Arriving in a taxi, two men graciously took our luggage up to our room while we checked in at reception who greeted us by name which was posted on the door to our room. Slippers available for our use were stored on a shelf to switch out our shoes. The room was spacious with the futons already set out. There were two tables in the room - one with chairs near the windows and one between the table and futons at floor-sitting level set with tea and a snack. After dinner, fresh tea supplies were waiting. The dining room is a beautiful space with slatted screens set up between some tables, giving the illusion of privacy. Tables are assigned for the stay. Our waitress was lovely. She explained everything (in Japanese.) Dinner and breakfast were both traditional meals - each plate delicious - some courageous bites on my part. For me, the highlights were individual shabu shabu and excellent tempura. The same woman served us breakfast. After dinner, it was onsen time! On our floor happened to be a private onsen, but we opted for the public gender-separate baths. The women's at night had an outdoor bath. Beautiful night air. In the morning, the onsens were switched, so we enjoyed the other set of baths. The shower room was very comfortable. We missed the bus from Matsumoto Castle because of a misunderstanding of exits, so we took a taxi which cost around 1600 yen. In the morning, the bus stop back to Matsumoto was right outside the door, and someone from the ryokan waited with us.