Five recommended lunches around Kinugawa hot spring [From Italian to local eateries
Kinugawa Onsen and Kawaji Onsen are both traditional hot spring resorts with many inns lined up along the river. From Italian restaurants to local eateries and ramen stores, we will introduce you to some of the most recommended and delicious lunch spots that you should definitely take the time to visit during your stay.
1Pizza & Pasta Kanon
This Western-style Restaurant is located near theme parks such as "Nikko Edomura" and "Toric Artpia Nikko. The menu offers a wide variety of Italian dishes such as pasta and pizza, as well as sirloin steak and curry.
Weekday-only weekly lunch courses A, B, and C are available, each with a different number of items and price, but the B lunch is especially recommended. The B lunch is especially recommended. It includes four appetizers, a main dish, bread or rice, dessert, and a drink, and you can choose from three or four different main dishes. In addition, there are three or four main dishes to choose from, and they are all made with plenty of fresh vegetables and are visually appealing. You can enjoy an elegant lunch time.
Enjoy a luxurious lunch in the light-filled restaurant
Local ingredients such as "Tochigi Dream Pork" and "Tochigi Wagyu Beef" often appear in the dishes at "Kaoto". In particular, "Tochigi Yume Pork" is used in many dishes because of its reputation for not being fatty and having a strong flavor and sweetness.
A full lineup of bottled wines is also available, so we recommend enjoying them with wine. Another charm of "Kaon" is its spaciousness. Sunlight shines through the large windows in the spacious restaurant, creating a very open atmosphere. Pets are welcome on the terrace.
- Pizza & Pasta Kanon
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8-10 Osakoshi, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
3 minutes by cab from Osakoshi Station on the Tobu Kinugawa Line
11:00-15:00, 17:00-20:30 LO (closes at 21:00)
Thursdays (open on national vacations, summer vacation periods, and year-end and New Year holidays)
0288-77-0006
Free of charge (35 cars)
2Pizzeria di Sapore
The chic interior with a brick base color is a wonderful sight. Although it is located right next to Kinugawa Onsen Station, where many people come and go, it has an at-home atmosphere.
Our weekday recommendation is today's pasta set, which includes a half-size pasta dish that changes daily, a panino (Italian-style sandwich), and a drink. Many of the pastas are original recipes with secret Japanese ingredients such as kombu dashi, miso, and sesame, and are characterized by the use of plenty of local ingredients such as maitake mushrooms, tomatoes, and Shimotsuke beef (Shimotsuke beef). The lunch set allows you to enjoy a dish of their specialties at a reasonable price.
Neapolitan pizza restaurant in an alley near the station
Panino is made by aging homemade dough with natural yeast at a low temperature for a long time and baking it in an oven at about 500℃. The freshly baked dough offers not only a rich wheat aroma but also a sticky texture, and is a perfect match for lettuce, tomatoes, and moist, tender roast beef. The roast beef, spread with aromatic vegetables and grilled slowly at a low temperature, is an exquisite dish with concentrated meaty flavor.
On weekends and holidays, when the Eastern Railway's SL trains are in operation, the restaurant also sells "Black Margherita (Nero)," a pitch-black pizza made with bamboo charcoal, which is also very popular.
- Pizzeria di Sapore
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- 1396-7 Ohara, Kinugawa hot spring, Nikko, Tochigi MAP
- 1 minute walk from Kinugawa Onsen Station on the Tobu Kinugawa Line
- 10:30-17:00
- Thursdays (and other occasional holidays)
- 0288-77-1387
- Free of charge (5 cars)
3Trattoria Camino
This Italian hideaway is located in a quiet residential area. The hut-style interior with a fireplace and a garden with pleasant sunlight filtering through the large zelkova tree make it a relaxing place to unwind.
We recommend the wide variety of pasta. The grand menu features a total of 11 types of pasta, including such classics as amatriciana, pescatore, and carbonara. In addition, pastas using seasonal ingredients such as sakura shrimps, spring vegetables, and rape blossoms in spring and maitake mushrooms in autumn are also available. A drink, salad, and homemade bread complete a sumptuous lunch.
A House Restaurant with a Fireplace and Wood-fired Kiln (Makigama)
The kitchen has a simple, old-fashioned wood-fired oven, in which pizza and homemade bread with rye are baked. The bread, made with natural yeast, is very savory and has just the right amount of hardness. It is recommended to eat it with pasta sauce.
In addition, in order to offer a good combination of authentic Italian traditional taste and delicious local ingredients, the restaurant offers a wide variety of dishes using ingredients such as Yashio trout farmed in Nikko, Kirifuri Kogen beef, and Nasu pork. Authentic dishes such as stewed and grilled dishes are available.
- Trattoria Camino
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- 1430-2 Ohara, Kinugawa Onsen, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
- 8 minute walk from Kinugawa Onsen Station on the Tobu Kinugawa Line
- 11:30-14:30 LO (close at 15:00), 17:30-21:00 LO (close at 22:00)
- Wednesdays (open if Wednesday is a national holiday)
- 0288-76-0867
- Free of charge (10 cars)
4Japanese Ramen Ikari
The most popular dish at this restaurant in Kawaji hot spring is the "Roast Ramen. It contains deep-fried pork loin coated with potato starch. The soup is made from pork bones, chicken bones, kelp, vegetables, and fruits, and has a nostalgic sweetness. It is rich yet refreshing, which is why the owner named the restaurant "Japanese-style ramen. The thin batter of pork soaked in the soup is also delicious, and the heaping pile of shredded green onions, seaweed, and greens also enhance the refined taste of the thin noodles.
A popular local restaurant with a wide selection of delicious food
The restaurant is located near the Ojika River, making it a good place to stop by while strolling along the riverside promenade. The restaurant has both table and tatami room seating, making it an attractive place for a leisurely meal. In the evening, many people visit the restaurant for a late-night snack or to finish off their meal with ramen.
Another feature of the restaurant is the wide variety of items on the menu. In addition to various types of ramen, the restaurant offers a wide variety of Japanese and Western dishes, such as Chinese a la carte dishes, set meals, negitoro donburi, rice balls, omelettes, steaks, and fries, making it a longtime favorite of tourists and locals alike.
- Japanese Ramen Ikari
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- 22 Kawaji, Kawaji Onsen Kawaji, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
- 10 minute walk from Kawajiyumoto Station on the Noiwa Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line
- 11:00～0:30 the next day
- Closed on Thursdays
- 0288-78-0115
- Free of charge (10 cars)
5Kushikado Yamakoshi
Kushikado Yamakoshi is a small, family-run eatery located near the Oshita-zawa Bridge in Kawaji hot spring. A must-try is the hearty sashimi set meal.
Not only are five or six seasonal and recommended items of the day lavishly arranged, but there is also a variety of small bowls of food that are handmade each day, making it a satisfying meal. Although Tochigi Prefecture has no ocean, this restaurant is very popular for its delicious sashimi, and they prepare the freshest fish every day.
A talented diner boasting sashimi and soba noodles
The restaurant opened in 1970 as a soba (buckwheat noodle) restaurant. Today, as an izakaya-style diner, it serves a variety of dishes in addition to soba, including sashimi, sushi, a la carte seafood dishes, and yakitori, and its colorful Kamakura vegetables grilled with cheese and tempura are also popular. Many longtime fans of the soba, and many Guest/customers order the soba and yakitori platter at lunchtime. Sake produced in Tochigi, such as "Houou Mita," "Tenaka," and "Senkou," is also available and can be enjoyed with tempura and sashimi.
- Kushikado Yamakoshi
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- 1226 Fujiwara, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
- 15 minute walk from Kawaji Onsen Station on the Noiwa Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line.
- Open 11:30-14:30, 18:00-22:30
- Closed on weekends and holidays
- 0288-78-0456
- Free of charge (5 cars)
