The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko Opens on Lake Chuzenji With an Onsen
The first Ritz-Carlton with its own hot spring opened on 15 July 2020 on Lake Chuzenji, with 94 rooms facing the water and Mount Nantai.
The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko opened on 15 July 2020 on the shore of Lake Chuzenji, in Nikko National Park, about two and a half hours north of Tokyo. It has 94 rooms and suites, each with a private balcony facing the lake or Mount Nantai, the sacred volcano that rises behind it, and it was the first Ritz-Carlton anywhere to have its own onsen.
The hot-spring water is brought from Yumoto Onsen, a source higher in the mountains with a history of more than 1,200 years, and feeds indoor and open-air baths. Around them the hotel has built a spa and a programme that draws on the religious life of the area: meditation in the lobby each evening, and visits to temples where guests can attend the fire ritual and practise zazen.
Nikko has been a place of pilgrimage since the eighth century. Its shrines and temples, above all Toshogu, the lavishly decorated mausoleum of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Lake Chuzenji lies above the town, at an altitude of nearly 1,300 metres, at the top of a famous series of hairpin bends, and in the late 19th century it became the summer retreat of foreign diplomats, whose villas still stand on the shore. The Kegon waterfall, where the lake drains, is one of the best known in Japan.
The architecture is low and horizontal, in dark timber and local stone, and the interiors use the crafts of Tochigi prefecture, including Kanuma woodwork and Mashiko pottery. There are four places to eat and drink: a Japanese restaurant with kaiseki, sushi and teppanyaki counters, the Lakehouse, a bar and a lobby lounge.
The hotel was developed by the Tobu railway group, which runs the trains from Tokyo to Nikko. It opened in a difficult year, but its timing proved good for domestic travellers, and it gave international visitors a reason to stay in Nikko rather than visit for the day. The seasons are distinct: azaleas in late spring, cool air in summer, autumn leaves from early October, and snow in winter.
The resort belongs to a group of hot-spring hotels that international brands have opened in rural Japan since 2016, beginning with Amanemu. For those starting from Tokyo, it is the nearest.