Hotels near Lake Chūzenji in Nikko

The hotel environment is really comfortable, full of design, and very integrated with the local environment. The room is larger than other hotels in Japan and very clean. There is a pantry where you can make free coffee/tea. The only drawback is that there is no restaurant, only vending machines are provided, which is more inconvenient if there is no taxi. The parking lot is also very large.

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!

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…

They picked us up from train station. Held our bags while we enjoyed the nikko temples and the abyss. Came back and soaked in the onsen until dinner (wearing our yukata and slippers) which was delicious and a lot of fun (we made our own yuba and grilled our wagyu beef). This was our first night sleeping on futons on tatami mats and next time I’d double up the mat. We had no shower in our room but others had one — we showered in the onsen area. In the morning, back downstairs in our yukata for a beautiful extensive Japanese breakfast. I’d have loved to learn what we were eating! Patient and quiet service. Then they brought us to the train station to continue on. Highly recommend.

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.

If you choose to take a bus from the station to the hotel, brace yourselves for a rather long walk from the bus drop off point to the monorail entrance along a very rough gravel road (trust me, it gets worse if it’s wet and cold and you’re dragging a 15kg luggage). The walk was far from what I’d expect when staying in such a luxury resort. If I could make any suggestion i think the hotel should perhaps pave the gravel road to make it more walk-friendly? Or negotiate with the bus company so that the stop is right outside the monorail entrance and not at the end of a muddy gravel road. But until any of that is made possible I’d highly recommend taking a taxi from station if you don’t have a car. The ‘Monorail’ (which was more like a glorified cable car) was an interesting feature on arrival. I don’t know if it was build due to geographical restriction (that prevented actual roads built right up to the hotel?) or as some sort of gimmick but sorry to say it’s really not efficient during peak hours and after the first ride it really just felt like an elevator that takes forever to arrive. Once we finally arrived the place itself was gorgeous throughout. From the decor to the atmosphere it’s just a relaxing vibe. It’s a place for getaways and the hotel made sure of that with all the attention to details (such as the meal timings, the seating arrangements etc) to make sure at no point you feel crowded or overwhelmed. The service was great and the staff know limited but adequate English. The Onsen was quite a long walk from our room in freezing cold weather, the foyer was fancy with a relaxation area and free drinks, however the actual onset felt slightly on the basic side to me with just one indoor and one outdoor (not a super fancy type) bath but since there weren’t many guests it wasn’t crowded and I was happy. Again the entire onsen area was very neat and clean. Our room was lovely and clean with a nice balcony. Food was lovely as well. Overall once you get past the gravel road and reach the hotel there’s really not much else to fault and I did enjoy my stay very much.

Style. Simple clean modern design Setting. Japan countryside, off the beaten path near highway, good for short overnight stay if on a longer drive Explore. Farm park. Outdoor hot springs across street @ the hotel. Convenience store style snacks available in the lobby. There are no restaurants in the hotel. Basic amenities so no hair conditioner, no bathtub. Nice common area/lobby. Helpful English speaking staff (Ayumi Osawa) that was super responsive via email. Rooms. I had a small clean room facing the trees on the 3rd floor, was here after a red-eye flight so checked in at 11 am and checked out 3 hours later, was happy with the experience Food & drinks. Looked like there were some restaurants nearby. Best to have car to get around Prices. Good /great value at US$115 Rating. 4/5

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.

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

Stayed during sunlight sightseeing. The lobby is large and the guests have free coffee service. The room was a clean Japanese modern room, with 3 beds, 3 small tables and chairs if you choose a Japanese style room. Wi-Fi is not available in the room. But there was trouble around the water. Even if the toilet flows many times, it is troublesome, and ”let's change the room. I need an early response.” I didn't say because I said, ”good.” If you don't use a large flash several times, the toilet paper doesn't flow. But the moment you sat, the zaser and the water flowing were a waste of toilets. Also, the bathroom was too strong in water pressure and the water was an immaciable room. It may be only this room by chance. There is no elevator in the building (lobby, bath, restaurant on the first floor). The large bath was large and the interesting explanation was that Nikko cedar was made using it. The temperature outside was 12 degrees in the spring, but the inner bath was quite wet, and the ceiling of the bathroom was high and the building was very cold. The temperature of the open-air bath was a little high, so it took a long time to get a little warmer here. When I went to the bath for the second time, the water which seemed to be a little hot came in the open-air bath, and the water seemed to be cooling, so I put hot water in the water supply when I left the bathroom and put it on the body. The women's open-air bath was under renovation and the outside cherry blossom bath was not available, and the vinyl sheet was attached at the end of the open-air bath. Therefore, it may be better to go after a little time to go to the bath main. Honestly, it was a bath that was not warm. I thought the bath in the cold was a little higher temperature. When I went out of the bath, I met with a long time ago, so I went to the bath and said, ”I was soaked all the time because I was wet.” ”Is this really a hot spring?” I said, ”It's written in colorless transparent hot springs and there.” Well, it was a meal, but the dinner was beautiful (spring, cherry blossom color, and the season of cherry blossoms). Every item 々 was handy, the taste was delicious, very satisfied, and perfect for sake. The rice was also very delicious. Breakfast was a healthy Japanese meal, and the rice was delicious and I always had a refill. The hospitality and care of the staff were very good inn.