Best Hotels near Hot Spring Shrine, Nikko

My wife and I booked the Nikko Station Hotel II for April 13 - 15 as a non refundable reservation. This week, the US State Dept issued a Level 4 warning for all US citizens to avoid international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of their normal policy, the Nikko Station Hotel II made an exception due to the COVID-19 pandemic and issued a full refund. We will reschedule our trip to Japan after the pandemic passes and WILL DEFINITELY rebook at the Nikko Station Hotel II, as they have shown excellent customer service in a difficult time!

The hotel is more like a museum :). You can admire every room and every thing :) You will see a table lamp at the reception, which has been standing there since 1907, in the lobby you will see photographs of people who stayed at this hotel - Indira Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Koch, Edward Prince of Wales and many other. The restaurant has very beautiful dishes. And the table for dinner was set using 11 cutlery :) The staff is very attentive and polite. I would especially like to thank Sabita for her help. The room itself is fairly basic (but not modern) the beds are very comfortable and the bathroom has everything you need for a short stay. Rooms are not cleaned daily and towels are not changed unless specifically requested. The location of the hotel is very convenient, a three-minute walk from Nikko Park - UNESCO heritage. Currently, one wing of the hotel is being renovated.

Stayed for the first time in two years. I stayed at Hachibankan for the first time. Premium lounge can be used for the use of Hachibankan. It was a calm space, but I was surprised that there were several guests who were happy to peek in from the entrance. Fortunately, it was convenient because it was a room on the 6th floor. On other floors, you need to transfer to the elevator when using the facilities of Shuhokan. I think it was probably almost full, but there are 3 baths, including the open-air bath on the roof, so there is no feeling of congestion. I was able to spend a relaxing time. The shower bed and hair dryer were refas. Meals are 2 meals with Viking. I can't deny the feeling of zawazawa, but I think it's a Viking if you stay in Asaya. I don't know because I have no experience using kaiseki ryotei, but the buffet was better than the restaurant in the kaiseki. However, it is good to be quick, but the restaurant staff who lowers the dishes from the empty side walks on the floor like running, so it shakes while eating. A little uncomfortable. There was also a response that was not as if there were many part-time jobs. The staff are polite, but it feels like it has become a normal hot spring hotel that is a little expensive due to the corona wreck. I feel that there used to be a little more special, luxurious, and special feeling. I feel that even when the corona support is gone, it will not return to the original service.

Dinner is really worth it. Very delicious. The quality of dinner, eating outside, it is estimated that at least 60 knives per person. So I think half of the room rate is very cost-effective. The hot spring is a bit small, and it may be three people outside at most. The room is generally comfortable, because the wall of the room is very thin, most of the tenants have been very restrained, there will be sound. I hope that people who stay can be a little more empathetic. This hotel is not suitable for children. There is nothing to say in the location, excellent.

I stayed with my family in December 2021. I liked it too much after a long time, so I repeated my reservation in March. ■ Meals The meals can be selected as ”buffet style”, ”half private room dining room” and ”room meal”, but definitely ”buffet style” is recommended. I thought it would be a pretty delicious part compared to the live kitchen, the freshly fried tenkara and the buffet of the common hotel. This level is not too much to say the same class as the ”hanari” of Lake Hakone, ashinoko. The vegetables that tend to be pulled out of this hand are delicious and exciting. In addition, for families with small children, there is a half-private room zashiki in the buffet venue, and there is a child menu in ”１ lower position than adults” so that small children can take it by themselves Anyway, I was impressed that I was worried about １ rank ２ rank compared to the hotel in the same price range. Then the buffet alcohol was rich in variety and was free to drink at + 1,500 yen. When I chose a little early 17 o'clock, please eat at night. And I received several tickets for the ramen shop opposite the hotel. ■ Facility barrier free etc. I think there is no problem, but I feel a little old (very beautiful) with the toilet on each floor. The size and speed of the elevator are not particularly dissatisfied. ■ Onsen Indoor and Outdoor hot water were very good. I think it is a hot water without any particular feature, but the open-air bath while watching the snow was usually pleasant. ■ Other weekends? Saturday? It seems to be limited, but fireworks rose right behind the hotel. I thought I was working very hard while the customer was decreasing in the corona. I thought Kinugawa had been lonely, but I suddenly wanted to support it.

I used a junior suite for two rooms and connecting. When I wrote from a bad place, the air was so bad that the operating rate of this room was bad. There are not enough cleaning, and there are many spider nests on the door to the balcony, and I feel bad. There was something where the outside wall of the building was rotten, and the furniture such as furniture was left without a handle and wounded, and I felt that the manpower of cleaning and furnishing was not sufficient. It is a lake view of all rooms, but it is a pity that the trees are thick and the lake of Chuzenji cannot be seen from any room. The hot spring was far from the room, but it was quite good quality and was able to enjoy. The meal was close to classic French, and the tableware and the arrangement were simple compared with the recent French, but the ingredients and seasoning were good, and the amount of one dish was large, so it was satisfied. It was made of dessert, but it is used in full room, so I think it is not possible. This time, I felt that the room rate was high and inferior to Cospa, but when the service of the service was breathless, I was relieved to stay at such a hotel. The guest was almost old and thought it was good to keep the whole facility quiet.

This is my third trip/adventure to Japan. I would say as a solo traveler this has to be one of the very best places I have ever stayed in when travelling around Japan. I came to Nikko np to explore the vast array of hiking trails, all of which I did, had breathtaking views and a poetic, truly majestic Japanese feel to them. I rented a car from Nasushiobara (Shinkansen) and drove across to Kinugawa. On arrival I was greeted by a host of the hotel staff, welcoming me and helping me with parking and my bags. I checked in with ease and with some broken English and Japanese on my part was led to a beautiful traditional Japanese style room overlooking the river. The service throughout was world class and made me feel both very comfortable, at home, but also special. I stayed 3 nights with half board (breakfast and dinner), both truly amazing and served with grace and politeness. On the first evening’s dinner one of the serving staff took the time to speak with me and allowed me to share some of my recent experiences/photos etc whilst preparing dinner - this was most welcome, especially as I had been travelling alone for over a week. The location of the onsen hotel is about 60 mins drive to some of the most sought after walks in the np. Very easy to access by car and excellent roads. The accommodation itself is a mix between very traditional Japanese resort and original/boutique Ryokan. The private and public onsen’s are fantastic and a well deserved rest-bite after a long days hiking! Having been to some of the most popular ryokan’s in Japan; Iwaso, Claska etc, this came as a very nice surprise and at an affordable rate without any compromise. If in the area, I would highly recommend staying…

* 5 star service from Hitomi and make sure to upgrade to all you can eat dinner/breakfast dining option. Booked this hotel for a stay in Mid November and after getting off of train we caught the bus here a little after sundown. The autumn leaves are really outstanding-almost every picture is a gorgeous post card. Bus driver asked where we are headed to and told him ”Kinugawa Onsen Hotel” . Took around 10 min to arrive and we were dropped off in front of hotel parking lot. Waited in a short line to check in and front desk service referred us to ”HITOMI” her name on tag in hiragana characters. She whipped up 2 page map with room information, pertaining elevator diagram and hotel keys. Make sure to pay careful instructions about onsen and buffet times- free soft serve ice cream and snacks until 6pm in lobby/ free drinks, coffee, tea until 10pm. FYI- best soft serve in Japan Hokkaido milk...yummy!!! 5 golden stars to HITOMI- top notch and friendly service. She urged us to be aware of emergency exits on our floor. While you are dining they will bring out futons so when you return- soft futons are waiting for you! The room is a traditional tatami mat with table and cushions. It is welcoming with snacks, complementary bottled water and a hot tea station. Room safe in closet also included were yukata robes for him and her. Ugh, wonderful amenities, tooth brush, a few toiletries -worry free stay. After visiting the onsen - kind of stressful for a foreigner like me. Not used to being naked with other ladies but in reality I was invisible- no shame at all. We headed down to the all you can eat dinner. We had 90 min-more than enough time to eat from 7:30 to 9pm. The spread was adequate with dishes from Japan and a few we recognized. Tempura made to order, musubi bar, gelato station, bakery section, fruit bar, local dishes and drink machine both hot or cold more-more- more- too much to mention. Looked at all the diners like ravenous sharks. Lots of help staff taking away empty plates, chefs assistants re-filling the empty vessels with more foods. Orderly chaos in front of me and loving every succulent moment. I felt like Templeton in the Charlot's Web movie. Burp* UGH, rubbing my full belly and going for seconds and thirds. Repeating ” ah, ill have a year to diet” until we come back again. Super glad we upgraded to the all you can at buffet. Coming again in the morning-they open at 7am for breakfast. It ended up being a repeat but with Japanese breakfast foods too. We did an early checkout at 8am and paid our $2 onsen tax. They were nice enough to let us stay in the room until 10am if we promised to bring back both keys at that time- no issues there. First bus back to the train station arrives a little after 10 am and Hitomi came out to ask us to wait in lobby. Lobby had comfy seats and was warmer than outside. Hitomi soooo kind of her she told us the bus was here- wished her every success in life! Please -if you get a chance to

Arrived at Hotel and parked the rental car in the car park for free. Staff were very efficient and check in was very quick. Japan is still very Covid conscious and masks are worn everywhere. We were advised that there were were facilities for making Tea/ coffee in the room and that we should take any provisions required (for free) from the table arranged in the lobby i.e. tea / coffee / toothbrushes..etc. Room was lovely and spacious with a comfortable bed and lovely en-suite- lovely deep bath (shower fixings would be low for taller individuals). They had an evening bar and Onsen (natural hot water spring separate for males and females). They had a restaurant that provided an extensive buffet menu for breakfast - very tasty, and they had a select menu for the evenings and what we tried was very tasty also. The staff in the Hotel and restaurant were most friendly and encouraged me when I attempted some Japanese words. A very lovely start to our holiday in Japan - Thank you for your hospitality, we would happily stay here again

Anyway, the transportation is convenient and you can walk anywhere. The nearest station is shimoima City, but I dared to get off at kamiima City. Check in around Ninomiya Sontoku Museum, kakii no Matsuzuki, Nikko Honjin, Ninomiya Sontoku Jinja shrine. I looked good from the room at the Nikko Kaido road and the jiheishi Kaido road, and went to the chobu Jizo Do hall at the intersection point. The cedar trees are too splendid, so I took a little walk on both roads. The hotel faces the intersection and there is a Family Mart on the other side. Breakfast is very healthy Japanese food and there are many side dishes and you can't eat. The number of shrubs was also surprised by other guests.