Pension Yamanikki

A family-run pension near Rindo Lake in Nasu Kogen

Pension Yamanikki opened in 1996 in Takaku-hei, Nasu-machi, Nasu-gun, Tochigi Prefecture. Nasu Kogen Rindo Lake Family Farm, Nasu World Monkey Park and the Nasu Teddy Bear Museum are all just a few minutes away by car, which makes it a convenient base for sightseeing. It is also close to the Nasu Interchange, so it is easy to reach even in winter. The pension is about 15 minutes by car from JR Kuroiso Station, and if you come by train, pickup from the bus stop is available with a reservation.

Just 5 rooms, sleeping up to 12 guests

There are 5 rooms in all, with space for 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 with its own bath (for 2). Every room faces south, with views of the Nasu mountain range. The roomier Japanese-style tatami rooms and the Japanese-Western room are popular with families traveling with young children. Each room is equipped with a washbasin, a toilet with a bidet function, a TV, and heating and air conditioning.

A separate log-house playroom with 3,000 manga

The playroom is 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, and you are welcome to read late into the night or take things back to your room. The owner's wife is a former nursery school teacher, so families with children of any age from babies through elementary school can stay with peace of mind. The lawn garden has a handmade swing, a rocking horse and a seesaw, and many families with children come back again and again.

Two private baths you lock while in use

There are 2 baths in the building, and each is used privately by one room at a time with the door locked. There are no time-slot reservations; you simply use a bath when it is free. The larger one, a rock bath for 3 to 4 people, is available 24 hours a day, and the other, a herbal bath (sized for one adult and up), is available until 11 p.m. The bathrooms are stocked with body soap, shampoo, conditioner and facial soap, plus baby shampoo. The water is not onsen but tap water drawn from Nasu spring water, and guests with atopic skin praise how soft it feels.

A Japanese-Western dinner built around homemade pizza and focaccia

Dinner is an 11-dish Japanese-Western fusion course centered on homemade pizza. Both the dough and the sauce are made entirely in-house, and the hearty spread includes a meat dish, a fish dish, a fresh vegetable salad, a simmered dish, soup, rice made with Koshihikari grown in Tochigi Prefecture, homemade sorbet and more. For children aged 2 and over who have not yet started elementary school, the children's option is a kids' meal (a version covering dinner and breakfast is also available 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.

Fireflies from June to October, and varied tits that eat from your hand

The stream flowing 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 sunflower seeds on your palm, and wild varied tits will land on your hand to eat. In winter, nearby Mount Jeans Nasu can be reached by car, so the pension also works for ski trips, and discount lift tickets for Mount Jeans are available. There is a small gift for children, and depending on the season you can pick blueberries in the garden.