Overview

Step into a slower rhythm at The TOJIBA Matsukawakan, a nine-room hot spring inn in Yamada Onsen, surrounded by the mountains and forests of Takayama Village. The renovated building keeps touches of its Showa-era character while shaping your stay around the Japanese tradition of toji: restoring yourself through repeated bathing, nourishing food, deep rest, and time away from daily distractions.

You can move between free-flowing spring water, two outdoor sauna experiences, mountain cooking, and quiet spaces overlooking the surrounding landscape. Matsukawakan sits at an elevation of around 1,000 metres, where cool air, forest sounds, autumn colour, winter snow, and clear night skies become part of your stay.

A complimentary shuttle from Nagano Station makes the mountain setting easier to reach. Once you arrive, you can leave your usual schedule behind and focus on bathing, eating well, and resting at your own pace.

Accommodation

Matsukawakan has nine non-smoking rooms in two main styles. Choose a Japanese-Western room with beds and tatami flooring or a traditional Japanese room with futon bedding.

The Japanese-Western Premium Rooms combine the comfort of beds with space to relax on tatami. Natural wood, subdued interiors, and views towards the surrounding trees create a warm setting after the hot spring or sauna. This layout works especially well when you prefer sleeping in a bed while still enjoying the atmosphere of a Japanese inn.

The traditional Japanese rooms place you close to the character of an older mountain ryokan. Tatami flooring, futon bedding, wooden details, and large windows create a simple place to rest. The rooms accommodate couples, families, and small groups, with enough floor space to relax together before dinner.

Your room includes free Wi-Fi, a television, refrigerator, kettle, heating and air conditioning. Yukata, bath towels, face towels, a toothbrush set, and a hairbrush are also provided.

The rooms do not include private hot spring baths. You can enjoy the spring water in the shared indoor bath and the reservable open-air bath.

Dining

Your meals focus on meat, rice, broth, mushrooms, and vegetables from Shinshu. Dinner brings together ingredients from local farms and hunters, including Shinshu salmon, Shinshu beef, Shinshu pork, local chicken, and seasonal game such as deer, wild boar, and bear.

Two main dinner styles let you experience the mountain ingredients in different ways. The limited irori meat kaiseki invites you to grill selected cuts of beef and game over a traditional hearth. The aroma and sound of the food cooking become part of the meal, allowing you to control the pace as you eat.

The Toji Kaiseki follows a gentler approach. Seasonal vegetables and local mushrooms are served with a fermented broth made from Matsukawakan’s original umeboshi, Shinshu miso, and other fermented ingredients. No chemical flavour enhancers are used. During autumn, the meal may feature a warming mushroom shabu-shabu with more than ten types of locally gathered mushrooms.

Milky Queen rice from the Maki area of Takayama Village accompanies dinner. Grown with local spring water, this rice has a soft, slightly sticky texture and gentle sweetness. It is cooked in an earthenware pot before serving.

Breakfast continues the toji theme with a warm rice porridge made using the previous evening’s fermented broth and Shinshu mushrooms. Its light flavour gives you a comfortable start after a morning bath or sauna session.

Onsen and Wellness

Matsukawakan uses 100% free-flowing water from Yamada Onsen. The clear spring is classified as a sulfur-containing sodium-calcium chloride spring with a near-neutral pH of approximately 7.3. Natural mineral deposits known as yu-no-hana may float in the water, showing the character of the undiluted spring.

The water runs hot, making it especially satisfying during the cooler months. The chloride content helps your body retain warmth after bathing, while the light sulfur scent and soft feel add to the experience.

The shared indoor bath receives a continuous flow of spring water. Large windows bring in daylight and views of the surrounding greenery, while chairs beside the windows give you a place to cool down between soaks. You can use the indoor bath after check-in until late evening and again during the morning bathing period.

Gokumu no Yu is the private open-air hot spring bath. You can reserve a session after check-in and enjoy the spring without sharing the space. Mountains and forest surround the bath during the day, while clear evenings bring views of the moon and stars. The spring remains free-flowing, with natural yu-no-hana visible in the water.

Two historic community baths add another layer to the Yamada Onsen experience. Oyu stands around one minute away and has served the local community since the Edo period. Taki no Yu is around 30 seconds away and is reserved for local residents and those using Matsukawakan. Both let you experience the simple bathing culture of this small mountain hot spring town.

The Forest Sauna stands among the trees and includes two sauna rooms. The 70°C herbal sauna uses seasonal fragrances, Shinshu herbs, and birch to create a gentler steam experience. The second sauna reaches approximately 110°C and delivers much stronger heat for a more intense session. Both allow you to enjoy löyly by pouring small amounts of water over the heated stones.

After the Forest Sauna, step into a 120-centimetre-deep cold-water bath supplied with mountain water. The water is chilled and maintained through a flow and filtration system. Outdoor chairs, reclining seats, and a resting area let you cool down among the trees. From 20:00, a bonfire adds the sound, warmth, and glow of an open flame.

The Sky Sauna sits at an elevation of around 1,000 metres and is reserved entirely for your group. Hinoki wood fills the sauna with a natural fragrance, while stone surfaces spread radiant heat from a Harvia tower stove. A small window frames the mountains and sky as steam rises around you.

The private Sky Sauna also includes a cold-water bath using Takayama Village water, a shower, and an outdoor resting area overlooking the Matsukawa Valley. A session lasts around 120 minutes. Depending on the timing, you can watch the sunset, autumn leaves, or stars above the mountains. Advance reservations are required, and access may be included with selected accommodation plans.

Guests with Tattoos

You can use Matsukawakan’s on-site indoor hot spring bath, private open-air bath, Forest Sauna, and Sky Sauna if you have tattoos. Gokumu no Yu and the Sky Sauna are fully private, while the Forest Sauna may operate as a shared or private facility depending on your reservation.

Facilities

Matsukawakan provides free Wi-Fi throughout the nine-room property, along with a lounge and resting spaces where you can sit between bathing sessions. Your room includes a television, refrigerator, kettle, heating, air conditioning, towels, yukata, and basic toiletries.

The Forest Sauna area includes two sauna rooms, a deep cold-water bath, outdoor chairs, reclining spaces, and a bonfire area. The separate Sky Sauna includes a private sauna, cold-water bath, shower, and outdoor relaxation space.

Inside the inn, you can search for a hidden bar and spend time in a retro games area with older Japanese consoles, Famicom and Super Famicom games, and table tennis. These playful spaces give you something to enjoy between dinner and your next bath.

Waterwear and sauna ponchos can be rented for the sauna facilities. Towels are included with an overnight stay. Pets cannot stay inside the property.

Activities

Your stay can follow the traditional rhythm of toji. Begin with the indoor spring, cool down beside the window, move to the Forest Sauna or Sky Sauna, and return to the water later in the evening. A private soak beneath the night sky and a warm mushroom breakfast the following morning complete the experience.

Walk through Yamada Onsen in your yukata and visit Oyu and Taki no Yu. The short distances between Matsukawakan and the community baths make it easy to enjoy several bathing experiences without using a car.

At the Forest Sauna, you can arrange a pizza-baking experience and cook your own pizza in the outdoor oven. The activity requires an advance reservation and may stop during poor weather.

For a day outdoors, visit Kaminari Falls, where a path takes you behind the falling water. The sound and spray create a powerful contrast to the stillness of the hot spring. You can also travel higher into the mountains to Yamada Ranch for walking, mountain views, locally made cheese, soft-serve ice cream, and seasonal outdoor activities.

Day-use plans let you combine the indoor hot spring, sauna, lunch, and a relaxation room without staying overnight. The Forest Sauna welcomes day visitors during scheduled sessions, while the Sky Sauna offers private day-use sessions with advance reservations.

Additional Features

Check-in begins at 15:00, and check-out is by 10:00. Complimentary parking is available in the nearby village-operated parking area.

A free reservation-only shuttle runs between the east exit of Nagano Station and Matsukawakan. Several departure times are available in both directions, giving you an alternative to driving through the mountains.

When you arrive by car during winter, you need winter tyres because snow and ice can affect the mountain roads. Matsukawakan is around 50 minutes from Nagano Station by car, while the journey from Suzaka Station takes approximately 30 minutes by taxi.

Your stay brings together nine non-smoking rooms, free-flowing Yamada Onsen water, a reservable open-air bath, a shared indoor bath, two nearby community baths, the Forest Sauna, the private Sky Sauna, seasonal Shinshu dining, free Wi-Fi, complimentary parking, and a reservation-only Nagano Station shuttle.