Hotel Tsubakino

A welcoming lobby with a crackling fireplace sets the tone, where you'll be handed a complimentary drink and your yukata. The HanaTsubaki restaurant serves multi-course dinners that change to reflect the seasons, with beautifully presented dishes built around local ingredients and premium Shinshu beef. Breakfasts offer a choice between traditional Japanese spreads (the more adventurous option) and Western plates. There's an evening sake tasting bar for unwinding after a day in the mountains, a small souvenir shop, and apple juice pressed from the hotel's own trees.

A mix of Japanese-style tatami rooms with futon bedding and Western-style rooms gives you the freedom to choose your own level of cultural immersion. All are spacious by Japanese standards, simply furnished and spotlessly clean, with mountain views from the upper floors that are stunning on a clear morning. Each room has a private shower and bathroom, plus the essentials – air conditioning, Wi-Fi, kettle and fridge. Some newer rooms come with their own semi-open-air baths fed by the natural hot spring, a particularly nice touch for those who prefer to soak in private.

The big-ticket draw is Jigokudani Monkey Park, a short bus ride and forest walk away, where wild macaques bathe in their own hot spring pool. Beyond the monkeys, the sprawling Shiga Kogen ski resort (host of the 1998 Winter Olympics) is 40 minutes by bus and offers fantastic winter powder. Stroll through Yudanaka's steamy streets following Issa's Walking Path past temples and stone monuments, or catch a train to Obuse to visit the Hokusai Museum. Pick up a Yumeguri Onsen Tegata pass and hop between the town's public bathhouses on a proper hot spring crawl.