Overview

Okunikko Yu No Mori is a small hot spring ryokan in Yumoto Onsen, deep in the highlands of Nikko National Park. Surrounded by trees and mountain air, the ryokan gives you a quiet stay with only 12 rooms, all with private open-air baths filled with natural source-flowing hot spring water.

This is a strong choice when you want the full Oku-Nikko experience: milky sulfur onsen, forest scenery, seasonal Japanese cuisine, and easy access to Lake Yunoko, Yudaki Waterfall, and Senjogahara. The ryokan feels private and restful without being overly formal. You can spend the day walking through Oku-Nikko’s natural landscapes, then return to your own open-air bath whenever you want.

Accommodation

Okunikko Yu No Mori has 12 rooms, and every room includes a private open-air bath with natural hot spring water flowing directly from the source. The rooms combine Japanese warmth with simple comfort, giving you space to rest after hiking, sightseeing, or bathing.

The renovated Special Suite offers the most spacious stay, with a 70㎡ layout, bed sleeping, refined finishes, and tatami space that can be used with futon bedding for larger stays. The Japanese Modern room combines low twin beds with a tatami living area, giving you both bed comfort and a traditional sitting space. The 10-tatami Japanese room keeps the stay more classic, with tatami flooring throughout and a hinoki cypress open-air bath.

The European-style twin room has a wider layout, carpeted flooring, a broad veranda, and barrier-free-friendly access. The ZEN room gives you a tatami room with an antechamber and wide veranda, along with carefully selected furniture and views of the seasonal trees from the open-air bath. The compact room is a smaller, stylish option with a queen-size bed and a round ceramic open-air bath.

All rooms include a bath and toilet, shower, air conditioning and heating, TV, satellite channels, refrigerator, minibar, Wi-Fi, yukata, pajamas, towels, and standard bath amenities. The rooms are fully non-smoking, with smoking limited to one outdoor smoking area.

Dining

Dining at Okunikko Yu No Mori focuses on proper Japanese cuisine made with local Tochigi ingredients and carefully selected produce from across Japan. Dinner is served as kaiseki, with the cooking shaped by the skill of Chef Akabane, who earned the highest score at the Japan Japanese-Cuisine Summit in 2019.

Local flavor plays an important role. You may enjoy Tochigi Wagyu, Nikko yuba, ayu from the Nakagawa River, seasonal vegetables, and ingredients chosen for freshness and origin. Nikko yuba is especially tied to the area, known for its thicker texture and rich soybean flavor. The cuisine also uses select fish and Kyoto vegetables, with each course prepared to highlight the season.

Onsen torafugu is another local specialty. Raised in Nakagawa-machi using hot spring water with a composition similar to seawater, this fugu is known for its clean flavor and firm texture. The meal feels refined but not heavy, with each dish presented in a way that suits the quiet mountain setting.

Breakfast and dinner are served in Mori no Kura, the ryokan’s restaurant. The dining room has high ceilings and tall windows that look toward the surrounding trees, creating a bright, open setting for your meals.

Onsen and Wellness

The hot spring at Okunikko Yu No Mori is one of the ryokan’s main highlights. The water is a sulfur-scented hydrogen sulfide spring from Yumoto Onsen, flowing through every bath in the building without added water. This includes the private open-air bath in every room, the large public bath, and the open-air bath area.

The water starts with an emerald-green tone at the source, then turns milky white when it touches the air. The spring has a neutral to weakly acidic quality and a natural source temperature of around 49.3°C to 78.9°C in the Yumoto Onsen area. The water contains a high level of metasilicic acid, which is valued for smooth-feeling skin after bathing.

The ryokan’s large public bath includes separate bathing areas for men and women, named Yumigiri-no-Yu and Komorebi-no-Yu. You can stretch out in the indoor bath or step into the open-air bath, which was newly completed in 2022. The public bath can be used from check-in until check-out, except during cleaning or maintenance.

The spring is associated with support for high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, chronic women’s health concerns, chronic skin conditions, cuts, neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, frozen shoulder, motor paralysis, bruises, sprains, chronic digestive concerns, hemorrhoids, cold sensitivity, recovery after illness, fatigue recovery, and general health promotion.

Guests with Tattoos

Okunikko Yu No Mori has private open-air hot spring baths in every room, so you can enjoy the onsen privately with tattoos. The ryokan also has shared indoor and open-air public hot spring baths.

Facilities

Okunikko Yu No Mori has 12 rooms with private open-air hot spring baths, shared indoor and open-air public baths, the restaurant Mori no Kura, parking, Wi-Fi, room service for drinks, massage service, ski rental, snowboard rental, and transfer service to the Yumoto Onsen bus stop by advance reservation.

The building is fully non-smoking indoors, with one outdoor smoking area. Preschool-age children cannot stay at the ryokan. During winter, snow and icy roads are common in Oku-Nikko, so winter tires or chains are necessary when arriving by car.

Activities

Okunikko Yu No Mori places you close to some of Oku-Nikko’s best natural sights. Lake Yunoko is easy to enjoy on foot, with lakeside scenery, seasonal colors, and quiet walking paths. Yudaki Waterfall sits near the southern end of the lake and connects naturally with routes toward Senjogahara.

Senjogahara gives you one of Nikko’s most rewarding walking areas, with boardwalks, marshland scenery, forest edges, and views toward the mountains. You can also visit Yumoto Onsen’s source area, where the hot spring water rises from the ground and the landscape shows the volcanic character of the region.

In winter, the area becomes a good base for snow scenery, snowshoeing, and skiing. After a cold day outdoors, returning to a private open-air sulfur bath is one of the main pleasures of staying here.

Additional Features

Okunikko Yu No Mori suits you well when you want a small highland ryokan with private open-air hot spring baths in every room, natural source-flowing sulfur water, refined Japanese cuisine, and close access to Oku-Nikko’s lakes, waterfalls, and walking trails. Check-in starts at 14:00, and check-out is at 11:00, unless your stay plan sets a different check-out time.

You also have all non-smoking rooms, Wi-Fi, private in-room open-air baths, shared public baths, a restaurant with forest views, parking, bus-stop transfer by reservation, massage service, ski and snowboard rental, and easy access to Yumoto Onsen’s natural sights.