THE GUIDE
This guide sorts the rated stays of Tohoku and the Snow Country into five districts. Three are in Tohoku: Iwate (Appi Kogen and Shizukuishi), Akayu Onsen in Yamagata and Kamasaki Onsen in Miyagi. The other two, Minamiuonuma in Niigata and Minakami in Gunma, are not Tohoku: both belong to the Snow Country Tourism Zone and are reached by the Joetsu Shinkansen. Each district is a separate trip, so the access comes first below.
On this page
Five districts, three Shinkansen lines
Iwate: from Morioka on the Tohoku Shinkansen, in two directions. For ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort, take the JR Hanawa Line to Appi-Kogen Station and the shuttle bus; AZUMA FARM Koiwai is about 25 minutes by car, with a free shuttle every 45 minutes. Akayu Onsen: Akayu Station is about 140 minutes from Tokyo on the Yamagata Shinkansen, and the stays are about 5 minutes by taxi; OSTERIA SINCERITÀ is the annex of YAMAGATA THE TAKINAMI, at the same address. Kamasaki Onsen: THE YUKAWA gives about 1 hour 50 minutes from Tokyo to Shiroishi-Zao Station, then about 20 minutes by its free shuttle. Minamiuonuma: Joetsu Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa, then the local line; ryugon is an 18-minute walk from Muikamachi Station, and SATOYAMA JUJO runs a free shuttle from Osawa Station by reservation. Minakami: Bettei Senjuan is about 8 minutes by car from Minakami Station (pickup on request) or about 25 minutes by bus from Jomo-Kogen Station, which the fastest Joetsu Shinkansen reaches in 62 minutes from Tokyo.
Hokkaido’s rated stays — Niseko, Noboribetsu and Hakodate — are compared district by district in Niseko & Hokkaido rated stays.
The stays compared
| Stay | District | Rooms | Private bath | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort | Iwate: Appi Kogen | 38 | Not recorded | One Key |
| AZUMA FARM Koiwai | Iwate: Shizukuishi | 24 | Not recorded | One Key |
| YAMAGATA THE TAKINAMI | Yamagata: Akayu Onsen | 19 | Every room | One Key |
| OSTERIA SINCERITÀ | Yamagata: Akayu Onsen | 3 | Not recorded | One Key |
| THE YUKAWA | Miyagi: Kamasaki Onsen | 11 | Every room | Ryokan Collection; no Key |
| SATOYAMA JUJO | Niigata: Minamiuonuma | 13 | Some rooms | One Key |
| ryugon | Niigata: Minamiuonuma | 29 | Some rooms | Ryokan Collection; no Key |
| Bettei Senjuan | Gunma: Minakami | 18 | Every room | One Key + R&C + Ryokan Collection |
Tohoku: Iwate, Yamagata and Miyagi
A farm stay near Morioka: AZUMA FARM Koiwai, opened in April 2026 on an 8-hectare pasture inside Koiwai Farm, with villas built from red pine, cypress and other timber grown at Koiwai. Skiing: at ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort every room looks onto the slopes, and in winter the location allows ski-in, ski-out. A hot-spring town: at YAMAGATA THE TAKINAMI the main house is a 350-year-old magariya farmhouse joined without nails, and every room has its own open-air bath fed straight from the source; OSTERIA SINCERITÀ, its annex, has three suites and Italian dinners. Forest and river from the room: each of the 11 rooms at THE YUKAWA has a terrace and an open-air bath facing the forest and the Yukawa river.
Rated stays in Tohoku
Nanyo, Yamagata
YAMAGATA THE TAKINAMI
山形座瀧波
US$336〜Per person · 2 meals
from US$673 for 2
Prices are in US dollars, converted from the yen the properties quote at the Oct 7, 2026 reference rate, and are indicative.
A price marked ≈ is itself an estimate: halved from a published two-person total, or rounded from an earlier figure. Totals for 2 assume two guests sharing one room.
Snow Country: Minamiuonuma and Minakami
Minamiuonuma (Niigata) and Minakami (Gunma) are both members of the Snow Country Tourism Zone. A stay built around snow-country food: SATOYAMA JUJO, whose reception is in a 150-year-old zelkova farmhouse taken apart and rebuilt; as a rule it does not take children below upper elementary school age. With children: ryugon, built mostly from the residences of village headmen and wealthy farmers of the Bunka-Bunsei period (1804–1829), moved to the site; it sets rates for elementary-school children and infants. Mt Tanigawa outside the window: Bettei Senjuan, 18 rooms, each with its own open-air bath of free-flowing hot-spring water and a view of the courtyard or Mt Tanigawa; a member of Relais & Châteaux since 2012.
Rated stays in the Snow Country
Prices are in US dollars, converted from the yen the properties quote at the Oct 7, 2026 reference rate, and are indicative.
A price marked ≈ is itself an estimate: halved from a published two-person total, or rounded from an earlier figure. Totals for 2 assume two guests sharing one room.
One stay from this guide: Bettei Senjuan
Compare current rates for Bettei Senjuan
Listed alphabetically. Prices and cancellation terms differ between them, and this page does not see either — it is worth opening more than one.
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Are Minamiuonuma and Minakami in Tohoku?
No. Minamiuonuma is in Niigata and Minakami in Gunma. They are grouped here with Tohoku as Snow Country: both towns are members of the Snow Country Tourism Zone, which spans seven municipalities in Niigata, Gunma and Nagano.
Which of these stays take young children?
By their own policies: ANA InterContinental Appi Kogen Resort, AZUMA FARM Koiwai, THE YUKAWA, ryugon and Bettei Senjuan accept children. SATOYAMA JUJO as a rule does not take children below upper elementary school age, and YAMAGATA THE TAKINAMI asks guests with children under 10 to contact it before booking.
When is the cherry blossom?
The Akayu Onsen Cherry Festival in Eboshiyama Park is usually early to late April, and Koiwai Farm’s lone cherry tree usually flowers from late April to early May.