Kanaguya

819. Kanaguya, Shibu Onsen, Nagano (pt.1) ★★★ A ryokan from the fan-made list of onsen that supposedly inspired Miyazaki when depicting the onsen in Spirited Away. What matches: - the front view of the main building strongly resembles the top part of the main building above the entrance in the anime; - the color palette inside and the interior may not look like a specific frame from the anime, but the overall vibe is definitely there. It even feels like walking through the ryokan between the baths and rooms brings up the anime association more than the facade does; - the overall format of a large multi-building property with onsen that you keep moving through. On the map, the ryokan looks like one unified complex, but in fact it consists of four buildings and a banquet hall. And you cannot move between the buildings on every floor. It may seem that this makes getting around a bit more complicated, but in fact it only adds interest to exploring the place. The baths are located in all the buildings, so a full round through them takes you through every building. 16.01.2026 17.01.2026

Two meals, dinner and breakfast, at Kanaguya 16.01.2026 17.01.2026

819. Kanaguya, Shibu Onsen, Nagano (pt.3) ★★★ About the onsen: 1. Roten-buro. An open-air bath on the roof of the entrance building. Standing up, you can see the mountains and the village over the fence. Sitting in the water, the view disappears. The water is clear, temperature 42.5. 2. Saigetsu-no-yu. Onsen boat. Private indoor bath. The water is clear, temperature 40.5. It is comfortable to breathe inside. 3. Gankutsu-no-yu. Private cave bath. It really feels like being in a small cave. The water is clear, temperature 43.5. It is comfortable to breathe inside, and there are three small windows facing outside, which can also be opened. 4. Bimyo-no-yu. Private wooden barrel bath. The water is clear, temperature 45. It is comfortable to breathe inside. 16.01.2026 17.01.2026

819. Kanaguya, Shibu Onsen, Nagano (pt.2) ★★★ I stayed one night in the entrance building. The room had shared heating, and even on Low it was very comfortable and warm in winter. Overall, it was the warmest room on the whole trip in January 2026. The room has a book about ryokan where many cats live, and Kanaguya is listed in it too. And indeed, while walking around the ryokan, you keep running into cats from time to time, and they can climb anywhere as if they own the place. At the ryokan, they give you a key for visiting 9 public onsen in Shibu Onsen. At reception, they sell onsen goshuin. I mainly dealt with Japanese staff. The service was all decent. I had the set meal option, dinner kaiseki and breakfast. Meals were served in a nice large banquet hall. 16.01.2026 17.01.2026

819. Kanaguya, Shibu Onsen, Nagano (pt.4) ★★★ About the onsen: 5. Kamakura-buro. Alternates between men and women with Roman-buro. Indoor bath. The water is rather clear, slightly cloudy. Temperature 44.5. It is easy to breathe inside, but the room felt cool in winter. There is only one shower. 6. Roman-buro. Alternates between men and women with Kamakura-buro. Indoor bath in a "Roman" style with stained glass. The ceiling of the room looks like something from a horror movie, but that actually works in its favor, the bath feels even more unreal. The water is dark green and cloudy. Temperature 43. Breathing inside is fine. 7. Koyasu-no-yu. Private indoor small bath. The water is clear, temperature 39. Breathing inside is comfortable. 8. Keiwa-no-yu. Private indoor small bath. The water is clear, temperature 45 before stirring the water and 42 after. Breathing inside is comfortable. A top place. A very strong combination of advantages, the "supposedly Miyazaki-like" effect outside and especially inside, lots of baths of different and rare types, several kinds of water, a large ryokan complex, decent service. 16.01.2026 17.01.2026