Pension Yamanikki

A family-run pension near Rindo Lake in Nasu Kogen

Pension Yamanikki opened in 1996 and stands in Takaku-hei in Nasu-machi, Nasu-gun, Tochigi Prefecture, in a spot that makes sightseeing easy: Nasu Kogen Rindo Lake Family Farm, Nasu World Monkey Park and the Nasu Teddy Bear Museum are all a few minutes away by car. It is also close to the Nasu Interchange, so it stays easy to reach even in winter. It is about 15 minutes by car from JR Kuroiso Station, and if you come by train, pickup at the bus stop can be arranged with a reservation.

Just 5 rooms and space for 12 guests

There are 5 rooms in all, sleeping up to 12 guests: two 8-tatami-mat Japanese-style tatami rooms for 2 to 3 people, one 7.5-tatami-mat Western-style room for 2, one 14-tatami-mat Japanese-Western room for 4 to 5, and one 7-tatami-mat Western-style room for 2 with its own bath. Every room faces south and looks out on the Nasu mountain range. The roomier Japanese-style tatami rooms and the Japanese-Western room are the favorites among families with young children, and the rooms have a washbasin, a toilet with a bidet seat, a TV, and heating and air conditioning.

A separate log-house playroom with 3,000 manga

The playroom sits in a log house separate from the main building, stocked with about 3,000 manga along with toys, games and DVDs. Because it stands apart, children can play without worrying about other guests, read late into the night, or carry things back to the room free of charge. The owner's wife is a former nursery school teacher, so families with children from babyhood through elementary school can settle in comfortably. The lawn garden has a handmade swing, a rocking horse and a seesaw, and many families here are repeat guests.

Two baths, each locked for private use

There are 2 baths inside, and both are used privately by one room at a time with the door locked. There is no time-slot reservation system, so you simply use them when they are free. The larger rock bath, for 3 to 4 people, is available 24 hours a day, and the other, a herbal bath for one adult or more, is available until 11 p.m. The bathrooms are stocked with body soap, shampoo, conditioner and face soap, plus baby shampoo. The water is not onsen; it is tap water drawn from Nasu spring water, and guests with atopic skin praise how gentle it feels.

A Japanese-Western dinner built around homemade pizza and focaccia

Dinner is a Japanese-Western fusion course of 11 dishes centered on homemade pizza. Both the dough and the sauce are made in-house, and the generous spread includes a meat dish, a fish dish, a salad of fresh vegetables, a simmered dish, soup, Koshihikari rice from Tochigi Prefecture and homemade sorbet. The children's option is a kids' meal for children aged 2 and over who have not yet started elementary school, and a version covering both dinner and breakfast can be arranged for an additional 1,000 yen; children under 2 are served soup and dessert only. Food allergies can be accommodated if you discuss them in advance.

Firefly watching from June to October, and varied tits that land on your hand

The stream running right in front of the pension is home to yamame trout and sawagani freshwater crabs, and from June to October you can watch the glow of rare kuromado firefly larvae. Open the dining room window and hold out a palm of sunflower seeds, and wild varied tits will come and eat right from your hand. In winter, Mount Jeans Nasu is about 30 minutes away by car, so the pension works for ski trips too, and discount lift tickets for Mount Jeans are available. There is a souvenir for children, and depending on the season you can pick blueberries in the garden.