Takimi Onsen Inn That Only Accepts One Group Per Day

No other word could summarise Takimi Onsen properly except ‘perfect’. When you book, you are guaranteed to be the only guest and full have access to the baths for the duration of your stay. We were collected in Tsumago by the owner and immediately felt welcomed. The onsen is in an amazing forest area and we were lucky that it snowed which made everything feel even more special. Sitting in the bath, overlooking a waterfall with snow falling just added to the perfection. Dinner was prepared by the owners and was amazing, (as was breakfast the next morning). Additionally, when the owner dropped us at Nagiso station after our stay, he gave us some sweet dried persimmons that he’d prepared for us to snack on during our train ride – delicious! Rooms were comfortable and we also had a sitting area attached to the bedroom to relax in. The ambience was incredibly peaceful and the whole experience was once in a lifetime. We cannot thank the owners enough for their hospitality and after walking a section of the Nakasendo trail, staying overnight at Takimi Onsen and unwinding in the bath was perfect.

We stayed with Koike and his wife in their beautiful inn near Nagiso, just off the Nakasendo way. Our visit was very brief - just one night - and specially designed for us to have a taste of the Nakasendo between Magome and Tsugome. Koike picked us up from the Nakatsagawa station and dropped us at Magome, before collecting us from Tsumago. Takimi inn is in a particularly memorable location, with a massive waterfall literally in the back yard of the inn. The inn has been in Koike's family for many years and the original buildings are over a 100 years old. The onsen is fabulous - two steaming cypress baths, one indoors and one outdoors, each with an amazing view of the waterfall. You could spend hours in it! Our room was very warm and comfortable, especially since outside in the morning the temperature was minus 5oC. For dinner, Koike served us a truly wonderful irori meal, cooked over hot coals and featuring an amazing range of delicacies; including wagyu, wild boar and bear. Breakfast was more relaxed, but again featuring really special Nagano delicacies; soy curd, local fruit, pickled vegetables and fish. When it was time to go Koike again drove us to the Nakatsagawa station. Our visit was highly memorable, and so special since it gave us a real insight not only of a wonderful part of the Nakasendo, but an especially important and historic Japanese wilderness area.