Overview

At Nikko Setsugekka, you reserve an entire Japanese-style hot spring inn for your own group. You can spend uninterrupted time with family or friends without sharing the building, kitchen, or bathing areas with another booking. You stay in a quiet villa district on the Kirifuri Highlands, surrounded by forest, yet Nikko Station and Nikko Toshogu Shrine are both around five minutes away by car.

Open the windows and you can feel the forest air, hear birdsong, and listen to the stream running in front of the property. An on-site concierge is available when you need help, while the private-rental style lets you set your own pace throughout your stay.

You can return from sightseeing, soak in the open-air bath, cook together, sing karaoke, or sit outside beside a fire. Nikko Setsugekka gives you the atmosphere of a traditional Japanese inn with the freedom and privacy of a fully reserved holiday home.

Accommodation

You sleep across two separate rooms named Snow and Moon. Both rooms follow a Japanese design and sit on the second floor, which you reach by a gently sloping staircase with a handrail.

The Snow room is an eight-tatami Japanese room with futon bedding. You also have a deep engawa-style veranda area where you can sit beside the windows and enjoy the surrounding greenery. The room includes its own toilet, unit bath, and small refrigerator.

The Moon room combines a six-tatami Japanese room with a separate Western-style bedroom measuring approximately 5.2 tatami mats. You can choose between futon bedding in the Japanese room and two single beds in the Western room. You also have a private toilet, unit bath, and small refrigerator.

Together, the rooms can accommodate up to nine people, making the property well suited to extended families and groups of friends. Towels, sleepwear, toothbrushes, body sponges, hairbrushes, cotton sets, cotton buds, razors, lotion, facial emulsion, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and hairdryers are provided.

Dining

Your booking does not include breakfast or dinner, giving you the freedom to prepare meals around your own schedule. You have access to a spacious kitchen with two sinks, a dishwasher, rice cooker, toaster, microwave, tabletop stove, hot plate, earthenware pot, frying pans, cooking pots, knives, chopping boards, serving utensils, and other useful equipment.

Plates, bowls, cups, wine glasses, chopsticks, spoons, forks, and knives are ready for you to use. You also have kitchen paper, food wrap, aluminium foil, a bottle opener, a can opener, and a wine opener. Basic seasonings include salt, pepper, sugar, soy sauce, and cooking oil, but you should bring any other ingredients and seasonings you need.

You can enjoy your meals in the approximately nine-tatami living and dining room. The room includes a decorative irori hearth, a water dispenser, and a coffee machine. The hearth adds traditional character but cannot be used for cooking or lighting a fire.

For an outdoor meal, you can reserve the covered charcoal barbecue area for an additional fee. The roof lets you continue in light rain, while evening lighting creates an inviting setting after dark. Charcoal, cooking equipment, and tableware are prepared for you, but you need to bring your own food and seasonings. You should reserve the barbecue no later than the day before arrival.

Onsen and Wellness

Your main bathing area includes a spacious indoor bath with four showers and an open-air rock bath surrounded by the forest. Because you reserve the full property, you can use these bathing spaces privately at any time during your stay.

The indoor bath uses natural Komeiseki mineral stone mined in Okayama Prefecture. The stone releases 11 water-soluble minerals into the water, creating a smooth bath with no strong taste or smell. The mineral bathing system is classed as a semi-natural hot spring rather than a naturally flowing geothermal spring.

Outside, you can soak in the open-air rock bath while looking out at the seasonal landscape. Fresh leaves, summer greenery, autumn colour, winter air, birdsong, and the sound of the nearby stream give each visit a different atmosphere. You can bathe early in the morning, after sightseeing, or late in the evening without following public bathing hours.

You can also book the outdoor tent sauna for an additional charge. The experience includes aroma löyly, a temporary pool for cooling down, and reclining chairs for resting outdoors. The sauna operates during daylight hours and finishes before sunset. You need to reserve it at least two days before arrival and bring a swimsuit or suitable clothing such as a T-shirt and shorts. Bad weather or strong winds may prevent its use.

Tattoos

Because you reserve the entire property for your group, you do not need to enter a shared public bathing area. You can use the indoor bath and open-air bath privately with the people included in your booking.

Facilities

You have access to a Japanese-style living and dining room, a fully equipped kitchen, a large indoor bath, an open-air rock bath, private unit baths in both bedrooms, free Wi-Fi, television facilities, air conditioning, small refrigerators, a water dispenser, and a coffee machine. You can use professional JOYSOUND karaoke without worrying about a closing time, and board games and mahjong give you more ways to spend time together indoors. A washing machine and dryer are also available for you to use.

You can purchase alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, snacks, ice cream, cup noodles, and ice from the small on-site shop. Free parking is available for up to two cars, and you can arrange a transfer to or from Nikko Station in advance. The building is non-smoking, with designated smoking spaces outside near the entrance and rear exit. Pets cannot stay inside the property, although a dog hotel is located nearby.

Activities

You can spend your time cooking together, singing karaoke, playing games, bathing, or simply enjoying the forest setting. For an additional fee, you can reserve a covered charcoal barbecue, an outdoor fire, or the tent sauna. The fire option lets you sit around the flames outdoors, and you can combine it with the barbecue. Advance booking is required, and weather conditions may affect outdoor activities.

Handheld fireworks are permitted in the designated area, although launching fireworks is not allowed. You can also walk around the surrounding villa district and enjoy the sounds of the forest and stream.

When you are ready to explore, you can reach Nikko Toshogu Shrine in around five minutes by car. Kirifuri Highlands is approximately 15 minutes away, Irohazaka is around 22 minutes away, Kegon Falls is around 25 minutes away, and Lake Chuzenji is around 30 minutes away. This location makes it easy for you to combine central Nikko sightseeing with time in the mountains.

Additional Features

You can check in from 3:00 p.m. and check out by 10:00 a.m. Free parking, Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, toiletries, towels, sleepwear, kitchen equipment, and private access to the indoor and outdoor baths support both short visits and longer stays. During winter, you should arrive with winter or studless tyres because the property stands in a cold mountain area.