It's like a 10ish minute walk from one of the two closest stations a little out of the way without a car but doable walking.

Very large communal living room, nice indoor and outdoor onsens, large kitchen, pretty good value housing. Nice hikes nearby, ryoukai trails and a fair bit distance to lake chuzenji, senjougahara. great place to come back to after a long day

Stayed in March 2025

The hostel is located a bit further away from the main town but if you don't mind 10-15 walks in the beautiful scenery this is your place.

Beautiful Onsen and common area area. Staff were very friendly and helpful with a lot of information about the local and surrounding activties and attractions. Pretty good value for money and all the basic amenities you could need. There is an excellent Izakaya 4 mins walk which was recommended to us and we thought it wonderful. A great overall place to stay. Scenery was delightful.

Stayed in February 2025

Very nice room and the onsen was perfect

Stayed in March 2025

The location is not that convenient for seeing sites in Nikko. Kinugawa Onsen town itself doesn’t have loads going on, although the canyon walk is great.

The most amazing hostel kitchen I’ve ever seen, and the most relaxing and large living room. We had a great time cooking and relaxing here for all 4 nights of our stay. The staff are lovely and the beds are comfy. On top of all this, they have their own Onsen (indoor and outdoor bath). Would defo stay here again!

Stayed in February 2025

Everything

Stayed in February 2025

Loved the open air onsen, and the staff were so friendly. Great chill place to stay

Stayed in February 2025

The only thing was that the onsen wasn't open in the morning, I would have loved to take a rest there before checking out!

We stayed in a bunked bed single room. The onsen, especially the outside one, is fantastic. The room was clean, and offered a terrasse to the outside, ideal in the morning. The lounge/shared space is very spacious and the balcony offers a great view of the outskirts of the hostel.

Stayed in November 2024

Nothing

I liked everything, especially the onsen. A special thank also to Yuuki-san and Fi-san for making the stay a lot more enjoyable.

Stayed in January 2025

Nothing

Spacious and warm common areas. Lovely outdoor onsen. Clean and nice cosy family room. Great location!

Stayed in November 2024

The staff was amazing and gave great recommendations for the area. Uki in particular went above and beyond. Fantastic customer service

Stayed in January 2025

Not really a complain but would be better if there was an extra microwave and toaster as it gets busy during peak hours.

Simple but well equipped and clean place. The decor feels fresh and surrounding nature was well lit up at night for a pleasant vibe. The shared kitchen was well equipped for your food and cooking. Local supermarket within walking distance.

Stayed in January 2025

Bunkbed mattress maybe a bit too soft.

Good cozy onsen. Spacious lounge with enough comfortable sofas. Lounge windows wide enough to appreciate the surrounding nature. It was snowing during my last night, and the next day view was perfect ✨

Stayed in January 2025

My room wasn’t cleaned for the whole stay, now towel replacements I payed almost like an high end hotel..

I really liked the vibe and atmosphere The staff is really nice, the onsen was great The common space was lovely:)

Stayed in January 2025

Nothing! Everything was wonderful.

It's beautiful! The rooms overlook the woods and river. The kitchen is clean and bright and large and has everything you need. I cooked the first meals of 2 months of my travel here (grocery just around the corner) and enjoyed the company in the kitchen. The common area is large with comfortable couches and plenty of seating to eat and lounge. It also has a beautiful view. It's just a short walk from the train station and the staff spoke English and were all so kind and helpful. My bed was comfy with a big down comforter and the onsen is incredible. The outdoor onsen overlooks the woods and river as well and I saw flying squirrels both nights. I've stayed at many hostels in Japan and this one is my favorite by far. I highly recommend!!

Stayed in December 2024

A bit far from Nikko main sites (2 trains and bus, you need to plan in advance). In the bedroom, curtains around beds would be great to have a little bit of privacy. I found a used tissue next to my bed..

Very friendly staff, peaceful, good vibes. Very nice common area and the onsen is a real perk.

Stayed in December 2024

Amazing hostel, one of the best I have been, onsens soooo good. I would maybe put some curtains but only a detail. Strongly recommend !!

Stayed in December 2024

Nothing to complain

Good location, near a supermarket. The common areas were great and made people eant to spend time there. Well equipped kitchen and, definitely the best part, the onsen

Stayed in December 2024

The only thing missing in the dorm rooms would be curtains for the beds, but other than that, I cannot complain, the place is perfect!

The Onsen and the common area are absolute highlights. It has such a calming and positive vibe, I loved that place and would happily come again!

Stayed in November 2024

Staff was very friendly and nice, they gave me advice on how some trails available around. The place is super spacious and well equipped, with the onsen outside to help you soothing after a long day of walking. Close to supermarket, an izakaya and a konbini (10min walk). The room are pretty spacious too, definitely would go back there.

Stayed in December 2024

Shower on the room toilet was not working. They should ask in advance if a person is physically ok to stay in the upper bed before assigning it (especially if everything else is booked and there is no alternative) Wouls be nice if bunker beds would have some sort of curtain to provide a bit more privacy

Common areas and onsen

Stayed in October 2024

We stayed at Japanese washitsu room. It was clean but it would be better if Futon are warmer.

Clean, spacious, beautiful scenery, nice atmosphere

Stayed in December 2024

This has nothing to do with the hostel, the hostel is great but FYI so you can learn from my mistakes: While there are regular trains, the station is unstaffed and you can't buy tickets, so it's best to have a suica card and/or any pass and be familiar with how "limited express" works. You can only use limited express with suica (or fare ticket) + an additional ticket. You can buy that online but I couldn't access the page, which forced me to go to shimai ichimai via local train first to buy a ticket there to get back to Aasakusa. So do better than me and plan ahead. Btw. (For me) Google completely ignores the local trains and only shows you limited express, so the connection is actually a bit better than Google shows (see picture).

Great stay. Clean, nice outdoor onsen, cool Chillout area and well equipped kitchen, staff is nice and speaks English well. Overall very relaxing atmosphere. There are several stores close by, which are open till around 8 or 9 pm as well as a 7 eleven like 15 minutes walk away. There are trains (local and limited express) like 2 or 3 every hour going to the Nikko stations (see picture). There isn't too much to do in the village itself, it's a place for nature, onsen and relaxation.

Stayed in December 2024

No female-only dorm so my last night was ruined by a guy snoring as if the earth were ending! Bit of a trek into Nikko so plan ahead with train/bus connections to avoid a long wait at the connecting station.

Friendly staff, especially Maria who was always on hand to help. Clean, comfortable bunk beds with plenty of usb sockets and individual lights on each bunk. Having an Onsen on site is worth paying the higher price compared to other hostels in the area. The lounge area has a lovely feel with large windows and soft music playing throughout the day. Highly recommended, I would stay again.

Stayed in December 2024

Even though I loved it, there are some cons: 1. Having "Nikko" in the name is false advertising, to be fair, since the hostel is in a different village and getting to Nikko from is not easy!! 2. There is one toilet/sink inside the dorm which makes unreasonable amount of noise and I think using it should be banned between 00:00-08:00. However the only female toilets are one floor down. Also, the female toilet next to the Onsen in -1 was out of order (hasn't been fixed the whole time I was there) which was a bit of a pain. 3. The beds are just regular bunk beds, not capsules. So not much privacy and beds were creaking

The best, coziest social hostel I've been to in Japan. It seems it attracts certain kind of backpackers who appreciate the peace and quiet and the communal aspect. The hostel has a perfect kitchen and common space. The outside Onsen was such a treat! It's great when it's cold outside so you can spend a long time enjoying it without overheating. Also, this was possibly the cleanest place I've ever stayed at. The staff really works hard to make sure of that. The laundry works perfectly and efficiently and they let you do it for free if you book 3 nights I ended up extending my stay to 6 nights so I could really relax a little bit after a hectic month traveling in Japan. Enjoyed every moment and would definitely stay longer if I could!

Stayed in November 2024