Kinugawa Onsen — photo: Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The 3 best onsen towns near Nikko
If you are going to Nikko and want to stay at an onsen town, the three to look at are Kinugawa, Yunishigawa and Kawaji. All three are inside Nikko City, all three are reached by train with no car, and of the 11 onsen in Nikko City in our data they are the three best known. They are not next to the shrines, though: they sit in the Kinugawa valley to the north-east, 12 to 24 km from Tōbu-Nikkō Station. If you want hot water right by Lake Chūzenji instead, read the section on Yumoto near the end.
Why these three, in one paragraph
We did not pick by taste. We took every onsen in our data whose address is in Nikko City, ranked them by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read, as a measure of how established a town is, and then checked from the top down which ones you can reach without a car. The top three all pass. The full method, with numbers, is at the end.
Nikko has two onsen areas, not one
Nikko City is very large. The famous part, the shrines and temples around Tōshō-gū, is at the edge of town near the two Nikko stations. From there one road climbs west into the mountains to Lake Chūzenji and Yumoto, an area often called Oku-Nikkō. A separate railway runs north from Shimo-Imaichi up the Kinugawa river to Kinugawa, Kawaji and Yunishigawa.
The two areas have different water. The three towns below are all listed as simple springs, the mild kind. The sulfur springs are up in Oku-Nikkō: of the 10 onsen in Nikko City with a water type on record, 5 are simple, 4 are sulfur and 3 are chloride (some have more than one). Of the 7 with a source temperature on record, 4 reach 42 °C, and all four are in the mountains to the west, not in the Kinugawa valley.
So the choice is really this: the Kinugawa valley towns are the established places to stay, easy to reach from Tokyo, with gentle water. Oku-Nikkō has the stronger water and the lakes, but fewer inns and a long bus ride.
1. Kinugawa: the big resort town on the gorge
Why it made it. Kinugawa Onsen is the best-known onsen town in Nikko City, at 2,264 in our count, and the 15th best known of the 1,538 onsen in our data. It is about two hours from Tokyo in our travel data and 12 km from Tōbu-Nikkō Station.
The town. Kinugawa is a resort of large hotels lined up along a deep gorge of the Kinugawa river. It grew fast as a weekend destination for Tokyo, and when that trade fell away a number of the big hotels closed; some of the empty buildings are still visible from the river. The hotels that remain are busy, and the town is the most convenient of the three. Ryūōkyō Gorge is about 4 km away and Kirifuri Falls about 10 km. A river boat ride and a couple of theme parks nearby make it the easiest pick with children.
The water. Listed as a simple spring: clear, low in minerals and easy on the skin. We have no source temperature on record for Kinugawa, so we will not guess one.
Getting there. Tōbu limited express trains run straight to Kinugawa-Onsen Station from Asakusa, and some trains run through from JR lines; the station is a short walk from the hotels. The final stretch is a Tōbu line, which the JR Pass does not cover. From the Nikko shrines, take the Tōbu line from Tōbu-Nikkō to Shimo-Imaichi and change for Kinugawa.
Good for: one night from Tokyo combined with the shrines, families, a hotel with every facility. Watch out for: it is a town of big hotels rather than old wooden streets; weekends and holidays are crowded.
2. Yunishigawa: the hidden valley at the end of the line
Why it made it. Yunishigawa Onsen is second at 1,789, the 29th best known in Japan. It is about two and a half hours from Tokyo in our travel data and the farthest of the three from the shrines, 24 km from Tōbu-Nikkō Station.
The town. Yunishigawa is a small village in a narrow mountain valley, best known for the story that it was settled by members of the Heike clan hiding after their defeat in the twelfth century. Inns lean on that history with old-style buildings and food cooked over an open hearth. In winter the village holds a festival of small snow huts lit by candles along the river, which is when it is busiest. Mount Arakai is about 9 km away.
The water. Listed as a simple spring. Our only temperature reading is 25 °C at the source, which is cool enough that the baths are usually reheated.
Getting there. Train to Yunishigawa-Onsen Station on the line that continues north from Kinugawa, then a local bus of about 30 minutes up the valley. None of it is a JR line, so the JR Pass does not help here.
Good for: a quiet, old-fashioned night in the mountains, the winter lantern festival. Watch out for: buses up the valley are not frequent, so check the last one; there is little to do in the evening beyond the inn.
3. Kawaji: the quiet neighbour, a walk from the station
Why it made it. Kawaji Onsen is third at 788, the 82nd best known in Japan. It is about two hours from Tokyo in our travel data and 18 km from Tōbu-Nikkō Station.
The town. Kawaji is about 8 km up the river from Kinugawa, a smaller and quieter town of inns along the river where two valleys meet. Ryūōkyō Gorge lies between the two towns, about 3.5 km from Kawaji, and its walking path is the easiest way to see the gorge on foot. The Hunter Mountain Shiobara ski area is about 6.5 km away.
The water. Listed as a simple spring, like Kinugawa. We have no source temperature on record for Kawaji.
Getting there. Train to Kawaji-Yumoto Station, on the same line as Yunishigawa, then about 10 minutes on foot. Like Kinugawa, no bus is needed. The JR Pass does not cover this line.
Good for: Kinugawa's location without the crowds, a night between the gorge walk and the shrines. Watch out for: fewer shops and restaurants than Kinugawa; trains on this line are not frequent.
Which of the three?
- One night, with the shrines the same day: Kinugawa, the closest and the easiest.
- Quiet, still easy by train: Kawaji.
- Remote mountain village, winter snow: Yunishigawa.
- On a JR Pass: all three are on Tōbu or other private lines, so the pass will not cover the last part. The JR Nikko Line gets you to Nikko itself.
The towns that only just missed
Nikkō Yumoto came fourth at 545. It is the one to choose if you are touring the lakes and waterfalls of Oku-Nikkō rather than the Kinugawa valley. It sits on the shore of a small lake at the top of the road past Lake Chūzenji, with 23 inns, and its water is a sulfur spring recorded at 49.3 °C, the kind that smells of eggs and can turn milky. Onsen-ji Temple is 200 m from the centre and Ryūzu Falls about 6 km. It is a local bus ride of about 85 minutes from the Nikko stations, roughly three hours from Tokyo in all.
Okukinu (373) is a group of four remote inns at the head of the Kinugawa valley, reached on foot or by an inn's own shuttle, and we have no travel data for it, so it was not ranked. Meotobuchi (332) and Kawamata (240), recorded at 60 °C and 70 to 94 °C, are a long bus ride from Kinugawa-Onsen Station. Chūzenji Onsen (116), the closest onsen to the shrines at 11 km and half a kilometre from Kegon Falls, is a sulfur spring but has no car information in our data.
How we picked these three
- Starting pool: all 11 onsen in our data with an address in Nikko City, Tochigi.
- Known: ranked by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read. Kinugawa 2,264, Yunishigawa 1,789, Kawaji 788. The next are Nikkō Yumoto at 545, Okukinu at 373 and Meotobuchi at 332.
- No car needed: we went down the list from the best known. The top three are all marked in our travel data as reached by train and a short walk or local bus, so the top three by readership are the top three here.
- Distance from Tōbu-Nikkō Station (straight line): Kinugawa 12.2 km, Kawaji 18.0 km, Yunishigawa 24.0 km. Yumoto is 18.6 km and Chūzenji 10.9 km. Distance did not decide the ranking.
- Not used: views, inn quality, price, tattoo policy, food or private baths. We have no data that ranks those fairly, so we did not pretend to.
- About the water: of the 11, 7 have a temperature on record and 4 reach 42 °C, all in Oku-Nikkō. Of our three, only Yunishigawa has a reading (25 °C). The water did not decide the ranking.
- Travel times are rough estimates from our data. Check the current timetable before you go.
For every onsen within reach of Tokyo, see onsen near Tokyo and our guide to onsen trips from Tokyo. Kinugawa is also one of the best onsen near Tokyo. Next door in Gunma: the best onsen towns in Gunma and our Kusatsu guide. Want sulfur water? See sulfur onsen and onsen water types. For towns you can reach by train, see onsen you can reach without a car. New to this? Start with how an onsen stay actually works and onsen etiquette. Tattooed? Read going to an onsen with tattoos before you book.