Shelter garden nikko

There are better, cheaper choices near the train station or along the route. This hotel is deep in the forest and far from everything. Walking from the train station takes 45 minutes, and even from the nearest bus stop it’s a 36-minute walk, so an expensive taxi is the only option. Check-out is at 10:00, with a 5500 yen fine if you’re late. The room AC is noisy, and its light can’t be turned off.

We stayed three nights at Shelter Garden after booking to get an early check-in, since our flight landed at 4am. The trip from haneda airport took about 2 and a half hours. It was the first snow of the season, and the white trees looked beautiful. The staff looked after us straight away and made us comfortable. The room was gorgeous, with a big picture window and lovely design. I especially liked the sink, with its industrial faucet and nearly flat basin with a tile drain. The clawfoot tub was great, the beds were comfy, and the shower pressure was wild. It came from a tiny 2 to 3 inch shower head, with a mist at the sides and a strong cone in the middle. There was also fresh bottled mango juice in the fridge, and it tasted like ripe mangoes. We rented a car to explore, but my wife wasn’t feeling well, so we stayed in the first afternoon and evening. Dinner at the hotel was worth every penny. I had a yuzu yogurt alcoholic drink that surprised me, and the beef was great. My wife couldn’t eat much, so I had more of it. Breakfast was fresh, healthy, delicious, and different on both mornings. It’s a bit outside town, but taxis are available if you stay out late. Huge thanks to the staff for making our stay so good. I could say more, but this is getting long!

We’re so sad to leave today. I wasn’t sure about booking this place, but if you’re considering it, just do it. We’re picky, and had a wonderful stay. The food was some of the best we’ve ever had, and we’re not young. Breakfast and dinner were beautifully presented, inventive, and delicious, with a different meal each time. The rooms are spacious, with incredible views of a mountain and a small waterfall. Auzaki and the rest of the staff were unbelievably attentive. He checked on me over WhatsAp during my bus ride to the falls, made sure I’d have a ride back to the hotel, and picked my husband up from the temple. He also texted to tell me everything was okay. We made a mistake and didn’t book the hotel’s ride from the train station when they emailed us. The first taxi we tried wouldn’t take us because the road was crowded, on a Sunday in the fall, so do take the hotel up on that offer.

Even in mid December, with a little snow and some trees already bare, the river view from our room was stunning. The hotel has been designed with so much intention, and the designer himself spoke with every table at dinner, carried our bags upstairs, and drove the shuttle bus. You can tell he really cares about guests enjoying their stay. The dinner and breakfast were both very good, with a lovely mix of Japanese and Western food. Breakfast included organic local vegetables, pickles, and bread. The dishes were plated beautifully too. I’d strongly recommend booking both meals. The service was right up there with five star hotel brands, and they even specially translated a star gazing information pamphlet so we could enjoy star gazing. 10/10 for us. We’d like to visit Japan again and return to Nikko just to stay here.