Ryokan in Matsumoto

Three of the four reviewed inns are in the mountains outside Matsumoto, so plan on a bus, shuttle or careful drive. Tobira Onsen Myojinkan sits alone in its own mountain valley; Awanoyu and Shirafuneso Shintaku Ryokan are both in Shirahone, a mountain spa village on the road to Kamikochi, Shintaku on a wooded rise above it — take the Alpico train to Shin-Shimashima and the bus to the Shirahone Onsen terminus, where the inn will collect you free if you ask when booking, and arrive by 17:00, its firm last check-in. Awanoyu and Myojinkan keep their baths lukewarm for long soaks, while Shintaku's own spring arrives at about 50°C and is cooled only by adjusting the flow. KAI Matsumoto is easiest: in the old Asama Onsen quarter north of the castle town, 15 to 20 minutes by taxi or city bus from the station.

Awanoyu (classic), in Shirahone, is about one huge milky-blue mixed bath at body temperature, with wraps lent to overnight guests and no women-only hours; the ageing building is cold in winter, and children 12 and under aren't accepted. Shirafuneso Shintaku Ryokan (classic), also in Shirahone, suits anyone who wants the village's milky water in single-sex or private baths: its own spring, never heated, watered down or recirculated, feeds seven free-flowing tubs — hinoki indoor and open-air baths for each sex, open round the clock except a 10:00–12:00 clean, plus two free 45-minute private baths where water wells up beneath the tub — and Japanese guests rate it 4.7 across 3,836 reviews on one site, with a generous Shinshu kaiseki ending in apple gratin and rice porridge cooked in the spring water at breakfast; two-meal rates run about ¥19,800–34,100 per person. The buildings are old, with a long walk and a slow lift to the baths, most bloggers ate dinner in a partitioned hall rather than a private room, courses come briskly, and the private baths, half below ground, have no view. Tobira Onsen Myojinkan (luxury) adds rooms with their own onsen, a riverside standing bath and attentive service, but its ambitious French dinner divides guests. KAI Matsumoto (premium), relaunched in August 2026 around record players, Nagano wine and a free nightly concert, has 19 open-air-bath rooms, but diluted, recirculated water, a new Italian dinner and few post-relaunch reviews.