Suwa Bettei Suhaku

A lakefront onsen inn with two different springs — one rust-brown, one clear — in rooftop baths over Lake Suwa, renovated in 2025 with six lake-facing rooms that have their own baths; the shared baths are recirculated, and the other rooms vary a lot

Suhaku opened in 2002 as Sōsen no Yado Suhaku, a six-storey inn of about 35 rooms on the shore of Lake Suwa run by the Nagano transport group Alpico. After a renovation from January to April 2025 it reopened on 1 May 2025 as Suwa Bettei Suhaku: twelve lake-facing rooms were merged into six 60㎡ rooms with their own onsen bath on the terrace, the dining rooms became one restaurant with an open kitchen, and the lobby was redone. The name comes from its two springs, which the inn says no other Kamisuwa inn has: the 'shu' water, a brownish simple spring from about 160 m down, and the 'haku' water, a clear, weakly alkaline spring piped in at 64.5°C. Both fill the top-floor baths, whose open-air tubs look straight across the lake — the view nearly every reviewer praises, especially at sunset and on summer firework nights. Japanese guests rate it 4.5 across 1,901 reviews on one major site (dinner 4.6, cleanliness 4.7), 4.48 across 1,452 on another (baths 4.60) and 4.48 across 115 on a third (baths 4.71). They like the generous Shinshu kaiseki, the free beer and ice lollies after the bath, friendly staff and free lake-cruise tickets. The catches: a booking site lists the shared baths as watered down, heated and recirculated; only six rooms face the lake head-on, and a 2026 guest's no-view room looked onto a neighbour's mossy wall; parking is about 150 m away, with no car porch; and 2026 reviews mention awkward renovated layouts, no call button at dinner and slow breakfast service. Two meals cost from about ¥40,000 for two at the cheapest, though most reviewers paid ¥26,000–30,000 or more per person.