We were targeting to stay within Nagano city and close to the train station for the Nagano segment of our trip months ago early on in our planning. Unfortunately, there seemed to be relatively few hotels around the train station, or at least we found none that were taking on bookings for a family of four. So, we next searched for places at the Yudanaka area. Yudanaka is of course known as an onsen town, and the accommodation there is priced accordingly: i.e. they charge you your arms and legs. We did find something that was more modestly priced at about SGD400 per night and made a reservation. But when we were building up our specific day by day plan, realized that we would have to travel every day from Yudanaka to Nagano Station and back just to do anything interesting in the prefecture. Several places that looked interesting and were opened for our period of travel would all require further-on journeys from Nagano itself.
So, we made the difficult decision to look for places to stay outside Nagano city. We wanted an alternate city that would be a stop along train lines, the property needed to be within close walking distance to the station – long walks in biting below zero degree celsius is no fun – and it had be within our budget. We stumbled upon Matsumoto, and there were several hotels that looked reputable, comfortable, had rooms that could fit the four of us, and within easy walking distance to Matsumoto Station. That’s how we settled on Tabino Hotel Lit Matsumoto. We stayed there for 5D4N in a Deluxe Twin Room, and here are our comments!
The hotel is an easy 3 minute walk from Matsumoto Station, and is also just 1 minute walk from Matsumoto Bus Terminal. The latter was especially convenient for us as we’d allocated a full day length to visit city sights. There is a large number of small restaurants – at least two dozen though interestingly, not many cafes – all within 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from the hotel. The range of dining included Sazeriya at level 7 of the Bus Terminal, Soba, Tonkatsu, Pasta, Chicken Karaage, and McDonald’s. There is also a Starbucks within Matsumoto Station itself too – the missus was very happy for that haha. The Bus Terminal also has a decent-sized supermarket if you’d like a wide range of fresh foods.
The reception was manned by very polite staff who were happy to hold onto our luggage for us when we arrived on Day 13, and there is a hot beverage corner that is setup every morning for a couple of hours. Heck, all the hotel staff we’ve encountered this trip across our accommodations have been nothing but super courteous and nice, excepting that one nasty fellow at Hotel Regina Kawaguchiko. That property gets one less star because of that!
The hotel is 10 floors, and our room was on the 8th floor. Our room was 32sqm, and the area was sufficent for two double-beds and two single beds placed on the floor, a small sofa with a dining table, a work table, and still enough room for us to walk around and have our luggage bags spread out.
The interiors of the hotel are decent: not dated like Hotel Regina Kawaguchiko, looked reasonably modern, and the room is clean. The bathing and toilet area is well-designed: it’s in a separate room with a sliding door, and from that, the shower and bath tub area is in one room, and toilet in a separate room.
Room amenities-wise, we couldn’t find a security deposit box in the room, but there’s a small fridge but no complimentary beverages. The beverage vending machines, laundry and dryer machines are on level 2, and guests can pick up shavers, hair brushes etc. at a counter at every guest level.
We didn’t opt for hotel breakfasts at all this entire trip, unlike our last two Japan trips as a family in 2019 and 2022. Really, the novelty of hotel breakfasts dies out for us by the third day in the property, and for budget-conscious travelers, it’s not a mandatory inclusion when you have convenience stores around the property. The first floor restaurant where breakfast is serve looks pretty small though, and there is a sign that basically says that immediate seating is not guaranteed during peak hours.
The TV – important for the kids – supports YouTube and Netflix. So, like our stay in Toggle Hotel Suidobashi, the kids binged-watched Teen Titans Go every night!
In all, we enjoyed our four night stay at Tabino Lit Matsumoto, and recommend this property as an option if you’re travelling with kids, like us.