Recommended Lunches in Nikko (from popular restaurants to hole-in-the-wall eateries) to enjoy during your trip.
Home to numerous attractions, including Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Nikko is Tochigi Prefecture’s premier tourist destination. As such, it offers a wealth of local culinary delights. From restaurants serving locally sourced ingredients to atmospheric pasta specialty shops and ramen joints, here are some popular lunch spots you’ll want to stop by during your trip.
1Mountain Restaurant
"Mountain Restaurant" is a restaurant with a view of a waterfall, situated in a prime location surrounded by the great outdoors of the Kirifuri Highlands. Amid outstanding views of Kirifuri Falls to the north and the Nikko mountain range to the west, you can enjoy your meal in an open, airy dining space featuring terrace seating on all sides and a warm, wood-toned interior.We are committed to using locally sourced ingredients, carefully preparing each dish one by one using delicious ingredients from Tochigi—such as vegetables delivered directly from local farmers—with a focus on roast beef made from Tochigi Wagyu.
Restaurant Surrounded by Nikko's Nature
The "Restaurant in the Mountains" is located in Nikko National Park. It is located at an elevation of 800 meters and is surrounded by mountains, including the Nikko mountain range. The building is designed in a North American style using Canadian wood to blend in with the rich natural surroundings. The restaurant has an open-air atrium with plenty of windows from which to view the mountain scenery during each of the four seasons.
The view from inside the restaurant on the first floor or from the observation floor on the second floor is wonderful, but on a clear day, you should definitely go to the terrace. In particular, the seats closer to the north are the best seats from which you can look down on the Kirifurino Falls. Around the end of Golden Week, about 15,000 azalea plants can be seen turning the mountainside pink.
Jazz concerts are held four times a year during each season, so a visit is also recommended.
Local Guide
Supporters
Dining while viewing the Kirifuri Falls is a very luxurious experience. You can also walk along the promenade to get closer to the waterfall.
- Mountain Restaurant
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1546 Tokorono, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture Kirifuri Falls MAP
9 minutes drive from JR Nikko Station or Tobu Railway Tobu Nikko Station
From JR Nikko Station or Tobu Railway Tobu Nikko Station, take the Tobu Bus Nikko. 1 minute walk from the "Kirifuri Falls" stop.
10:00-20:00 (L.O.19:00)
Wednesdays (open if Wednesday is a national holiday, closed on Tuesdays in lieu)
0288-50-1525
Free of charge
2Nikko Spa Restaurant
This restaurant specializes in homemade fresh pasta using water from the Nikko mountain range. The pasta is made from a blend of durum semolina flour and Tochigi wheat flour and aged slowly for 72 hours. As a result, it has a firm wheat flavor and a firmer texture. It is 3 mm thick and extremely filling.
The pasta menu is full of originality, including meat sauces and Japanese-style pasta using Nikko's soy sauce. More than 10 types of pasta are always available, and you can choose a large serving of pasta (1.5 times the amount of pasta), as well as thin dry noodles.
The "Spa Shop Special," available only for lunch on weekdays, is a set of pasta dishes at a discount. It includes your choice of pasta, an assortment of appetizers, dessert, and a drink. There is also a "Nikko Kaido Siesta" that does not include dessert.
Pasta in a trattoria-style restaurant
The main restaurant is located in Utsunomiya and is a pasta and pizza restaurant famous for such dishes as "the thickest meat sauce in Utsunomiya. The restaurant is also proud of its "Superb Meat Sauce with Tochigi Prefecture Black Wagyu Beef," a super thick sauce made by adding custom-made coarsely ground beef and boiling it down to three times its normal thickness. Slices of Tochigi black wagyu beef flavored with red wine are also added, giving the dish a punchy taste and volume that makes you feel as if you are eating a meat dish.
These specialties and many other exciting and special dishes based on authentic pasta can also be enjoyed at the Nikko restaurant. In the trattoria (Italian popular diner) style interior, you can enjoy a memorable and enjoyable dining experience.
Local Guide
Supporters
The meat sauce is delicious, with a rich meaty flavor and is well mixed with the pasta. The menu is extensive, so it is fun to order several items to share.
- Nikko Spa Restaurant
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- 456-2 Ishinada-cho, Utsunomiya-shi, Tochigi MAP
- Approximately 21 minutes from Tobu Railway Shimo-Imaichi Station by car
Approximately 23 minutes from JR Nikko Station and Tobu Railway Tobu Nikko Station by car - From JR Nikko Station, take the Kanto Jidosha Bus bound for JR Utsunomiya Station (approx. 37 min.); approx. 4 min. walk from Sakaki-Sato Bus Stop.
- Mon, Wed, Thu (Lunch only) 11:30 AM–2:30 PM (Last Order)
Fri 11:30 AM–2:30 PM (Last Order), 5:00 PM–9:30 PM (Last Order)
Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays: 11:00 AM–2:30 PM (last order), 5:00 PM–8:00 PM (last order) - Tuesdays (open if Tuesday is a national holiday)
- 028-669-2651
- Free of charge
3Ramen Kizoku
Founded 25 years ago, this ramen shop has a loyal following among both locals and tourists. Even on weekdays, crowds gather as soon as it opens.
The signature “Kalbi Ramen,” ordered by about 80% of customers, is a luxurious dish generously loaded with high-quality kalbi beef typically used for steak. The vibrant orange broth, reminiscent of kimchi hot pot, offers a refreshing spiciness and just the right amount of acidity, bringing out the natural sweetness of the Ashikaga-produced Wagyu beef.It pairs perfectly with the chewy, thick, curly noodles and is generously loaded with toppings like green onions, carrots, eggs, and shiitake mushrooms. Another appealing feature is that it’s hearty yet healthy.
Local Guide
Supporters
The kalbi ramen is available in a range of 0 to 7 spicy, allowing you to choose the spiciness to your liking. The meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender!
A very popular restaurant that fills up as soon as it opens.
In addition to noodle dishes, classic “local Chinese-style” set meals—such as the “Stir-Fried Meat and Vegetables Set” and the “Stir-Fried Pork Liver with Garlic Chives Set”—are also popular. Each dish is generously portioned and full of flavor, so you’re sure to leave feeling satisfied. For an additional 400 yen, you can upgrade to a mini ramen set.
The drink menu is extensive, ranging from alcoholic beverages like beer (draft and bottled) and oolong highballs to soft drinks such as cola and ramune. The soft-serve ice cream, highly recommended after a meal, features a unique self-serve system where you can scoop your own—and it’s a huge hit. In addition to familiar flavors like vanilla and chocolate, they also offer unique options such as cookie & cream.
- Ramen Aristocrat
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- 340-1 Moritomo, Nikko, Tochigi MAP
- 10 min. drive from JR Imaichi Stn. or Tobu Railway Shimo-Imaichi Stn.
- Lunch: 11:30 AM–2:30 PM (last order); Dinner: 6:00 PM–8:30 PM (last order) *Closed for dinner on Wednesdays; last order at 9:30 PM on Fridays; open from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (last order) on Sundays
- Thursday, 2nd Wed.
- 0288-22-1811
- Free of charge
MAP
- Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Keisuke Watanabe Nikko Attraction Explorers
Hoshino Resorts KAI Kinugawa
Kinugawa hot spring, Tochigi
A hot-spring hotel in the forest along the Kinugawa River, where Tochigi folk art shines through the trees
Access by bus 5 minutes by cab from Kinugawa Onsen Station on the Tobu Railway
- Example of Accommodation Rates
- 1 person per night From 30,000 yen