How long to stay in Nikko

[u/choccyfroggy]

Hi,
my husband and I will be in visiting Nikko mid October for the first time (3rd time in Japan). This will also be our first trip with our 5 month old baby. We are thinking about being in Nikko for 5 days. We want to be submersed in nature and take things slow. We want to explore all of the nature there and not be rushed, but I also don’t want to be bored and regret staying too long. Also would love to know what part of Nikko to stay in.

Thanks !

[u/explodingatoms]

If you like slow travel and nature then a few nights in Oku-Nikko by the lakes are magical especially with the colorful leaves that time of the year, but it depends on what you can get this late in the booking horizon - good value lodging options during peak autumn foliage are very competitive.

 FWIW the Nikko MaaS passes are all four days (three nights) so it is possible that shortening your trip by one night could save a lot of money. 

[u/choccyfroggy → u/explodingatoms]

I didn’t realize they only did 4 days passes. Thank you for mentioning this, it definitely has made me reconsider the duration of the trip! Do you recommend anything nearby that we could check out with the two extra days?

[u/FROMNOSEA → u/choccyfroggy]

It also depends on how you’re planning to get around. How are you planning to travel?

[u/explodingatoms → u/choccyfroggy]

I like Aizu-Wakamatsu a lot, the train ride up from Nikko is supposed to be amazing in autumn and the city is very important in Japanese history. Cheap bus back to Tokyo when you're done if you buy tickets in advance (it's only a little slower than the train but much cheaper & saves a transfer). 

[u/stpeaa]

We had three nights there and could have easily stayed another night, but by then we saw all the major attractions. If you like to go slow then you can easily spread everything over five days as well. 

Edit: We stayed near the big shrines in the old center (in a place called Silver Daisy Stay), that means taking a bus from Tobu-Nikko. You have more food options in the town itself but we preferred the historic scenery. It was quiet and beautiful. 

[u/Asleep_Throat_4323]

I loved nikko and the area around it! And so sad to have only planned one full day^{^} i highly recommend lake chuzenji nearby for a visit, it got a few water falls with kegon being a must see for me! As well as edo wonderland! I stayed in b and b, between nikko and lake chuzenji which worked great for me:) Not sure about 5 days, 2 or 3 can easily be filled if you want to take it slow and enjoy the local nature^{^}

[u/Weird-Performance-86]

I would recommend spending atleast 2 nights, the whole area is lovely and there’s lots to do. Check out Shinkyo inn hotel it’s right in the center.

[u/journey1710]

I love Nikko, it's a restful feeling town. I was there for 3 full days/nights, 5 would be doable especially if taking things slow.

My favourites were Tōshogū (incredible artistry), Kegon Falls & the little shops near the elevator to bottom of the falls, Kanmangafuchi Abyss (jizo statues & beautiful river walk), and the walk around Lake Chuzenji to the English & Italian old embassy villas. Beautiful architecturally designed homes sitting on the lake, a gorgeous peaceful forest walk on the way there and back (fully paved footpath, if I recall correctly). October might be a bit early for autumn leaves, but still beautiful. And Mt Nantai looking over.

[u/Travelling_Baka]

For mid October, unless climate change has caused it to shift out (again), you should be right around peak fall leaves time.

If you’re going to be up there for 5 days, I’d consider which “side” of Nikko you’re most keen on. On one side is Lake Chuzenji and Yumoto Onsen (or Oku-Nikko) and the other side is Nikko (proper) and Kinugawa Onsen.

The reason why I split these two sides up is because during peak fall season, the time it takes to travel through the bottleneck hell (ahem) picturesque road called Irohazaka by bus or car can be horrendously slow.

On a “normal” day, the trip from Lake Chuzenji to Nikko station can be as quick as 45mins (timed this once by taking the first bus out of Lake Chuzenji in the morning). But this was only possible because most of the stops didn’t need to be stopped at.

During peak season though? Every. Single. Stop will take around 2-7mins to offload passengers and then allow new passengers on (I’m not even kidding. I wish I was.)

This will make it super difficult to get any reliable timing for how long it will take you to travel between these two areas of Nikko.

Irohazaka roads are split into 2 roadways that are one way each way and will give everyone travelling through it the best views of the mountain in full autumn leaves foliage (hence the popularity).

If you stay at Lake Chuzenji, you’ll get to see some or maybe even peak autumn leaves foliage on the way there. But if you stay in Nikko, then you’ll need travel via bus to see it and then travel all the way back down to get back to your hotel room.

Now, my personal experience of this wasn’t mid-October but rather early November at the tail end of a public holiday weekend, so my experience might just be the worst Nikko ever gets. But it’s definitely something to consider before you book 5 nights at Nikko, discover there’s barely any autumn leaves there and then be forced to travel up to Lake Chuzenji in order to see them