ZEN Hostel

Very chill, run by nice people

Enjoyed our stay at Zen hostel. The staff was attentive and helpful in planning activities.

Le personnel est très accueillant, l’hotel Est très calme et d’une parfaite propreté. Notre chambre était très spacieuse, avec un petit balcon charmant.

Cheap, clean, friendly staff, lots of trust, good breakfast

It was a great stay! Everything that you could need was provided! Very friendly environment both the staff and the guest! Special Kudos to Maya who manages the hostel very professionally and welcoming. She provided very useful information as well as the gentleman that was also there!

スタッフは良い。チェックインの際、ペーパーに基づいて説明があるので利用に安心できる。ドミトリーの消灯は22時。シャワー個室に脱衣かごがあればより便利と思う。湯田中駅から約5分で近い。駅に近い所にコンビニエンスストアがある。

スタッフは良い。チェックインの際、利用についての説明をペーパーに基づいてしてくれるので安心。ドミトリーは22時消灯。個室シャワーに脱衣かごがあれば便利と思う。

Zen Hostel is in a neat, old, traditional Japanese building. The lounge overlooks a pretty Japanese garden which can be viewed through the giant windows making it seem like you are outside. The walls throughout the hostel are adorned with nice photos from around the world. The floor in my private room was covered by beautiful tatami mats on which a futon is placed for sleeping. The futon was a little thin for sleeping on my side (boney hips) but was otherwise comfortable. Everything is clean. The heaters provided kept the room as toasty as I needed but the common spaces are pretty cold so bring warm jammies in the winter for the trip to the restroom. I don't consider this a negative for this hostel as I found it is normal for there to be cold common spaces in places in the low budget range (I wouldn't know about the fancy hotels in Japan). The staff were super nice and speak English. The breakfast options were yummy and reasonable at 600 yen. The dinner menu is limited but my curry was good. The location is perfect, just 5 minutes walk to the bus and train station and close to all restaurants. I definitely recommend this place!

Clean hotel, but wifi is slow and too far from metro or JR station

ラウンジにある薪ストーブが最高です 歩いて3分ほどの場所にある、よろずやのお風呂に割引で入れるのも素晴らしいです。 スタッフの方はみなさんフレンドリーですし、朝食もおいしかったです

Amazing, non expensive and clean place.

We stayed at a "private" twin room and once our door was opened by someone while we were away, and another time while we were still inside someone came into our room even though it was locked! It was a mistake but I couldn't recommend the private room if you are concerned about someone entering the room. Furthermore my girlfriend didn't think the room was that clean, personally I thought it was average. Service was nice and it's not far from station. However this area doesn't have many stores or restaurants that are open. I chose to come here because my girlfriend lives close by, but hotels in Nagano city are much cheaper and cleaner if you book in advance. Unfortunately my girlfriend was a bit picky and didn't want to travel to Nagano so I ended up paying more money for less. If you have the choice, stay at a hotel in Nagano city or choose this if you want to be close by some specific tourist attraction.

個室に泊まりましたが、旅館のような部屋に泊まることができくつろげました。 また、近くの有名温泉旅館と提携していて、追加料金で温泉に入れる仕組みがあり、助かりました。

居心地が良かったです。特に気を使うこともなく、特別にサービスを求めず、滞在重視な方にはおすすめだと思います。朝食が美味しかったです。スタッフも親切です。わが家に帰ってきたようなくつろぎを感じました。

Très bon séjour: le bâtiment est ancien, avec un cachet certain. Espaces bar et lounge au rez-de-chaussée. Staff sympa et serviable. Dans les chambres, les banquettes sont en configuration auberge à l'européenne - c-à-d dos-à-dos plutôt que côte-à-côte, avec des rideaux sur le côté. Je suppose qu'installer des capsules aurait dénaturé le bâtiment. Elles sont confortables, pas de souci. Il n'y a que 4 douches dans la salle de bain (il y a peut-être d'autres sdb?), donc il y aurait un risque d'embouteillage - SAUF QUE: l’hôtel a un super deal avec le Yorozuya à proximité: il est possible d'accéder à leurs bains intérieur (on se croirait dans un temple en bois) et extérieur pour 800 yens, de 22 à 00h. De quoi profiter d'une super expérience d'onsen, et d’être sûr de ne pas faire la queue à la douche le lendemain, si l’hôtel est plein. L’hôtel n'est pas loin de la gare Yudanaka - super pratique! Le quartier est moins pittoresque que Shibu Onsen, mais en fonction des lieux que vous comptez voir il est potentiellement mieux situé (plus central) et en tout cas mieux desservi (gare Yudanaka). Pour le Monkey Park, il est assez loin dans les deux cas et il vaut mieux s'y rendre en bus (je m'y suis rendu en vélo: ~10min de Yudanaka Onsen à Shibu Onsen; puis 30min ou plus vers le Monkey Park par le chemin forestier [mais il est vallonné et fatiguant]).

Convenient for snow monkeys and nice nearby onsen. Employees very kind made nice breakfast and drove us to the station

We chose this hostel by mistake. We thought it was in Shibu Onsen since this what we searched for when booking. Our fault!! We were disappointed to learn this place is in neighboring village and can not provide key to the 9 public onsens in Shibu Onsen. The owner didn’t bother explaining where we got it wrong. He pretended he doesn’t know what we are talking about and offered to sell us entry to an Onsen nearby his place where he has a deal. What is the problem helping us understand the situation? This is not the friendliness and hospitality we got accustomed to traveling around Japan. The hostel itself is ok, very basic and abit unhygienic in Japanese standards. It is quite cheap so you get descent value for money.

【悪い点】 ・寒い日ではあったが、とにかく部屋が寒く、エアコンををフルで動かしても温まらない（部屋の広さに対応しているエアコンではないと思われる） ・ガスストーブも置いてあるのに、物理的に使えない（使えなくしているのか故障しているのか不明で使えない旨の説明等一切無し） ・部屋内に洗面器と水道が付いているのに使えない旨の表示（理由不明） ・広い室内にコンセントが一箇所のみ。古いコンセントで口の間隔が狭くMacのアダプタを挿したら他の機器が使えなかった。 ・お茶や湯沸かしポット等一切無し。ティッシュも置いてない。 ・室内にコタツのような机はあるが、座椅子が無い（座布団はあり） ・共同トイレはとても華奢な造りで、プライベートの確保が完全ではない ・館内に温泉設備が無い（シャワーはあり）のはまだしも、館外の温泉設備へのアクセス情報が無い ・１階がBAR兼レストランになっているが、メニューが置いてない（言えば渡してもらえる）ので何が食べられるか分からない 【良かった点】 ・到着予定が大幅に過ぎてしまったが対応していただけた ・Wi-Fiが使える

Friendly English speaking staff, good breakfast, private showers, comfy bedding and good location handy for the snow monkeys.

Nice and clean hotel close to the station. It was so comfortable stay. So it has nice cafe and bar, we could get good time in morning.