[MENTION=638900]evergrn[/MENTION]- I never thanked you for the recommendation of Kami-Suwa. I visited during hanami season earlier this year and stayed at Sui-Suwako, Shinyu's new sister hotel just a few doors down. I had a fantastic stay. The star was the simple Japanese cooking with excellent quality ingredients. All rooms have a private in-suite onsen with lakefront view & large opening windows, plus a communal mixed gender rotenburo on top of the building with full lake view. The in-suite onsen have their own faucets and onsen water comes out seriously hot. The larger rooms also smaller hinoki tub with onsen water faucet in their indoor bath rooms. The mixed bath requires a bathing outfit (provided, of course) and it has a view of the above lake fireworks during the summer. The room decor is all modern clean lines and rooms are non-smoking with a small smoking booth on the bottom floor.

It is facing the main street so there is a bit of traffic noise and the private dining rooms don't really have a lake front view as it is a refurbished building. I'm sure it would be even more expensive if they built this in a quieter area lakeside in an onsen town.

This is also the only ryokan I've stayed in which offered a fountain pen for filling in the hotel registration form.