This is one of the rare hotels in Japan where the celebrity history is actually true, not marketing. John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed on the second floor of the Alps Wing every summer from 1976 to 1979, during his years away from music, and the cafe terrace still serves the apple pie he reportedly loved. A small history room on-site displays the hotel’s timeline alongside his favorite piano, so it functions almost like a museum for guests who want to see it. The hotel also reportedly inspired scenes in novels by Yukio Mishima and Tatsuo Hori.
The hotel just finished a major renovation for its 130th anniversary. It reopened in October 2024, so rooms and facilities are freshly updated while the historic character has been kept intact. Karuizawa is a direct Shinkansen ride from Tokyo Station, roughly an hour, so a car isn’t necessary to get here.