Jizakenoyado Nakamuraya (“the local sake inn”) is a small family guesthouse in Shima Onsen, Nakanojo, Gunma, run by a sake shop that has traded since the Meiji era. The family has run the guesthouse for three generations, since the Showa era. Before you book, three things matter: the two private baths are free for staying guests; children can stay only in two of the room types; and payment at the inn is cash only.
Why stay at a sake shop? Nakamuraya’s story
The guesthouse grew out of the sake shop. The inn describes itself as a relaxed place where you can enjoy a private open-air bath and a filling dinner at a reasonable price because it is also a sake shop.
What can I buy in the sake shop?
The shop is open 8:00 to 17:00, with irregular closing days, and carries more than 70 local sakes. Its own junmai sake, Shima Blue, is brewed for the shop by Tsuchida Shuzo in the kimoto method: 1,100 yen for 300 ml and 2,200 yen for 720 ml. Staying guests can take drinks bought in the shop to their room or the dining room at shop prices, and charge them to the room.
How does the drink delivery to the bath work?
This is the inn’s signature. From the open-air bath, order on the intercom, and a drink such as a draft beer is lowered to you from above in a well-bucket style pail. Orders are taken from 7:00 to 7:45 and from 14:30 to 20:45 (21:00 on Saturdays), but not while dinner is being prepared. The owner built the bath’s outer wall and wooden deck himself.
Which room at Nakamuraya fits you?
| Room type | Bath and toilet | Children | Dogs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Japanese-style room (futons) | None in the room; shared baths and shared toilets, separate for men and women, all with bidet seats | No | No |
| Room with its own open-air bath (wall-bed twin) | Clawfoot tub on an open-air deck, filled with hot-spring water (not free-flowing) | Yes | Yes, or stay without a dog |
| Special dog room (Western style, own entrance) | Jet bath with hot-spring water and a cypress bath for dogs; no toilet | Yes | Yes (no cats) |
From the official rooms page and FAQ, read October 20, 2026.
In the Japanese-style rooms you lay out and put away your own futons, and you cannot choose between the river side and the town side. Rooms have air conditioning, a TV, a safe and free Wi-Fi (weak in some rooms); bath towels cost 200 yen. Dogs stay only in their room and on its deck, for 1,100 to 3,300 yen depending on size. Our guide to pet fees in Japanese hotels compares other inns.
The private baths at Nakamuraya
How do the two private baths work?
There is no large shared bath; instead there are two private baths, each an indoor bath with an open-air part: a round cypress barrel bath 1.8 m across and a rectangular cypress bath. Lock the door from inside, use it for 30 minutes, and come back as often as you like when it is free; an electric sign in the guest-room corridor shows when one is in use. They are free for staying guests from check-in until 9:30 the next morning. A private sauna costs 3,300 yen for 50 minutes.
What is the water like?
The spring is sodium-calcium chloride-sulfate, a blend of two sources piped to the inn, and the bath page calls it 100 percent hot-spring water, free-flowing.
Can I bathe with a tattoo?
The official pages do not mention tattoos. Because both baths are private and locked from inside, ask the inn directly before you book. Our tattoo and onsen guide explains what to ask.
Dinner and breakfast at Nakamuraya
What is served for dinner?
Dinner starts at 18:00 for everyone in the dining room and the time cannot be changed; if you are late, you eat until 20:00. Expect a hearty mountain menu: horse sashimi, salt-grilled rainbow trout, a hot pot in autumn and winter, local pork and tempura. Rice is cooked in a small pot for each guest, from Koshihikari brown rice sent by the family’s home in Kakizaki, Niigata, and milled at the inn. Dining in your room costs 1,100 yen extra per person, and is free in the dog room and the room with its own bath.
Can I skip the horse sashimi?
Yes. The standard sashimi is horse meat, and the FAQ says you can switch it to tuna sashimi; write in the booking notes how many servings to change. The official pages say nothing about other allergies, vegetarian or halal meals, so ask before you book.
What about breakfast?
Breakfast is 8:00 to 9:00 in the dining room. If you leave early for golf, hiking, canoeing or paddleboarding, ask by the day before and you get a rice-ball box instead.
Prices, children and cancellation at Nakamuraya
How much does a stay cost?
Prices change by date. For late October 2026 the official booking page showed, per room for two adults with tax: 22,600 yen (24,600 yen on Saturdays) for the standard plan with dinner, breakfast and the private baths in a Japanese-style room; 35,600 yen (40,600 yen on Saturdays) for the dog plan; and from 8,000 yen per person for a room-only stay.
What is the bathing tax in Shima Onsen?
The bathing tax is extra. Under Nakanojo town’s official rule, it is 150 yen per person per night when the basic room rate is over 6,000 yen and 100 yen when it is 6,000 yen or less, and children under 12 are exempt. The inn collects it with your bill. See our onsen bathing tax guide.
What do children cost?
On the plans that accept children, an elementary school child pays 60 percent of the adult rate, and from junior high school a child pays as an adult. For babies and toddlers, check the plan on the booking page. Guests under 18 staying without an adult need a parent’s written consent.
What is the cancellation policy?
The official rule: 30 percent from 7 to 4 days before, 50 percent at 3 to 2 days, 70 percent the day before, and 100 percent on the day or for a no-show. In the Golden Week, mid-August and New Year periods, a deposit of 3,000 yen per person is due by bank transfer within a week of booking, and fees start two weeks before. A plan’s own rule takes priority. As the inn is cash only, it bills cancellation fees by email or phone for payment by bank transfer. See our hotel cancellation guide.
Getting to Nakamuraya in Shima Onsen
The inn stands in the middle of the Kirinokidaira shopping street in Shima Onsen. By train, go to JR Nakanojo Station on the Agatsuma Line and take the bus bound for Shima Onsen. The nearest stop is Kirinokidaira, about 70 m from the inn; from the last stop, walk back about 150 m. By car, it is about 50 minutes north on Route 353 from the Shibukawa-Ikaho exit of the Kan-Etsu Expressway. A free public car park for about 70 cars lies on the riverbank below the inn, and one covered space costs 1,000 yen a night. The official pages do not mention a station pickup. Check-in is from 14:00 and checkout is at 10:00; early check-in costs 1,100 yen per person per hour.
What foreign guests should know before staying at Nakamuraya
- Bring cash in yen. Cards cannot be used at the inn; the shop also accepts beer and sake gift vouchers.
- The front door is locked at 21:00. Going out later? Put the “out” tag on the panel by the entrance, then lock the door yourself when you return.
- If raw horse meat is not for you, ask for tuna sashimi in the booking notes.
- Same-day bookings close at 12:00 on the official booking page. For questions, email zizakenoyado@po.wind.ne.jp or call +81-279-64-2601.
Frequently asked questions
Are the private baths at Nakamuraya free?
Can children stay at Nakamuraya?
Can I pay by credit card at Nakamuraya?
Is there a curfew at Nakamuraya?
Can I bathe with a tattoo at Nakamuraya?
Bottom line (2026): Jizakenoyado Nakamuraya is a sake-shop guesthouse in Shima Onsen with two free private cypress baths, drinks delivered to the open-air bath, and rooms for dogs. Bring cash, note the 21:00 door lock, and check which room types take children before you book on the official page.
Sources
Every fact on this page is from Nakamuraya’s official pages: home (Japanese), home (English), rooms, meals, sake shop, hot spring, facilities, access and FAQ; the official English booking page and Japanese booking page; and Nakanojo town’s bathing tax page. All were read on October 20, 2026. Prices and rules change; check the official site before you book.
Tokyo to Osaka, Tokyo to Kyushu, Tokyo to Hokkaido — day by day — plus seven places most visitors never reach.
- 12 pages, 80 photographs, every stop linked to its guide
- Every price and opening hour read from the official page
- Re-issued monthly, so it does not go stale in your inbox
Free. One email a month, plus the rare change that matters. Unsubscribe with one click in any email. By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy.
