Ganiba Onsen - Semboku

Stayed for one night at this lovely onsen in the Nyuto Onsen region. Staff were very friendly, and though we speak little to no Japanese, the staff spoke enough English for us to get settled and understand the layout of the onsen. The room was very nice, clean, and comfortable. Dinner and breakfast was provided in our booking, and these are at set meal times. Dinner was a collection of around 18 or so small dishes. The food is very Traditional, and some items can seem strange and a little daunting for those not accustomed to it. Additionally, almost all the dishes had some form of meat or fish in them, so if you are vegetarian, I would reccomend purchasing some food around Tazawako Station. The fresh crab was delicious The onsen itself was great. We exclusively utilised the outdoor mixed gender bath, which is a short 1 minute walk from the main building. There are split changing rooms that funnel into the bath. The bath is very hot, but you acclimatise quickly. We used the bath 3 times, and had it pretty much all to ourselves each time. It is open 24hrs, so you can take a dip whenever. It was great both day and night. All in all, we had a great experience here, would definitley recommend. A tip would be to allow some time to explore some of the surrounding onsen in the area, the one that is walking distance was closed to us, and we didn't have time to explore the others.

Our favourite onsen ryokan in Nyuto onsen area. Most onsen ryokans in this area are superb for traditional Japanese experience, but the staff and this hotel give you a happy feeling. Food here is amazing. Love this hotel. Please respect this hotel and follow onsen ettiquette. Last visit we noticed a couple of tourists taking toothbrushes and soaps into the osen baths! Shame on those tourists. The hosts are lovely people. Will always return here if travelling.

For males one exclusive bath today inside. Outside, with a 50m walk there was a mixed bathing bath. This was surrounded by snow and it was snowing. The inside bath was wooden and had a light coloured water, with a sulphuric smell. This was quite steamy, given the cold outside. Ganiba Onsen was very calm and relaxing. A beautiful Tansu at the entrance.

Stayed for a night here on autumn 2016. The place is small but the amenities are good. I especially like the outdoor bath. You have to cross the forest about 50m++ before reaching the bath. In autumn or winter it would be quite an experience to enter the bath with just your bathing robe in the chilling temperature.

Meow! I came here in January and Nyuto Onsen was covered beautifully in snow and I left many paw prints. The outdoor bath (roten-buro) in the forest is a highlight. During the day it is mixed gender (and no towels in the bath). We stayed overnight and it is female only for an hour at night (7-8pm) and we felt like we were transported to another place and time. We went early morning as well, again so magical. You shower in an indoor bath first, dress again, then walk out to outdoor bath - inconvenient but worth it. The other baths here are so-so. The facilities are a bit run down but good signage and English. Felt like I was deep in the forest like a wild cat! Meow! ????

The open-air bath at Ganiba Onsen is hot and comfortable.

We stayed here for one night and was amazed by the its beauty in winter. Very grateful that we managed to booked this place through online site (with google translate) and paid 9000¥ per pax for a tatami room. As both females we are not so keen about the mixed gender rotenburo however we were not let down because they opened the outdoor onsen specifically for ladies only between 7.30pm-8.30pm. We hurried there to use it and found ourself surrounded by falling snow among the woods. They also have another outdoor (smaller) onsen for ladies only and two indoor onsens for men and ladies, separated. Indoor wise we preferred the wood onsen than the stone bath. We did not explore other onsens in Nyuto due to time restraint, however we are glad to fully utilise the onsen in the ryokan. The meals are lovely as well as the receptionist who tried to communicate with us in English. Wonderful and memorable stay, will definitely be back again.

My wife and I very much enjoyed our stay here. It's a traditional, family-owned establishment in the rural mom & pop tradition. The excellent service and welcoming staff earned the hotel the fifth star. For what it is, it offers a restful, homey experience. Baths were clean, well-maintained and featured some of the purest onsen water we've ever experienced. Rooms are simple, quaint and tidy, with shared bathroom and toilets in the hallway. As long as you're looking for a country-style aesthetic, you'll find them cozy and refreshing. Dinner and breakfast service is creative and top-class - our compliments to the chefs! We enjoyed the local sake collection as well. Outdoor baths: the hotel offers two naturally-heated outdoor onsen. One is set in a spacious wooden tub immediately outside the hotel's East wing, and caters primarily to women (reserved hours for men). It offers a lovely, uninterrupted view of the local forest. The other is a fifty meter walk to the hotel's West, and is set in a picturesque mountain grove. Historic, stunning and majestic (and for couples, romantic!). We visited at the height of winter and the water was still hot and pleasant amidst the snow. The hotel offered us boots to walk along the outdoor path. Note: this is a mixed-gender bath. My wife and I felt it was spacious enough to avoid any undue exposure or embarrassment. The changing room offers two separate paths from the men/women's sides. Indoor baths: the hotel offers two smaller-size and two larger-size baths, separated by gender. These are also the real deal - piping hot naturally-heated onsen water. Note: the hotel only accepts cash payment. This caught us by surprise, but the hotel staff not only assisted us in driving us to an ATM, they took us all the way back to the train station, refusing payment for the service! Thanks to Nabe san, the driver, for his impromptu tour of some local sites and excellent customer service. We'd recommend bringing some snacks with you prior to your stay. The onsen is deep in the mountains and there are no accessible convenience stores or restaurants of you're feeling hungry late at night. Ganiba offers an affordable onsen pass so that guests can also experience historic outdoor baths at nearby locations.