open-air bath, you can enjoy the same Hirugami Onsen water inside your accommodation at any time.

Guests with Tattoos

You can use the communal hot spring baths when you have tattoos. Keigetsu does not apply a specific tattoo restriction, but you should follow normal Japanese bathing etiquette and remain considerate of everyone using the baths.

For complete privacy, choose one of the two Japanese rooms with its own semi-open-air hot spring bath. The standard room baths do not contain natural onsen water.

Facilities

The open lobby rises through the centre of the building and gives you a view toward the sukiya-style dining area on the second floor. Seasonal decorations and Japanese furnishings introduce the character of the ryokan when you arrive.

The lounge opens from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can sit here with freshly prepared hand-drip coffee or take a quiet break between meals and bathing.

The shop follows the same opening hours and carries regional food, sweets, crafts, and small keepsakes from southern Nagano.

Shikitei serves as both a dining and tea space. Additional dining rooms and banquet halls support meals, celebrations, and larger gatherings. The main 95-tatami banquet hall can accommodate up to 120 people, while Horai and Shofu provide smaller settings.

Free Wi-Fi is available in every room. All accommodation is non-smoking, and free parking is available for around 40 cars, with space for large buses.

Activities

Join the Starry Sky Walk after dinner and travel by bus to a dark viewing location away from the village lights. A guide introduces the night sky, and a commemorative photograph may be taken when the weather is suitable. This program is separate from the Heavens Sonohara Night Tour.

A private premium star walk is also available. Your guide chooses the departure time and viewing location according to the evening weather, with the experience normally lasting between 90 minutes and two hours. Warm coffee, ground mats, sleeping bags, and a commemorative photograph are included.

Daytime guided walks introduce you to the countryside and history of Achi Village. You can explore Komamba, once part of the ancient Tōsandō route and later a busy post town, or visit Sonohara for shrines, waterfalls, old legends, and landscapes connected to classical Japanese literature.

You can also walk through Hirugami Onsen and visit its daily morning market. Local growers sell seasonal vegetables, mountain plants, fruit, pickles, and handmade products throughout the year.

Tsumago-juku is within reach for a longer outing. Its preserved wooden buildings and old Nakasendō streets give you a closer look at the atmosphere of an Edo-period post town.

Additional Features

Check-in begins at 2:00 p.m., and check-out is by 10:00 a.m. Selected accommodation plans may provide different arrival or departure times.

By car, the ryokan is around ten minutes from either Iida-Yamamoto Interchange or Sonohara Interchange. Free parking is available beside the property.

From Nagoya, the highway bus to Hirugami Onsen takes around two hours and 20 minutes. The ryokan is approximately two minutes on foot from the Hirugami Onsen bus stop.