Tuesday, February 14, 2017

[Hotel Review] Nikko Astraea Hotel in Oku-Nikko - Nikko National Park

Anette 10:49:00 PM Hotels, Japanhotels, Nikko, Onsen, Tochigi Prefecture

Ready for skiing. In the background: Nikko Astraea Hotel

During a recent trip to Nikko we had the pleasure of staying a night at Nikko Astraea Hotel, also known as Kotoku Onsen Nikko Astoria Hotel. This hotel is located in Oku-Nikko (奥日光, lit. "inner" Nikko), a place that is situated within the Nikko National Park. With nothing else than forest in sight the location was excellent for enjoying the great outdoors, and for this trip our main purpose of the stay was to try out their cross-country skiing trails (I've written a separate post about cross country skiing in Nikko here).

Check the room availability for Nikko Astraea Hotel on Agoda.com. Free cancellation.

In order to get to the hotel we had to take a bus from Nikko station in direction Yumoto Onsen (湯本温泉), a trip that took around 70 minutes. When we got on the bus there was no snow in sight, but Oku-Nikko is located approximately 1,270 meter above sea level and as the bus took us up the winding roads of the mountain it got colder and colder until we found ourselves surrounded by pure white snow. There was a bus stop called "Kotoku Onsen・Nikko Astraea Hotel" right outside the hotel, so it was very easy to get there. Guest taking a bus to the hotel after 16:00 will have to get off at the "Kotoku Iriguchi" bus stop and call the hotel for pick-up service.

We checked in at the hotel and went to check out our rooms.

Guest Rooms

The hotel offered both Japanese and Western style rooms, but in our case we stayed at one of the Japanese style rooms. Here are some photos from our room:

Room amenities are summarised below:

TV
Telephone
Pot
Tea Set
Refrigerator
Hair Dryer (Lending)
Soap
Body Soap
Conditioning Shampoo
Toothbrush
Razor
Towel
Bath Towel
Bathrobe (Japanese Style)
Slippers

Hotel Facilities:

One of the best things about the hotel is that they had both an indoor and an outdoor Japanese bath available for free for all staying guests (visitors can use the onsen for 500 yen). It was very enjoyable to watch the snow falling from the outdoor rotenburo open-air bath. Below are some more pictures from the bathing facilities:

The facilities at the hotel are sumarized below:

Restaurant
Lounge
Bar Lounge
Banquet Hall
Conference Room
Public Large Bath
Japanese Outdoor Bath
Store
Vending Machine
Ski Rental
Wake-Up Call
Express Delivery

Dining:
We had dinner at the hotel's restaurant after having tried out the onsen. As you can see from the picture below we all wore Japanese bathrobes (yukata) that were provided by the hotel. We had a traditional Japanese washoku (和食) dinner with a range of petit dishes that tasted even better than they look.! Although the dishes seem small I can assure you that you'll certainly will get full once you've eaten all the food on your plates.!

To sum up, here are some bullet points about the hotel:

Plus:

Easy to reach from Nikko Station by direct bus that stops right outside the hotel
Located in Oku-Nikko the hotel has great access to Nikko National Park, and is surrounded by beautiful nature where you can enjoy outdoor activities
Spacious rooms and option to choose between Japanese and Western style rooms
Indoor and outdoor Japanese style bath available for free for staying guests. If you want to try different baths the Yumoto Onsen is also close by the hotel
Delicious and healthy Japanese washoku meals available at the hotel's restaurant

Minus:

Limited number of busses. If you take the bus after 16:00 you'll have to get the hotel to pick you up from the nearest bus stop. This shouldn't be a problem if you make sure to get to Nikko early though.

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Basic Info

Name of Hotel:	Nikko Astraea Hotel (日光アストリアホテル)
Star Rating:	3 ★★★
Map
Location	70 minutes by bus from Nikko Station in direction Yumoto Onsen (湯本温泉)
Check in:	Check In From 3PM Check Out Until 11AM

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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.