Onsen towns
Kinugawa Onsen is Nikko’s big hot-spring town, strung along the gorge of the Kinugawa river 40 minutes east of the shrines by train. It has the area’s best choice of ryokan with private baths, from polished small inns to large family resorts, and Edo Wonderland is next door.
3 hotels, including Kinugawa River and Kawaji Onsen and Edo Wonderland. Listed by classification, then size; not a ranking.
Kinugawa river, Kinugawa Onsen · 4 stars · 48 rooms
Hoshino Resorts’ ryokan on the Kinugawa: 48 rooms dressed in local crafts, some with an outdoor bath; for couples who want a polished onsen night.
From £317 a night
Ohara, Kinugawa Onsen, Kinugawa Onsen · 4 stars
A large garden onsen hotel in Kinugawa with several big baths, private baths to book and kaiseki dinners; for families and groups.
From £236 a night
Kinugawa river, Kinugawa Onsen · Luxury ryokan
A small luxury ryokan on the Kinugawa with rooms that have their own hot-spring bath and a club floor; for a special night with dinner.
From £672 a night
Tobu limited expresses run from Asakusa to Kinugawa-Onsen Station, some direct; from Nikko town change at Shimo-Imaichi, about 40 minutes in all.
The Kinugawa gorge and its river boats, Edo Wonderland, Tobu World Square, and the quieter onsen of Kawaji further up the valley.
Kinugawa is a separate onsen town, not a suburb of Nikko: allow 40 minutes each way to the shrines. Many of the big hotels date from the boom years and vary a lot; the ones listed here are picked for their baths and their rooms.
It works for one shrine day, but Nikko town is closer. Choose Kinugawa for a ryokan night with a private bath, Edo Wonderland or the river.
Sources: tobu.co.jp.
