Hotel Harvest Kinugawa

It’s right by Tobu world Square, and the room was clean. There’s a pool too, so you can have a nice time without even leaving the hotel.

We were checked in quickly, and discounts may be available in certain circumstances. Our room was bright, clean, and spacious. The hotel is huge, with an onsen, pool, game room, and other optional services. Swimwear can be rented, though check before doing so since it costs a little much. There’s free WiFi. The vending area on our floor had drinks and snacks, but not much selection. Dinner at the buffet was good, though the dining hall filled up quickly. Tobu World Square Station is about five minutes away.

The mountain forest setting is beautiful, and the hotel sits right across from the World Square. There’s a free shuttle from the station to World Square and then Edo Wonderland with an Edo Wonderland ticket, which made it very handy for visiting either place. We had a large, comfortable western-style room with a seating area and a fridge that included a freezer. I was the only white guest I noticed, but the staff were easy to deal with, and clear English instructions covered what we needed to know. The breakfast buffet was delicious and worth getting, especially since there aren’t many nearby breakfast options. There’s also a full-size pool, Jacuzzi, separate hot spring baths for men and women, and an arcade corner with some interesting games and decent prizes. A lovely stay.

The hotel went out of its way to help with my food allergy. Before each meal, staff sat down privately with my boyfriend and me, reviewed the buffet dishes, and gave us a printout listing the available foods and common allergens, with the items unsafe for my peanut and certain-nut allergy marked. I’ve never had another hotel do that for me, and I really appreciated it. The buffets had an average range but good quality; we especially liked the tempura, Utsunomiya gyozas, and roast beef. Breakfast and dinner were included in our booking. Most guests seemed to be locals, so there was a bit of a language barrier, but the staff worked to make themselves understood, and our basic Japanese helped too. We had rented a car because the hotel is a little out of the way. Free parking for all guests was much appreciated. I’d told them ahead of time about my knee injury and wheelchair, and they replied promptly. Of the three rooms we booked for five people, one was upgraded to an extra-spacious room where my wheelchair fit easily and I could get around with crutches. We visited during stink bug season. The hotel warned us at check-in that bugs might get into the room, and asked us to tell them right away if we found any. Two people in our group spotted them by the window; the staff came straight away to remove them. One bug managed to hide during the attempt, so a staff member stayed in the room until it turned up again. They were clearly determined to get the bugs out. Given the forest and river around the hotel, the bugs weren’t the hotel’s fault and were to be expected. Apart from that, the rooms were clean and comfortable. The room had a humidifier, which was handy in the dry air, but there was no air conditioning. The central system switches to heating when autumn starts, so the room became stuffy at night. We slept with the screened sliding door open to keep the bugs out. It should be less of a problem once autumn gives way to winter and the weather gets colder. On our third day in Nikko, a typhoon offshore brought torrential rain. We went out, got soaked in the cold, and came back early. The rest of my group spent the day warming up in the onsen. Around the hotel there were lots of vending machines with milk, coffee, soda, liquor, ice cream, snacks, and instant noodles. The souvenir shop also had Nikko specialties and everyday supplies like winter clothes, umbrellas, raincoats, underwear, toothbrushes, and swimwear. Luggage trolleys and shopping carts by the entrance were handy when checking in or out, or coming back with lots of shopping. Little touches like that make a difference. Thank you, Hotel Harvest Kinugawa. You were amazing.