Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan｜Sonmin-Shokudo

This oval shaped restaurant has an unblocked view of the surrounding trees that are turning red and yellow. Conveniently located next to Tonbu-no-yu, we had lunch here after the onsen. Ordered the mushroom Tohji soba hot pot (y1980) and tempura (y1200) to share. The mushrooms came in variety of colors, they almost looked too pretty to eat! The Tohji soba arrived on a tray with a long handled basket scoop. Dipped for 5seconds as instructed, the soba retained the right amount of chewyness which went superbly with the soup. Great view and yummy food! Look forward to coming back again.

Lovely place to replenish our hunger whilst exploring. It's very popular and we had to wait for almost 50mins for a table around 2pm. I ordered the Variety Set and it was presented beautifully. Service was 5 star and the food was perfectly fitting for the surrounds and season. They even found my phone and returned to me an hour later.

Very nice restaurant at the Hoshinoya Karuizawa resort. It’s actually right next to their hot spring so is very popular. The restaurant is considerate enough to set up a comfy waiting area. The surrounding is very pretty - be surrounded by many trees and fresh air is just fantastic! The food they serve is also great - surprising inexpensive given its run by a premium resort. Very worthy of visiting and would love to come back again for sure!