Beautiful property! It is located right next to the river which you hear all the time. The onsen are lovely (although the private onsen was closed). Swimsuits are OK, however men are allowed to bathe nude in the mixed onsen. Women are only allowed to bathe nude in the women-only onsen and have to wear a modesty wrap in the mixed bath which they give to you upon check-in. Tattoos are OK. The room was spacious and had a small separate area with a sink. Toilets are shared and there is a shared bathroom downstairs separate for male/female. Japanese style bathroom (no private showers). We loved the spectacular view from the onsen and our window. The breakfast and dinner was amazing, and plenty of food. No choices, you get a set menu. A lot of fish and vegetables, some hida beef, soups, noodles, rice and tea. We visited in November and it was not busy. We went on a hike from the Ropeway station and did not see any other hikers. Beware that this time of year there are bears around and precautions should be taken when walking in the forest.

We had looked forward to the private onsen experience, yet inexplicable the private onsen were closed during our stay. They did not mention this to us beforehand when we enquired about it. Be advised that this hotel is in the middle of nowhere, there are no shops around and it is not in Kamikochi. To go to Kamikochi you would have to take two buses again (ca 45 minute trip)! It is however a 15 minute walk to the Ropeway where there is a little takeaway counter for food and you can do some hikes. The hotel does not offer lunch.

I loved the fact that it was off the beaten path and very simple. The nature is absolutely stunning. I read some previous reviews that weren’t happy by the fact that they had to walk outside for the private onsen. Actually it is really a short walk and totally worth it. I swish I could go back.

The hot springs and views of the mountains are amazing - even better than they look in the pictures, and it's great that you can book (for no extra charge) the private Onsen upon arrival. This was also lovely and spacious. The dinner was delicious and exceeded expectations. Staff were helpful and provided breakfast for us half an hour earlier than their normal service. The property is straightforward to get to via a direct bus from Takayama. Getting to Kamikochi the next morning also took less than an hour via bus.

The WiFi didn't work in our bedroom. There really isn't anything nearby so booking meals is necessary.

great place to explore Takayama from; very comfortable with all the facilities you would want. spacious with a lovely little garden

Great outdoor onsen with spectacular view!

A bit long walk to the private onsen

the hot springs were amazing! especially the family private ones!

Staffs are friendly and very attentive. Rooms are clean and the outdoor Onsen are excellent.

Let me start by saying: the spa's are amazing! In the midst of nature, alongside the river, with a view of the mountains and during night being able to stargaze from the onsen is an experience I will not forget soon. Also bonus points that there is a dinner option for vegetarians - that has to be booked in advance.

Unfortunately, Shinzanso is very unwelcoming to foreign tourists with no knowledge of Japanese. Starting out with the fact that no information on the meals is provided either on Booking.com or through their website (or other websites where you can book a stay with Shinzanso), we didn't know what to expect. The norm in Japan is to bring cash everywhere, and with 15.000 yen with us, we expected to be well covered for the night. The opposite seemed to be the case though. From the moment of checking in, we were greeted by a staff member that was visibly displeased by the fact that we didn't speak Japanese and proceeded to show us an instructional video in English on the tv while giving off the vibe that she couldn't wait for this instructional video to be over so she could do something else. After sitting through the instructional video, we were asked whether we would stay for dinner and breakfast. Considering there are no restaurants or any other option to get food after 18:00 in the area, we decided to have dinner and breakfast. As the prices are nowhere advertised, we didn't know how much this would be, but I can safely say that dinner here was by far the most expensive dinner by a wide margin we've had during a month of travelling through Japan! As such, we were literally out of cash for breakfast. Credit cards are not accepted and the nearest ATM is located at the post office in a nearby town (15 minutes by bus), but unfortunately only open during regular business hours. As such, having an extra drink during dinner was not an option. A different pair of foreign tourists didn't make a reservation for dinner, and as such were left at the reception with not knowing what to do. I hope they were able to arrange something by going to the nearby town. This was luckily (and unfortunately) the only place during our month-long travel that felt as if we were unwanted guests and they preferred to have Japanese guests instead.