Hot Springs Hotels in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

A rather unique hot spring hotel. The room I booked was a Japanese-style room (washitsu), purely tatami room, and there's no bathroom inside – please be aware of this. To bathe, you need to go to a separate, traditional Japanese hot spring bath, separated by gender, where you must be naked and thoroughly washed before entering. Opinions on the experience vary, but the Japanese seem to enjoy it, haha. The hotel includes breakfast and dinner, which were surprisingly high quality, and the menu changed daily, which was a pleasant surprise. The service was excellent, with the typical Japanese attentiveness, and the staff spoke decent English, so communication wasn't a problem. Overall, a very unique hotel, definitely worth experiencing.

I really enjoyed my 2-night stay in the dorm room here! I loved crossing the street and having views of Lake Chuzenji and the lakeshore promenade and being within close walking distance of the Shinto shrine where the Mt Nantai hike begins and about a 15-20 min walk of Kegon Falls. There aren’t many restaurant options in Oku Nikko, but I did manage to have dinner at Masuya and Pension Friendly which were very close to the hotel. More places are open for lunch but some are closed on certain days. I didn’t get the breakfast or dinner package because it seemed a little overpriced. But the à la carte dishes of pasta were reasonably priced at 1,500 a plate. There’s a lounge on the third floor that’s open from 6-9 am and from 3-10 pm where you can get coffee and a wide selection of teas (including herbal ones) and in the evening, there’s also juice and sangria. The onsen facilities are quite nice but the outdoor space is not as big as I thought from the photos. The outdoor bath water temperature was also much hotter the first night compared to the second, not sure why. Overall, great value for the facilities. There’s even coin laundry machines on the second floor and a common space for eating your own food equipped with a microwave and hot water dispenser. I also appreciated the free shuttle service from Tobu Nikko station. It runs only once a day, but the timing worked well for me. l was picked up at 3 pm to go to the hotel and then we left at 11:10 am (checkout is at 10 am but there’s luggage storage available). You do have to contact the hotel to reserve ahead of time because space can be limited (I emailed them). Although there isn’t really a reception, there’s usually some staff around and each person was very friendly! Momo was especially kind and helpful! I’d definitely recommend this hotel because it’s affordable and perfect for visiting Kegon Falls, Lake Chuzenji and Ryuzu falls. I took the short bus ride to Ryuzu falls and hiked from there to Yudaki Cascades and walked around Lake Yunoko. For more information on hiking and sightseeing, the visitor information centre was handy and had lots of maps. I bought a bear bell there for my hiking.

This place is like a corner of paradise. The hotel owner, Masao, and his wife are very warm and helpful people. The rooms are very clean and in the Japanese style. I recommend researching ryokan culture before you come. It has its own unique hot spring by the river, and this hot spring offers two different services, both indoor and outdoor. You can use both. After spending three quick days in Tokyo, it was a truly relaxing and refreshing place. The conversations I had with Masao for hours were also very enlightening. Moreover, they have very good sake and wine. Thank you very much to Masao and his family. Also, this hotel is depicted as the home of the main character in the anime Pride of Orange. You can see some parts of the hotel in the anime. I didn't know this until I came here, but it was a very nice coincidence. You should keep in mind that it's a bit far from the city. If you want to go to the city, renting a car would be more sensible.

I visited Nikko to explore the areas around Tokyo during my trip! Nikko is apparently famous for its hot springs and yuba (tofu skin) cuisine. So, I stayed at Hananoyado Mitsuya, a hot spring hotel. We booked a stay that included both dinner and breakfast. Pros: All the staff members were incredibly friendly, and the service was excellent. The food was delicious and the portions were generous! They even prepared our futons for us during dinner, and the yukata (Japanese traditional garment) were free. Among all the amenities, I loved the hot springs the most. The water temperature wasn't too hot, and the outdoor bath, in particular, was absolutely beautiful! Being in the open-air bath, surrounded by trees and nature, listening to the sounds of the nearby stream, was incredibly relaxing! My travel companion and I even booked a private hot spring for one session, which was 3300 yen for 45 minutes. They also provided free transportation to Kinugawa-Onsen Station, where we needed to catch our express train. Additionally, there were various vending machines conveniently located throughout the property. Cons: Perhaps because I visited in winter, but our room was extremely cold. Even with the heating on its highest setting, it remained chilly. I think the large size of the room might have contributed to this. Also, the internet was slow. Although the hotel had Wi-Fi, it often disconnected or had trouble connecting. Even using mobile data was slow. Aside from these points, I was very satisfied! Especially the staff's service, the hot springs, and the meals were outstanding! 👍👍

The hotel is around 10mins walk from Kinugawa-Onsen Station. Although there are many abandoned hotels, shops, residences, buildings around the surrounding area, I can still explore the area as the street lights are lit in the evening. The hotel is divided into different wings and occupies a large area. I stayed in the upper floors of the hotel’s main building (Kirakukan) but there’s an option to stay at the hotel’s park-cottages that is built on the cliff of the riverbank and overlooks the Kinugawa river. The Kinugawa Park Cottage is located separately further away from the main building. I only noticed a local Japanese family of four or five persons being escorted by the hotel staff to one of the cottages. Other than that one-off encounter, I didn’t see anyone else at the area around the cottage which is also super quiet. Likewise for the other wings of the hotel i.e. Kinoyakata and Kishintei, I didn’t see any guests maybe due to low season. Love the onsen and the private open-air bath, the traditional Japanese kaiseiki breakfast and dinner. There’s also a souvenir shop, ramen & snack shop as well as an outdoor swimming pool which I couldn’t use as it is only available for use come summer time. Just across the road from the hotel, there’s the Waterside Cafe Terrace, a 7-Eleven convenience store adjacent to the hotel and since there’s no self-service washing machine/dryer in the hotel, the nearest 24h laundromat is around a 5-min walk from the hotel located behind the Waterside Cafe Terrace and across the road facing “Galarie Cafe Painto E”. On the day of check-out, the hotel helped to store my luggage and I had lunch at “Suzukawa Cafe” just next to Galarie Cafe Painto E. The food prices here are slightly cheaper than the ones near Kinugawa-Onsen station.

Easy access from Tobu Nikko Station, and they even provided a free shuttle bus service! The room was clean and had a great view. The staff were incredibly kind and even provided a shuttle service late at night, which was a huge help. I'd definitely want to stay here again on my next trip!

I spent at Kaniyu 2 nights and absolutely loved it! Upon my arrival, there was an English-speaking staff member at the reception, Mr. Tamaki, who kindly upgraded my room for free - thank you so much for that! The room was spacious and clean. It was a bit cool inside, but the heating system worked really well and warmed up the room quickly; the controls were very simple and convenient to use. The futon was comfortable, the blanket was warm and cozy, and although the pillow was a bit too firm for me, I slept just fine without it. The room was equipped with everything needed: towels, yukata for changing, bathroom amenities, and more. Both breakfast and dinner were made from a variety of fresh ingredients — everything was delicious and filling. I tried many dishes for the first time and really enjoyed them! The stuff was very nice and friendly, a canteen lady who helped me to take a picture was very kind! The onsen was absolutely amazing. The hot, milky water was incredibly relaxing (not that smelly for my taste), and the cool outdoor air felt refreshing. I visited it after sunset as well, and it was an unforgettable experience: chilling in hot springs while watching night sky and listening to forest sounds. --- To sum it up, if you're looking for a peaceful retreat off the beaten path and for affordable price, then this place is absolute gem~ P.S. l was mesmerized by the road trip to the Kaniyu itself: mountains, rivers and lakes, a troop of monkeys on the side of the road, tunnels, a hairpin turns and so on.

The hotel has no big problem. It is a traditional Japanese-style hotel and the service has nothing to say. The free drinks and snacks provided in the lobby are enough to eat. The only problem with the address positioning of oolong, according to the address, navigate to another hotel, almost no place to live. The picture is the distance of the two hotels. The actual address should be the hot spring Dayuan 1057, not the hot spring Dayuan 1060. I hope to check with the store.

This hotel boasts an excellent location, with stunning views of Lake Chuzenji right from the balcony. The room features both indoor and outdoor onsen baths, making it incredibly pleasant to soak while enjoying the lake view, especially on a clear day. The staff are very welcoming and helpful. The room itself is spacious, well-equipped, clean, and tidy. The hotel also provides a convenient shuttle bus service to nearby transport hubs, which is a thoughtful touch.

Pretty nice overall. I stayed for 3 nights. The staffs are really nice and helpful. The room is spacious and has a really nice view, compared to the same price hotel near the lake. Just some comments on the meals. The hotel offers breakfast and dinner for my booking. Breakfast (mini buffet liked) options stay the same, I mean absolute same. For dinner, the first night is amazing, with chicken hotpot, steak, appetizer and dessert. Second night, beef Sukiyaki (kind of like beef hotpot with a sweet soup/sause and rawegg), appetizer and dessert. Kind of okay, I would say as I was hoping to see something more differerent and, to me, it is a bit like a downgraded version (not by far tho) of the first night. And the third night, beef Shabu-shabu (water based hotpot), appetizer and dessert. Quite disappointing as I would refer it more or less the same as second night maindish Sukiyaki but taking away the raw egg and sweet soup based. I would recommend staying for 2 nights max if you don't want to have hotpot everynight About the Onsen, there are one indoor and outdoor onsen each for men and women. Not too big, but the size is enough as there are not too many people using that during my stay. I am not sure if it is normal for Japanese Onsen but I see there is quite a number of materials in the outdoor onsen. I cannot tell what those are, kind of like dead skin to me tho. Not too comfortable with it (although I went there three times during my stay).