Hotele Hot Springs w: 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.

The BEST hostel I ever stayed in! If you are staying in Lake Chuzenji in Nikko you got to stay here. It is a hostel within a hotel so it is very clean, safe and very big. The staff are very friendly and everything is amazing. They have a free onsen + a lounge with drinks, tea, wine, coffee, and ice cream bars that you could take! They have a microwave too if you need it and a hot water dispenser. The hotel is right in front of the lake so you know you’re gonna have a good time! The bus station is also right in front and if you are parking they have plenty of space! You have to come here. I will come here again!

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.

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.

I read the mixed reviews and was concerned about my choice, particularly those which highlighted some concerns on the service, etc. Generally, it's an acceptable hotel. We met friendly and very helpful foreign staff who were sincere. I think mainly because all the staff has to multi-task from the front desk to meals etc, they may not appear very attentive. But we had a good experience with the foreign staff so far, particularly Adihadara. I am not sure if I spelt his name correctly. I call him ”Adi” in short. He was eager to help my husband with our luggage and took note of our preference for a table at the window for our meals. The property does appear aged and some apparent wear and tear but their effort to maintain it at this level of general acceptable look and feel is commendable. At the end of our two nights stay, we did have an enjoyable time to chill and relax at the hotel.

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).

The traditional central Japanese garden with pond and fish is superbly designed and is visible once inside, from the lobby, the lounge and the dining room with all the rooms directly above (at least 3 floors). The service desk is only open for check-in from 3-6pm (English spoken), though I arrived earlier (before noon) and left my luggage & went for a walk. Unless you book meals (breakfast plus dinner combined) ahead of your stay, meals are not available due to the the need to prepare them). I stayed 3 nights but hadn't booked meals so it was too late to enjoy a meal the first day or following morning. The next 2 nights I ate there OK. I highly recommend Ikari Restaurant (5 mins walk away) as an alternative also, because the Sakahijiri meals are VERY expensive ( ¥6,600) but the Sakahijiri dinner in itself is an extraordinary experience in Japanese cuisine by a seriously skilled chef that may be worthwhile having. The rooms are spacious and with traditional Japanese elements.The town is smaller and lacks much to see for some but it was a great respite for me due to the quietness that I sought. I used the in/outdoor onsen each day too. Access from the Railway Station is an easy, generally flat, 10-15 min walk. I've read some silly complaints about a few holes in some sliding paper windows caused by careless tourist/s. Sakahijiri is so pleasing overall and restful that criticism such as this misses the point of it uniqueness.

One of the worst locations at Kinugawa Onsen area. Hidden in the mountain, no significantly beautiful view. Despite we need to pay for ”Hoshino Resort price”, unlike other cheaper hotels, we need to PAY for TAXI ourselves and getting a taxi during new year time is a terribly painful. Hotel staff lack of initiatives getting us cab instead we need to open different apps and such ... and on the way back the following day we ended up walking for 20 mins by ourselves .... Food is ok, onsen is ok, cleanliness ok, but nothing super ordinary. You can pay attention to details in decorations and inhouse services, but you can't pay attention to one of the most obvious services you HAVE TO provide to your guests, Hoshino ---- shuttle service .......

Both breakfast and dinner are buffet style. They offer fresh tuna and squid sushi, and during the New Year, traditional Japanese New Year dishes. It's quite good value for money. However, the buffet is limited to 1.5 hours and requires a reservation, so you need to check in early to book your preferred time. From what I've seen on Japanese TV programs, the buffet at Mikazuki, which is within a few hundred meters, seems better. But if you don't know that, the service here is overwhelmingly superior compared to other regions.