Japan
Nikko
Nikko is two places a winding road apart: the town, with the carved and lacquered shrines of Toshogu among old cedars, and the lakes and waterfalls of the national park above it, around Lake Chuzenji under Mount Nantai.
Our places are one in each: Fufu Nikko in town, a short walk from Toshogu, and The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko on the shore of the lake. We know 2 places to stay here, 1 of them a ryokan. At Fufu Nikko, every room has its own hot-spring bath.
How to choose
For the shrines, and a hot spring in your room
Fufu Nikko: a stone hot-spring bath in every room, about fifteen minutes' walk from Toshogu
For the lake, and with children
The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko: across Lake Chuzenji to Mount Nantai, with a Ritz Kids programme
When to go
Autumn is the finest season, with the leaves turning around Lake Chuzenji from early October and in town from late October to early November, though the road up to the lake is slow on autumn weekends; spring comes late at the lake, and winter there is cold and snowy.
How long
Two nights from Tokyo, one by the shrines and one at the lake, or both in one place.
Getting there
Tobu limited expresses run from Asakusa to Tobu-Nikko in about 1 hour 50 minutes, or the Tohoku Shinkansen reaches Utsunomiya from Tokyo in about 50 minutes, with the JR Nikko Line on to Nikko in about 45 minutes; from Kyoto or Osaka, change in Tokyo. The bus up the Iroha-zaka to Lake Chuzenji takes about 45 minutes from the stations, and Haneda and Narita are each about two and a half hours by car.
Ready to stay here?
Tell us where and when. Our team in Japan books the room we would choose, at the inn’s own rate, settles your requests with the inn, and stays in touch before and during your stay. Price and cancellation terms are confirmed with you first.
Already have an itinerary in mind?
Have it reviewed for USD 85Ryokans and hotels
Sample trips through Nikko
Routes we have drawn up that stay in Nikko: starting points for a trip we build around your dates and pace.
5 nights · Autumn
Tokyo and Nikko in autumn: the shrines, and a lake under Mount Nantai
A short trip for a first visit: two nights in Tokyo, then the Spacia X to Nikko for a night a walk from the shrines of Toshogu and two on the shore of Lake Chuzenji, high in the national park.
13 nights · Autumn
Two weeks in autumn: Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto and the Inland Sea
A route that follows the autumn leaves south and west: a garden hotel in Tokyo, the Spacia X to the shrines of Nikko, then Kyoto by Nanzen-ji and Arashiyama, a restaurant inn in Kurashiki and Shigeru Ban's villas on the Inland Sea facing Miyajima.
Collections for Nikko
Elsewhere in Japan
Q&A
Stay in town for the shrines early and late in the day: Fufu Nikko is about fifteen minutes' walk west of Toshogu. Stay at the lake for walks, waterfalls and the view of Mount Nantai: The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko is on its shore.
Fufu Nikko has a stone hot-spring bath in every room, and its two top suites add a large open-air one. The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko has no hot spring in the rooms but hot-spring baths, indoor and open-air, piped from Yumoto.
Both take children. The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko has a Ritz Kids programme and cots, and at Fufu Nikko children 12 and under have their own rate, though the teppanyaki dinner is for over-10s.
Yes at The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, which welcomes tattoos in its baths. Fufu Nikko does not say, but every room has its own hot-spring bath.