Japan is known for its famous hot springs or "onsens". For these relaxing natural bath vacations, people often travel to Hakone or Kusatsu. Nikko, located in Tochigi Prefecture is also another good spot to visit if you want to have this kind of experience.
The Kinugawa Onsen area seems to have a devil theme, which is evident from numerous statues and engravings on the ground in the middle of a famous central bridge all the way to a gigantic devil painted across hundreds of steps on an enormous staircase.
Kinugawa Plaza Hotel is the perfect place to spend a night or two. Although a bit pricy and not within walking distance of JR Nikko Station itself, it offers both Western and Japanese style rooms, along with an indoor and outdoor bath. The outdoor baths are particularly nice during this season because it feels refreshing to step out of a hot bath and directly into the cool, crisp air while you are surrounded by mountains. Perhaps the best value however is the additional area owned by the hotel, which is a five-minute walk from the hotel. There, you can rent out a room for about 3,500 yen ($35 USD) per person for an hour. It's a small room that has a bathroom, outdoor shower your own outdoor bath. It is very private and offers a particularly beautiful atmoshphere. I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity! You can also choose to have meals included in this hotel, which I found to be of great value...lots of vegetarian options too!
A walk around JR Nikko Station itself (which is about 15-30 minutes from the Kinugawa area) offers a few nice cafes and an onslaught of interesting temples. Toshogu Shrine may be the the most famous of the temples, with a whopping 1,300 yen ($13 USD) entrance fee...higher than any of the fees you will find in Kyoto to enter a single temple. Toshogu however, is actually a temple complex which boasts highly detailed architecture spread among several buildings. Some of the creatures hand-detailed into these pictures to look for are cats, monkeys and dragons (many types of dragons). There's a wonderful view of a picturesque old bridge that is about a 15-20 minute walk from JR Nikko Station or on the bus route from the station to the temple complex. I also highly recommend visiting this location to snap at least a picture or two...good luck!
The Kinugawa Onsen area seems to have a devil theme, which is evident from numerous statues and engravings on the ground in the middle of a famous central bridge all the way to a gigantic devil painted across hundreds of steps on an enormous staircase.
Kinugawa Plaza Hotel is the perfect place to spend a night or two. Although a bit pricy and not within walking distance of JR Nikko Station itself, it offers both Western and Japanese style rooms, along with an indoor and outdoor bath. The outdoor baths are particularly nice during this season because it feels refreshing to step out of a hot bath and directly into the cool, crisp air while you are surrounded by mountains. Perhaps the best value however is the additional area owned by the hotel, which is a five-minute walk from the hotel. There, you can rent out a room for about 3,500 yen ($35 USD) per person for an hour. It's a small room that has a bathroom, outdoor shower your own outdoor bath. It is very private and offers a particularly beautiful atmoshphere. I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity! You can also choose to have meals included in this hotel, which I found to be of great value...lots of vegetarian options too!
A walk around JR Nikko Station itself (which is about 15-30 minutes from the Kinugawa area) offers a few nice cafes and an onslaught of interesting temples. Toshogu Shrine may be the the most famous of the temples, with a whopping 1,300 yen ($13 USD) entrance fee...higher than any of the fees you will find in Kyoto to enter a single temple. Toshogu however, is actually a temple complex which boasts highly detailed architecture spread among several buildings. Some of the creatures hand-detailed into these pictures to look for are cats, monkeys and dragons (many types of dragons). There's a wonderful view of a picturesque old bridge that is about a 15-20 minute walk from JR Nikko Station or on the bus route from the station to the temple complex. I also highly recommend visiting this location to snap at least a picture or two...good luck!
The Devil Staircase
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Private outdoor bath!
Toshogu Shrine
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Old bridge
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