Okukinu Onsen Kaniyu

The cloudy milky blue water was what I love about this onsen and service was alright overall, but I wouldn't stay here again due to bad room quality (smell bad, even clothes stink after of smoke), bad food, and how place is not too clean (they really need to dust out down, too many spider webs and dead insects). The bus drivers to and from, and staff were friendly tho. There's 2 large & 1 small all outdoor mixed baths. These were actually my favorite so I went to them multiple times. My skin felt so rejuvenated and healed! No wonder there's so many old locals here. We were one of the youngest guests. There's also 1 outdoor women's only bath, a few private baths, & a few other small mixed baths. There's only 1 indoor shower with indoor bath that's gender separated. Basically there's a lot of baths here to try so I never got bored. I enjoy my bathing experience, just wish it's cleaner. Just glad I went when it's cold so didn't have to deal with live bugs. The place can be a bit confusing too since all the baths have different paths. This place is all out in the mountain too so took us 2 hours from Kinugawa Train Station. I'm glad we went during late Oct when it's colder because there was a ton of webs and dead spiders there. I have bug phobia but I managed to ignore it since I was that excited about the onsen. They don't do good job in cleaning at all it seems. I imagine it's bad in summer so I would only want to visit in winter. The food was not great, very disappointing. But I did like the udon for lunch. The room smelled heavily of smoke so my clothes smelled after which I didn't like. It's a smoke free room but I think the tatami mats are so old that the smell lingered. The bed and pillows were hard so not comfortable. I noticed many visitors only stayed for the day. We were one of the few who stayed. The cleanliness, room, and food was like 2/10 but onsen itself was 10/10. Next time I will only visit as a day trip. Overall I still enjoy it tho and would love to go again when it's snowing!

Only the hot spring itself is good. Others, including service, the attitude of the owner( an old man) are very bad. I am so sure I left my iPhone charger and line in the room plugged in. But they say they did not find it. Greedy. btw， this hotel do NOT accept credit card. Cash only. But they will not inform you in advanced.

This was a wonderful experience. The onsen was very good, with a nice lukewarm pool for the kids to enjoy and with several different onsen baths. I specially enjoyed the milky water of the mixed-baths. While there were many costumers, the baths were not crowded. You are expected to wrap in a towel when using the mixed baths.

We came for a day trip. Excellent service. Onsen featured several close- to-nature hot springs pools. Mixed bathing in most. I loved soaking in pools next to the rushing river. Very hidden location, but the information booth near Kinugawa Onsen Station helped set it up. Great day trip.

This onsen hotel was incredible. It’s off a forest road so you can’t drive to it on your own. They have a shuttle service that will pick you up from a nearby parking lot (you have to contact them to arrange this service) or if you drive on your own, you can leave your car in the parking lot, and it’s a 1-2 two hour hike up the forest road to the hotel. They have a variety of outdoor pools that have varying temperatures. The meal plan was fantastic and my dinner and breakfast were delicious. The staff was friendly, the rooms were clean, and it was quiet, so you can rest and relax.

I have always wanted to go to a mountain onsen in the snow and we were lucky enough to catch a little! We missed the last bus up the mountain and had to take a cab. The cab was expensive, but it was worth the adventure. When we finally got to the Onsen they had dinner waiting for us. It was traditional and delicious! All four of us are white people from the states, only one speaks fluent Japanese. I think with a translater like Ili(which doesn't use wifi) you could make it through just fine. Our room was beautiful and spacious and warm. We could see the waterfall from our room. || There was a bath and shower in our room. The baths were 24 hours, so we waited until about 8 and then got in. The baths are so beautiful! If you've never been to an Onsen, you bathe before you get in, there's a bath specifically for that. And every time you enter a new bath you use the little bucket provided to wash off. The sulfur smell was not strong, but it made the water opaque. It started snowing about midway through our evening and it was absolutely magical. We slept well and got up early to get in the baths again before breakfast- which was also traditional breakfast. I like fish and I love Japanese food so I really enjoyed it. We had to catch the bus down and the views are beautiful during the day. If you get car sick you might want to take some dramamine with you. I will definitely make a point to come back next time I'm in Japan to try the onsen in another season and spend more time in Nikko. The cost for four of us was very reasonable considering i'm used to the prices of American hotels. And we were so well fed and everyone was unbelievably kind.

It is the deepest "hidden hot spring" in the Kanto district, Japan. The road to the lodge is rough, and you need to change to a shuttle bus on the way. It's a long road to get there and inconvenient due to the remote location, but once you soak in the wonderful hot springs, it all blows away. Recommend to those who prefer "real hot springs".

Awesome mountain retreat. Food generally good. Amazing to come here and bathe outside in the winter when it's snowing. Five different types of springs all with different healing properties (although all of the springs are pumped in as they are, so the temperature varies greatly. There is one sourced bath that was simply too hot to get in). Not much to do but bathe and read books. Perfect for a weekend getaway to unplug. L