amazing hotel -- book activities!!!

I booked a night back in January for a random date in November using my 85k FNC and then another night much closer in also at 85k. My plan was to come up to Nikko and just relax and see the fall colours. I went alone!

The hotel is actually located in Oku-Nikko (inner-Nikko) which is right next to Chuzenji lake and Kegon falls. You have to come up and down through Iroha-zaka, the winding mountain road. I would not recommend you driving if you don’t have experience driving in the mountains.

I took the Spacia train to Tobu-Nikko from Skytree and then took the local bus to get up. I had a medium Rimowa check-in and was allowed on the bus both when it was and wasn’t crowded. There’s a staton right at the hotel. The bus was ¥1,250 each way and a taxi ride would be around ¥7,000. Make sure to note when the buses are because they’re not very often and can be very delayed due to traffic. There’s also a queue for taxis, so make sure you book them early.

There’s a small street next to the hotel with some stores, but do note that they all close around 17:00, which is when the sun sets. There’s three restaurants in the city for dinner — Taro (delicious, but closes on Tuesday), Kurosaki sushi (make sure you make reservations), and a hotdog place.

It’s a short walk to Nantai-mountain, which you can climb. It took me an hour to get up to the 3rd station (there are no trails, just muddy roads). One of the staff members from the hotel can climb to the top and back down in 3 hours.

tl;dr make sure you buy stuff from the family mart before going up the mountain. lots of stuff. snacks, food, etc.

I arrived at 16:00 and was welcomed by literally everyone and was sat in the library — their lobby. Someone came to offer me tea and then helped me check in. In my case, it was Max, a intern, a student studying hotel management in Lucerne but is from Thailand. We bonded over my recent trip to Bangkok.

There was no welcome gift to choose from — you only get 1k points. I got an upgrade to a mountain view balcony room as a titanium.

Another person whose name I didn’t catch then escorted me to my room. As we were walking, they asked me if I had any plans, and when I said no, they told me to look through the book of activities. Yes, the hotel offered many many free activities, such as hiking, morning cycling, nature / historical / temple walks, paddle-boarding, boat rides, and Japanese bag making! I was surprised that there was no welcome email explaining this. I’ll write about this in detail in the next section.

The room was absolutely gorgeous. The wooden design paired with the marble everywhere… wow. There was an engawa area with heated floors that was so comfortable to sit on. The only thing was that the toilet didn’t have an auto seat opener, but that’s just me being picky. The amenities were from Diptyque (Philosykos!). I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Also to note is that the blinds are completely black-out. There is not a single speck of light. I loved it.

The rooms also had fleece-lined jackets. Such a nice touch for autumn / winter.

Breakfast: I did not choose to get breakfast. Buffet breakfast was offered at ¥3,800; the offering seemed quite slim with no hot options. There’s also an a-la-carte menu and a breakfast box option at ¥7,500.

Lunch: I had lunch at the Lakehouse restaurant and the Japanese Restaurant (yes, that was the official name which I thought was kinda half-assed).

Both places had lunch sets at around ¥7,200, with the former being a three course menu and the latter being a Japanese lunch box (the menu says kaiseki which was quite misleading IMO).

Both places tasted… just okay; the former’s fish main course tasted quite plain, and the latter’s lunch box had nothing of note. Both places had amazing desserts; the former’s sweet potato mont blanc has me craving for it to this day, and the latter’s vanilla ice cream was so fresh.

lunch box and dessert at The Japanese Restaurant

fish and sweet potato mont-blanc at Lakehouse

Dinner: I had in-room dining out of a lack of choice. The wagyu burger and karaage were not worth the ¥7,200 I paid. Make a reservation at Kurosaki sushi as soon as you come, or get enough family mart dinner.

This was my favourite part of the hotel. For real.

Morning cycling up and down Hangetsu-yama: It started at 7am, which is perfect because it usually gets foggy in the afternoon. Our group had me, a family, and an older Japanese couple (whose husband used to bike around Japan). They prepared electric-assist bikes as well as water, mittens, helmets, warm jackets, and high spirits. Our guide from Dallas made sure everyone was fine and getting lots of rest and pictures.

He even got us hot tea and snacks at the top of the mountain! It was surreal; we even saw a bit of Mount Fuji. It was a winding mountain road and so much fun. You can also rent the e-bikes yourself; it’s something like ¥3,500 for 3 hours and ¥4,000 for a whole day. I would’ve rented one and biked up and down Iroha-zaka.

views from peak

Afternoon bike ride to Chuzenji and the embassies: This was led by Tim, another intern from Lucerne but originally from Kazakstan. He was amazing and multi-talented (as you’ll see soon). We biked to the temple and he explained the different symbols and history. Then we biked to the British and Italian embassies and got lots of time to explore each. The ticket fees were also covered. This was so helpful because it’s a bit far to walk + saved some ticket fees.

Furoshiki Japanese bag making: This was also done by Tim. We had an hour to learn how to fold four different types of Japanese present wrapping.

Okunikko nature walk: This was, yes you guessed it, led by Tim. We had a private driver from the hotel drive us in a very nice Range Rover to Senjogahara Marshland and walked around whilst he explained about the history and historical importance of the area. The driver then drove us back. The views were gorgeous but I was more surprised by the private ride!

Please please email the hotel ahead of time and book tours. They’re incredible. There’s tours for different seasons too.

The gym was quite small and unremarkable. There was one bench and some free weights up to 20kg in odd denominations. There were two mirrors for exercises, which I found too awkward to use because there’s people around me, especially in Japan.

This is the only RC with an onsen. It was so relaxing. There’s an indoor section and also a gorgeous outdoor section, where you get to relax in sulphuric onsen water from Yunomoto and look at the fall foliage. I came here at least four times during my 2-night stay. Make sure to wear your yukata from the room for the full experience. Reminder to not take photos, no matter how beautiful it is!!

Restaurants: Both Lakehouse and the Japanese Restaurant had quite bad service, IMO. I told the servers that I spoke both Japanese and English to make sure there was no language barrier. At both places, the staff did not explain what the main course was when they served it; they just placed it down and left. This was weird because I clearly heard other servers explain in detail to other guests. I had to call them over and ask them what kind of fish / ingredients it was.

Otherwise, the service is what you’d expect at Japanese hotels — friendly, super helpful people who will help you with whatever you need.

tl;dr gorgeous property hardware. a bit inconvenient so make sure to buy food before coming up. some inconsistencies in the restaurant service, but everything else is impeccable. book activities and book meals at Kurosaki sushi early!!!!!

I will not hesitate to come back. I will come back next fall.