Karuizawa Prince Hotel (Karuizawa Town, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture; General Manager: Yuko Kageyama) is celebrating one of fall's signature ingredients with a Sweet Potato Fair starting Thursday, October 1, 2026. The restaurant is serving a Sweet Potato Parfait that brings together sweet potato's many flavors in a single glass, offering a stay plan that includes a "Kikiyakiimo" (tasting roasted sweet potatoes) set featuring three different varieties, and hosting a roasted sweet potato giveaway with a truck touring the hotel grounds — a food experience built entirely around sweet potatoes.
In recent years, the growing number of specialty roasted sweet potato shops and rising buzz on social media have made sweet potatoes a favorite fall ingredient across generations. Wanting guests to enjoy Karuizawa's autumn through food as well as scenery, the hotel is opening the Sweet Potato Fair to share the ingredient's appeal.
Alongside the Sweet Potato Parfait and the Kikiyakiimo stay plan, which lets guests compare three different sweet potato varieties, the hotel is holding a roasted sweet potato giveaway on four days, including October 13 (Sweet Potato Day) and November 13 ("Good Roasted Sweet Potato Day"). Through a collaboration with a local stone-roasted sweet potato specialty shop, a nostalgic-feeling roasted sweet potato truck will tour the hotel grounds handing out roasted sweet potatoes, offering a warming experience alongside Karuizawa's fall scenery, which typically reaches peak foliage from mid-October to early November.
Sweet Potato Fair Overview
Period: October 1 (Thu) to November 28 (Sat), 2026
Contents:
- Sweet Potato Parfait for sale
- Kikiyakiimo stay plan for sale
- Roasted sweet potato giveaway event
Locations:
- All Day Dining Lounge/Bar Primrose, Karuizawa Prince Hotel West
- Karuizawa Prince Hotel West
- Karuizawa Prince Hotel grounds
Sweet Potato Parfait
Made with candied sweet potato (daigaku-imo) and steamed sweet potato (fukashi-imo), and rounded out with hojicha, chestnut, apricot, and other ingredients that lend a Japanese touch, the parfait captures sweet potato's sweetness and flavor in a single glass.
Sale period: October 1 (Thu) to November 28 (Sat), 2026
Sale hours: 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: All Day Dining Lounge/Bar Primrose, Karuizawa Prince Hotel West
Price: ¥1,800
Quantities are limited, and sales end once the day's supply runs out (reservations not available).
*Listed prices include consumption tax. A 13% service charge is added separately.
*Photos are for illustration only.
*Ingredients and menu items may change depending on availability.
*This item contains ingredients among the eight required by food labeling law to be disclosed by the manufacturer (our supplier) — shrimp, crab, walnut, wheat, buckwheat, egg, milk, and peanut. Guests with food allergies are asked to refrain from ordering.
Kikiyakiimo Stay Plan
A stay plan featuring "Kikiyakiimo," a tasting set that lets guests compare three different sweet potato varieties. Milk ice cream and masala chai are served alongside: the milk ice cream's mild sweetness draws out the sweet potatoes' natural flavor, while the spiced chai refreshes the palate, helping guests appreciate the differences between varieties even more.
Stay period: October 1 (Thu) to November 27 (Fri), 2026
Kikiyakiimo serving hours: October 1 (Thu) to November 28 (Sat), 2026, daily 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM (last entry), at All Day Dining Lounge/Bar Primrose, Karuizawa Prince Hotel West
Price: from ¥18,867 per person, based on double occupancy
Includes: one night's room charge, and a Kikiyakiimo set (with milk ice cream and a choice of masala chai or coffee)
Room types: West Twin Room or Deluxe Terrace Twin
*Rates include consumption tax and service charge. Bathing tax and accommodation tax are charged separately.
*Limited to one room per night, one-night stays only, and web reservations only.
*The sweet potato varieties served vary by day and availability.
*Guests can choose between masala chai or coffee.
Roasted Sweet Potato Giveaway Event
Through a collaboration with a local stone-roasted sweet potato specialty shop, the hotel is hosting a roasted sweet potato giveaway event. A nostalgic-feeling roasted sweet potato truck will tour the hotel grounds handing out roasted sweet potatoes — an event that pairs a classic taste of autumn with the vivid Japanese maples and dawn redwoods on the hotel grounds, which typically peak from mid-October to early November.
Dates: October 12 (Mon, national holiday) and 13 (Tue, Sweet Potato Day); November 13 (Fri, "Good Roasted Sweet Potato Day") and 14 (Sat)
Location: Karuizawa Prince Hotel grounds
Price: Free (limited quantity)
*Guests who are not staying at the hotel are also welcome to take part.
Collaboration partner: "Ugoku Ishiyaki Imoya-san" (動く石焼き芋屋さん), a traveling stone-roasted sweet potato shop
A stone-roasted sweet potato specialty shop that prepares its sweet potatoes the traditional way, using firewood and stones. Sweet potatoes are selected by season — from syrupy honeyed varieties to ones with a classic fluffy texture — and slow-roasted for about two hours. The shop tours different locations by truck, delivering freshly roasted sweet potatoes wherever it goes.
