Destination
A forested highland resort 70 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen, where the capital's elite have summered since a Canadian missionary built the first cottage here in 1886. It sits at around 1,000 metres, runs several degrees cooler than Tokyo through the summer, and is unusual among Japanese resort towns in that most of its water is not thermal — the onsen are on the Hoshino estate and out toward Kita-Karuizawa, not under the town itself.
Looking for hotels in Karuizawa? Compare 8 traditional ryokans and modern onsen hotels — private baths, English-speaking staff, vegetarian kaiseki, and tattoo-friendly options all filterable in one place.
See our editors' top picks for Karuizawa8 ryokans in Karuizawa
ホテルグランヴェール旧軽井沢
The closest comfortable hotel to the shinkansen — three minutes on foot from the north exit, and the highest-rated stay in town on Trip.com.
from $110 / per night · per person
9.2/10 (451)ルグラン旧軽井沢
Forty-three rooms with a rooftop open-air hot-spring bath, fifteen minutes on foot from the station in Old Karuizawa.
from $190 / per night · per person
9.3/10 (135)星野リゾート BEB5軽井沢
Hoshino's budget format on the same Karuizawa ground — 73 rooms, a 24-hour cafe lounge, and no pressure to do dinner.
from $80 / per night · per person
8.8/10 (91)星のや軽井沢
The Hoshino estate flagship — 77 rooms along man-made waterways, two onsen, and a valley that the resort has owned for a century.
from $830 / per night · per person
8.8/10 (63)軽井沢ホテル ロンギングハウス
A vegetable-forward auberge in a cluster of European-style villas, with free private open-air baths and a five-minute drive to almost everything.
from $130 / per night · per person
万平ホテル
Karuizawa's 1894 classic hotel, where John Lennon summered — 86 rooms, and no onsen, because the town's water is not thermal.
from $230 / per night · per person
レジーナリゾート軽井沢御影用水
A 26-room dog-luxury resort out at Oiwake, built around the premise that the dog is a guest rather than a tolerated extra.
from $210 / per night · per person
星野リゾート 軽井沢ホテルブレストンコート
Thirty-one cottage-style rooms on the same Hoshino estate as HOSHINOYA, at roughly a third of the price, with the same Tombo-no-Yu access.
from $140 / per night · per person
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