[Stay Review] Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel: Hot Springs, Dinner & Breakfast Buffet

This time I stayed at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel in Nikko, Tochigi, and I’d like to share how it went.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel has a lot going for it, from the hot springs to the meals and facilities, so it’s a great place to stay when you’re sightseeing in Nikko.

“Anyone curious about what Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel is really like”
“Anyone thinking of staying around Kinugawa but not sure where to book”

This article is written for exactly those readers, so please read to the end!

Check Read our articles on other Oedo Onsen group hotels

Who Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel Is Best For

Kinugawa, where Kinugawa Kanko Hotel is located, is a scenic area blessed with abundant nature.

The Kinugawa gorge is home to hot spring areas such as Kinugawa Onsen and Kawaji Onsen, and it’s also popular for activities like rafting and canoeing.

Around Kinugawa Onsen there are roughly 30 hot spring inns and other places to stay.

With so many options, it’s hard to know where to book, isn’t it?

I chose Kinugawa Kanko Hotel because I was traveling to Kinugawa Onsen, and after actually staying there, here is who I think Kinugawa Kanko Hotel suits best.

Let’s go through them one by one.

① You want to fully enjoy Kinugawa’s hot springs

At Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel, hotel guests only get a bath-hopping pass that lets you use the baths at Hotel Kinugawa Gyoen for free too♪

With a single night’s stay, you can enjoy the hot springs of two different hot spring inns.

Cross the green “Fureai Bridge” and you’re there in about 5 minutes, and the staircase decorated with oni (ogre) paintings makes a great photo spot!

② You want to stay at a reasonably priced hotel

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel runs the value-focused “Oedo Model,” so if you stay as a group you can get one night with two meals, two hot springs, and lounge access for under 10,000 yen.

At the breakfast buffet, you can eat all you like of the Oedo signature nokke-don (build-your-own topping rice bowl)!

Access to Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel sits on the Kinugawa river in Nikko, Tochigi, and is an Oedo Onsen group hotel where you can enjoy the changing seasons of the gorge while you soak in the hot springs.

There are eight hot springs including indoor and open-air baths, and the water is a mild alkaline simple spring. It’s gentle on the skin and less likely to make you dizzy.

By car, it takes about 30 minutes from Utsunomiya IC on the Tohoku Expressway via the Nikko-Utsunomiya Road toward Nikko, Imaichi IC, and then Route 121.

By train, get off at Kinugawa Onsen Station and walk about 15 minutes.

Hotel name	Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel
Address	321-2526 359-2 Kinugawa Onsen Taki, Nikko, Tochigi
Phone	0570-03-1126
Check-in	15:00 (last check-in: 19:00)
Check-out	10:00
Number of rooms	172 rooms
Access	15-minute walk from Kinugawa Onsen Station About 10 minutes by shuttle bus from Kinugawa Onsen Station
Shuttle	None
Parking	200 spaces, free (available from 1 pm on the day of stay)
Wi-Fi	Available only around the 1st-floor lobby
Smoking	Designated areas only (in front of the 1st-floor shop and the basement banquet hall)
Vending machines	Yes
Coin laundry	None
Credit cards	VISA、JCB、American Express、Diner’s Club、Master Card
Luggage storage	Available both before check-in and after check-out
Other	Large public bath, lounge, karaoke room, table tennis, shop, massage service

*Prices show the lowest weekday rate for 2 guests with dinner and breakfast, before any coupons or discounts. Please check the linked page for the latest information.

Overview of Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

Now let me introduce the details of Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel, where I stayed this time.

I drove and parked in the hotel’s private parking lot. It was a few minutes’ walk from the parking lot to the hotel entrance.

Check-in

Inside the entrance is a very spacious, beige-toned lobby. In the back, you can see several lounge chairs set out.

The front desk is on the right side of the main entrance, and a big sign reading “Kinugawa Kanko Hotel” catches your eye.

You’ll get a tour of the hotel, and if you booked a plan with dinner and breakfast, you’ll set your dinner and breakfast times at check-in.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel has two basement floors and nine floors above ground, with the front desk, restaurant, shop, and karaoke room on the 1st floor.

Floors 2 through 9 are guest rooms, while the banquet hall is on the first basement level, and the large public bath, private baths, and massage corner are on the second basement level.

There’s a yukata corner next to the front desk.

At most hot spring inns, colorful yukata cost extra, but every yukata service in the Oedo Onsen group is free.

Pick out your favorite pattern and color and enjoy your yukata!

The amenity corner with toothbrushes and the like is next to the front desk.

Guest Room

Take the main building elevator right next to the front desk up to the 3rd floor.

Cross the connecting passage on the 3rd floor to the middle building.

I stayed in Room 557, a Japanese-Western twin room plus an 8-tatami area.

Inside, you first walk into a hallway. The bath, toilet, and washbasin are on the right, and the Japanese-Western room is at the back on the left.

An 8-tatami room sits in the center with no partition, and by the window there are single beds, a low table, and chairs.

A futon for one guest is already laid out in the tatami area, so staff won’t come into the room after check-in.

There are no legless floor chairs at the tatami table, just zabuton cushions, one for each guest.

Open the sliding fusuma doors in the tatami room and you’ll find hangers, so you can use it as a closet.

When you head to the hot springs, take a bath towel and a face towel with you.

The yukata sash is in the room, but you pick up the yukata itself from the corner next to the front desk, choosing the pattern and size you like.

There’s a TV in the tokonoma alcove of the tatami room, but the screen is a bit small for the size of the room.

You’ll probably be watching in the tatami area. It’s handy that an extension cord is provided.

Under the TV is an old-fashioned safe that you lock with a physical key.

The beds are placed right up against the wall, so it feels a little cramped, but once you’re asleep you won’t notice.

The nightstand has a light switch and a tissue box, and there are two power outlets nearby.

There are no USB ports.

The area with the low table is spacious.

There are two ways to relax, in these chairs or on the zabuton cushions in the tatami area. A few spots look a little dated, but it’s plenty of room for three people to spend time, and I had no complaints.

In the corner of the room there’s a small shelf with free mineral water for each guest, an electric kettle, and a fridge.

Bathroom, Toilet & Washbasin

In the Japanese-Western twin room with an 8-tatami area at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel, the bath, toilet, and washbasin are all separate.

The washbasin has been renovated and is elegant and roomy.

With Kinugawa Onsen right there, you probably won’t use the bathtub in the room, but it has retro tilework and no shower.

The toilet has a bidet seat and is spacious and clean. You flush it by pulling down a rod-shaped lever, though.

Hot Springs at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel has the Kirifuri no Yu and Keicho no Yu baths, and because the large public baths and open-air baths swap between men and women, you can enjoy two different hot springs in one night.

Kirifuri no Yu is open to women from check-in time 15:00 to 24:00, and to men only for a morning bath from 5:00 to 9:00 the next morning.

Kirifuri no Yu has an impressive large rock-bath public bath.

Four tubs line a hot spring corridor. Soak in them in order, starting with Iroha no Yu, and relax.

Can you make it all the way to the end?

At Keicho no Yu, you can take your time in the open-air bath while looking out at Kinugawa landmarks such as Fureai Bridge over the Kinugawa river and the staircase with the oni symbol.

The sauna and cold plunge are only at Keicho no Yu, and the sauna is open until 10 pm.

Lounge at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel has a lounge corner in the 1st-floor lobby with all-you-can-drink soft drinks and alcohol.

Wine and beer are all-you-can-drink, and around check-in time many guests use the lounge, so it’s a scramble for seats!!

You can add as much ice as you like, so I soothed my travel fatigue with an ice-cold orange juice!

Heavenly.

Dried snacks and light bites are also available, but those are a scramble too.

They aren’t restocked right away, so grab some before they run out.

Ice pops are all-you-can-eat too!!

Don’t eat so many that you upset your stomach, and save some room for dinner.

Dinner at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

Dinner at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel is a buffet, held at the restaurant on the 1st floor.

You hand a timed dinner ticket (one per group) to the staff before entering the restaurant.

Without it you can’t get in. You can sit at any open seat.

The Oedo Onsen group’s salad selection comes in plenty of variety.

Besides vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cucumber, there’s wakame seaweed, potato salad, and macaroni salad.

The sashimi corner is well stocked too.
There’s plenty of bonito and tuna, and the boat-shaped tuna platter is bold and has an incredible presence!

The amount of yellowtail is no joke either!!

Time to enjoy the bounty of the sea♪

There aren’t many toppings, but there’s a sushi corner too.

A sushi tub packed with toppings! There are five kinds: octopus, eel, squid, egg, and shrimp.

Red tuna is served as sashimi, so there’s no tuna sushi.

At the live kitchen, the grilled sirloin steak is popular with all ages.

The meat is processed beef injected with seasoned beef fat, but the savory aroma really whets your appetite!!

These are Utsunomiya gyoza made at the live kitchen!

They go perfectly with rice and beer, so they’re popular with kids and adults alike!

Speaking of Nikko, it’s yuba sashimi (fresh tofu skin). It has a jiggly texture and is delicious with wasabi soy sauce.

Dessert is an assortment of mini cakes and citrus fruit.

Breakfast at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

Breakfast at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel is a buffet just like dinner, and it’s held in the same 1st-floor restaurant.

You can’t eat without your breakfast ticket, so be careful not to forget it.

Speaking of breakfast at the Oedo Onsen group, it’s the famous nokke-don!!

Choose your toppings from negitoro (minced tuna and scallion), sweet shrimp, mekabu (seaweed stalk), scallop, and squid, and build your very own original rice bowl.

You can even have piping hot nikujaga (meat and potato stew) in the morning.

There are breakfast staples like sausages, plus French fries that kids love.

The breakfast desserts come in about as much variety and quantity as at dinner!!

In the morning, I recommend the light fruit punch and the fruit tossed in yogurt.

Final Thoughts on Staying at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel

This time I stayed at Oedo Onsen Monogatari Kinugawa Kanko Hotel because I wanted to soak in the hot springs of Kinugawa, which have been open for over 300 years.

The room was over 40 ㎡, and on top of enjoying two hot springs in one night, being able to use the baths of two hotels, including Hotel Kinugawa Gyoen, is an incredible deal!!

Even before check-in, you can drink alcohol and other drinks all you like at the lounge for free, and the dinner buffet has a live kitchen with sirloin steak and Utsunomiya gyoza and local specialties like Nikko yuba, so the food was satisfying.

The restaurant feels like an ordinary dining hall rather than a hot spring hotel one, but getting this whole package for under 10,000 yen per person is exactly what you’d expect from the Oedo Onsen group.

It’s a hotel I can recommend to anyone who simply wants to enjoy Kinugawa Onsen at great value.

Alright, let’s go! Trip & Happiness♪

Check Read our articles on other Oedo Onsen group hotels