A villa at 400,000 yen per night still fully booked—inside look at The Prince Villa Karuizawa

▲ The stand-alone wooden villas at The Prince Villa Karuizawa (The Prince Villa Karuizawa) are hard to book even at 400,000 yen per night during peak season. (Photo / From the official website of The Prince Villa Karuizawa)

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan / Karuizawa, Japan

Located in Nagano Prefecture, Karuizawa became Japan’s summer retreat thanks to Canadian missionaries. Just a one-hour Shinkansen ride from Tokyo, many foreign tourists visiting Tokyo also include Karuizawa in their itinerary. It is reported that The Prince Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of the Seibu Group, owns over one-third of the land in Karuizawa and currently operates five hotels: The Karuizawa Kasumi Hotel, The Prince Karuizawa East, The Prince Karuizawa West, The Karuizawa Royal Park Hotel, and The Prince Villa Karuizawa, which opened last September.


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▲ Small kitchen.


▲ Free drinks in the refrigerator.

Although The Prince Karuizawa West also has stand-alone wooden villas, they are also very popular, but the villas at The Prince Villa Karuizawa are newer, larger, and offer better services. The exterior alone can easily make you feel like you’re in the European countryside. There are 20 villas in total at The Prince Villa Karuizawa: 10 are single-story, each with 2 rooms (4 beds, can add 2 sofa beds), 2 bathrooms, 1 living room, no stairs, making room-to-room movement easy; and 10 are two-story, with 5 featuring hot springs. These have 3 rooms (6 beds, can add 2 sofa beds), 3 bathrooms, and 1 high-ceilinged living room. Moreover, both single-story and two-story villas come equipped with dining tables, sofas, and small kitchens, allowing guests to prepare simple meals.


▲ One of the rooms.


▲ Another room.


▲ Yet another room.

As a top-tier villa, the services provided are also unique. During business hours, guests can freely use the forest hot spring & Spa (hot spring bath facility — though a bathing tax of 150 yen applies), bicycles, private tennis courts, and golf course. Additionally, meals are served in the clubhouse next to the tour information desk, offering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Within this time frame, there is always food available if you get hungry, including alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. There is also special butler service, where guests can request the resort chef to cook in the villa for everyone — of course, additional charges apply.


▲ Oversized bathtub.


▲ Hot spring.

As Karuizawa is a famous resort destination in Japan, the pricing at The Prince Villa Karuizawa is also flexible. The most expensive rate reaches 400,000 yen per night (for the entire villa). Since it requires a minimum two-night stay, staying at The Prince Villa Karuizawa during peak season could cost over a million yen (including other service fees) — not impossible. Despite this, the villas remain in extremely high demand and are “one villa per booking” hard to secure. Even during the off-season, rooms are not easy to book, as the rate is around 100,000 yen per night. For up to 8 people, the average cost per person is about 12,500 yen (over 3,000 TWD), which is quite a good deal.


▲ In the clubhouse, food is available from 07:00 to 22:00.


▲ Alcoholic beverages and drinks in the clubhouse.