Hotel Hot Springs di 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 exterior of the hotel is pretty, but the interior of the hotel is dated and needs a bit of updating. There were parts of the hotel that were completely shut down (maybe there are saving up enough money to one day renovate). However the facilities and rooms are well maintained and the onsens are beautiful and peaceful. There are 2 main onsens, that are separated by men and women. Each day the onsens are switched, in the morning you will go to one, and in the evening before dinner you can experience the other onsen. Onsite there is a really nice restaurant and gift shop that featured local products at reasonable prices. There is a 24 hour coffee/tea station that is free to use. It's a short 10 minute walk from Kinugawa Onsen Station. When you arrive they provide you a yukata to wear while you are staying at the hotel. The rooms are spacious with options for a western bed or japanese style (sleeping on the floor). We opted for the western bed to be higher off the ground as we thought it would be colder to sleep on the ground. Although the rooms are very well heated and was a bit too warm, that we needed to open the window to cool the room down. The rooms have nice views of the countryside. They provide a pitcher of ice water in the room and you can go to the front desk to refill with ice if more is needed. The bathroom is quite large and has both a shower and toilet in a separate room of the bathroom; although we mostly bathed in the onsen. There is a 7-eleven nearby that was open 24 hours, but otherwise there isn't much else around the hotel. Also the town of Kinugawa Onsen closes quite early, around 8pm it's quite deserted. We were there at the end of November 2024, and it seemed that the hotel was mostly unoccupied, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was a very nice one night stay.

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 itself was a very traditional Japanese inn with excellent service. The complimentary drinks and snacks in the lobby were more than enough to satisfy our hunger. The only blunder was the address location; the navigation led to a completely different hotel, almost leaving us with nowhere to stay. The picture shows the distance between the two hotels; the actual address should be 1057 Onsen-Ohara, not 1060. I hope to double-check with the hotel.

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).