Family-Friendly Hotels at Kegon Falls: Cool Highlands by Lake Chuzenji

When you start looking for a family hotel near Kegon Falls, it is hard to know what to judge by. With a small child along, how short the travel is and whether your child can settle down in the room matter far more to how the trip feels than being close to the sights. Kegon Falls is one of Japan's best known waterfalls, Lake Chuzenji spreads out right beside it, and the whole area sits inside Nikko National Park. This is less a place for ticking off attractions than a place to simply look at mountains and water, which is why it works even with a child too young to walk far.

Tochigi Prefecture has other areas such as Nikko itself and the district around Tobu World Square, a park of miniature world landmarks. What sets the Kegon Falls area apart is its elevation: the air stays cool here even in summer. Because you have to climb a mountain road up from town, the trip works best if you settle in at your hotel once you arrive and spend your time on just the waterfall, the lake, and the hot springs. Try to pack in stops in every direction and the mountain road time adds up, which is exactly what leaves a child fussing in the car.

The first thing to weigh when choosing a hotel is how the rooms are laid out. Among the hotels we have checked in this area, 4 offer Japanese style or Japanese-Western rooms. A tatami room means you do not have to worry about a fall from the bed during the rolling over and crawling months, and there is still floor space for your child once the luggage is spread out. For families who prefer beds, places like Kamenoi Hotel Okunikko Yumoto, The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, and Oku Nikko Hotel Shikisai have rooms with low beds or tatami beds. Kamenoi Hotel Okunikko Yumoto also lends baby futons, and not having to bring your own bedding is a real help when you want to travel light.

Meals and baths are also easy to compare here. Some hotels serve baby food, some prepare toddler menus, and some accept allergy requests. Nikko Hoshi no Yado, for example, lets you bring your own baby food and will warm it for you. As for baths, hotels such as Gasthof Ami and Oku Nikko Hotel Shikisai have private baths or rooms with their own open-air bath, so you can soak as a family even before your child is ready for a large communal bath. The listings here come to 5, a small number, but that also makes it easy to read through the facilities hotel by hotel.

The strong contrast between seasons is very much part of this highland character. Fresh green, cool summers, autumn leaves, and snowy landscapes give the same place completely different faces. Road conditions and what to wear shift with the season, so decide when you are going first, then check hotel facilities. That keeps your choice from drifting.