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Chuzenji Kanaya Hotel Dining Room "Mizunara

The "Hyakunen Rice Curry," a secret flavor of the Kanaya Hotel

Chuzenji Kanaya Hotel is located on the shores of Lake Chuzenji in Oku-Nikko. Nestled in the forest by the lake, the hotel has a dining room "Mizunara" where you can enjoy lunch in a relaxed atmosphere.
A particularly recommended menu item is the "Hyakunen Rice Curry. The "Nikko Kanaya Hotel," which is affiliated with the hotel, has a history of serving rice curry as a vegetable dish in its course meals since the Meiji and Taisho periods. The name "Hyakunen Rice Curry" comes from a recipe from those days found in the hotel storehouse and recreated by a veteran chef after much trial and error.
The main feature of this dish is that the ingredients and sauce are prepared separately and combined just before eating. The sauce also contains coconut milk and dill pickle juice, and the mild and deep flavor created by the sweet, sour, and spicy flavors is worth the trouble of coming all the way out here. Rice is served with sautéed beef, and a generous amount of curry roux is poured over it in the current Chuzenji Kintani Hotel style.

Local specialty rainbow trout with a Japanese Western flavor

The "Seasonal Special Lunch" offers a choice of meat or fish as the main dish. The fish dish is sauteed rainbow trout, Kanaya style. This menu has been around since the Meiji era (1868-1912), and the cooking method and seasoning have been devised based on the concept of tasty fish caught in the local Lake Chuzenji area. The reason why the meat is plump and not fishy is because it is flambéed with sake before being cooked. The sauce, made with soy sauce, sugar, and butter, is the epitome of Japanese Western cuisine.

A grove of mizunara trees stretches outside the Restaurant's windows, and from mid-October you can enjoy your meal while admiring the magnificent autumn leaves.

Chuzenji Kintani Hotel Dining Room "Mizunara

• 2482 Chugu Shrine, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
• From JR Nikko Station or Tobu Nikko Station, take the Tobu Bus bound for Yumoto Hot Spring. 1 hour ride and get off at Chuzenji Kanaya Hotel and walk for 1 minute.
• Lunch 12:00-14:00(L.O.)
  Breakfast 7:30 - 9:30 (L.O.)
  Dinner (reservation required)18:00-20:00(L.O.)
• No holidays
• 0288-51-0001
• Free of charge

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Pure handmade soba Katsura

Throaty, thinly sliced handmade soba noodles

The restaurant is famous for its Sotoichi soba (buckwheat noodles), which are made with a ratio of 10 buckwheat flour to 1 starch. The soba is thinly sliced but has a firm texture, and is well known for its robust texture that allows you to fully enjoy the flavor of the soba. The buckwheat flour is a blend of four types, including Kanuma buckwheat flour from Tochigi Prefecture, Hitachi buckwheat flour from Ibaraki Prefecture, and buckwheat flour from Hokkaido. The combination of the flours is adjusted according to the season and the condition of the buckwheat flour, to ensure a smooth texture. The soup, which goes well with soba, is a combination of soup stock made from kelp, shiitake mushrooms, and five types of fish stock, and kaeshi, a refreshing and crisp flavor.

The soba, as well as yuba umani (fried yuba) and tempura, are also delicious and highly recommended. The "Sobagaki Set" shown in the photo includes handmade soba, yuba umani (fried yuba), and fried soba gaki (buckwheat paste), which is an original creation of the owner, so you can enjoy a rich taste of Nikko's typical flavors. Sobagaki is kneaded to order, and the fluffy texture of the freshly fried buckwheat matched with the aroma of fresh, sweet buckwheat makes it a unique dish.

Trout dishes you should try when you visit Nikko

The area around Lake Chuzenji is famous for its trout dishes, and one of the most popular is "grilled rainbow trout with salt," which is a simple way to enjoy the taste of the fresh ingredients as they are. The white flesh of the trout is elegant and unctuous, with just the right amount of salt. Katsura purchases rainbow trout raised in the clear mountain water under the Iroha slope all year round.
Other a la carte dishes include "maitake vegetable tempura," "yuba no umani (fried yuba)," and, depending on availability, "hime trout grilled with salt.

From the entrance on the first floor, where you can watch the soba noodle making process through the glass, go up the stairs to the second floor. The view of Lake Chuzenji beyond the front glass window catches the eye. The Nantai and Shiranesan mountains are in the background, and it is a wonderful feeling to enjoy aromatic soba noodles while feeling the cool breeze blowing across the water. In spring, the pink Oyamazakura cherry trees bloom by the side of the restaurant, and in fall, the autumn leaves along the lakeside are a feast for the eyes.
The nearby Chuzenji Tachiki-kannon (Goddess of Mercy) and Utagahama beach are perfect places to stop by between sightseeing tours.

Pure Handmade Soba, Katsura

• 2482 Chugu Shrine, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
• From JR or Tobu Nikko Station, take the Tobu Bus bound for Chuzenji Onsen or Yumoto Onsen (about 50 minutes), get off at Chuzenji Onsen Bus Stop, and walk about 15 minutes.
• 11:00-15:30
  Ends when soba is sold out.
• No regular holidays from December to March
• 0288-55-0238
• Free prefectural parking available

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European Roman Museum Chez Hoshino

Authentic French courses that can be enjoyed in a casual manner

Chez Hoshino is located in an ideal location by Lake Chuzenji, and its southern French-style exterior is eye-catching. Chef Hoshino opened this restaurant in 1991 to bring back to life the culture of the lakeside area, which was once lined with foreign villas and developed as an international summer resort. The restaurant offers a wide range of dishes, from beautiful and colorful creative French courses to casual a la carte dishes, using ingredients loved and nurtured in the region, as well as Date chicken from Fukushima Prefecture, which the chef fell in love with.

The lunch course is a prix fixe type with a choice of hors d'oeuvre and main dish. The hors d'oeuvre in the photo is "Marinated Yashio Trout. You can enjoy the elegant texture of the high-quality fat. The main course is "Date Chicken Roti with Garlic Butter. Chef Hoshino has been using Date chicken since the opening of the restaurant, and he praises it highly, saying, "It has a chewy texture like French Bresse chicken, and the texture and flavor that makes it fall apart is unique. Roasted to a golden brown, it is a luxurious dish served with bouillon escargot (escargot butter) and ratatouille.

A la carte dishes such as spaghetti and chicken curry are also available.

For those who want to enjoy a lighter lunch, the restaurant offers a variety of a la carte dishes such as "hamburger steak" and "chicken curry," which is also a great point. The "Spaghetti of the Day" of the day is a cream-based dish with a moderate salty flavor of Yashiomasu trout and mushrooms. Yashiomasu is an improved breed of rainbow trout, and Chez Hoshino uses "Premium Yashiomasu," a brand name trout that has passed seven criteria.

This location overlooking the lake was originally the site of a restaurant run by Chef Hoshino's father. Chef Hoshino decided to open a Western-style restaurant to revitalize the village of Oku Nikko, where he was born and raised, and trained at the famous French restaurant "Auberge" in Utsunomiya City. The dishes served at Chez Hoshino are filled with his love of local ingredients and his passion for Nikko, which is why many repeat customers come back season after season to enjoy the flavors of his cuisine.

European Roman Museum Chez Hoshino

• 2478 Chugu Shrine, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
• From JR Nikko Station or Tobu Railway Tobu Nikko Station, take the bus bound for Yumoto Onsen (Yumoto Hot Spring) about 50 minutes, get off at Tachiki-Kannon (Tachiki-Kannon) and walk about 5 minutes.
• Lunch 11:30-15:00 (L.O.), Dinner 18:00-20:00
• Thursdays
• 0288-55-0212
• Free of charge

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Kiribana

Enjoy the taste of Nikko with a set meal of handmade buckwheat noodles, boiled yuba, and raw yuba

Three generations of parents and their children have been making soba for about 100 years, and "Kirika" is well known by locals and tourists alike. Easily accessible from both Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls, it is recommended for those who want to enjoy a delicious lunch while touring the tourist attractions of Oku-Nikko.
The homemade handmade soba noodles are nihachi-soba made with local flour from Utsunomiya. There is also an udon menu, and this one uses flour imported from Sanuki. Both are thinly sliced for comfort and ease of eating in summer, and thickly sliced for easy mixing with hot dipping sauce in winter.
The "Yuba Set Meal" shown in the photo is a combination of tempura soba (can be changed to udon) with boiled yuba and fresh yuba, allowing you to enjoy the typical tastes of Nikko all at once.

The key to the flavor is the dashi broth that has been passed down from the previous generation.

The restaurant's predecessor created a dashi broth by mixing three types of dried bonito flakes, Soda flakes, and mackerel flakes, and then adding Hongatsuo no Kaeshi (bonito flavored soup stock). It is characterized by its aroma and slightly sweet flavor. The dashi broth taste that has been passed down from generation to generation remains unchanged, and we continue to take the time and effort to make it.

As a long-established and famous restaurant where you can enjoy homemade handmade soba, it is always very crowded, especially during the tourist season. The restaurant closes when all the soba is sold out.
In addition to soba and udon, the restaurant also serves yuba donburi (a bowl of rice topped with plenty of pulled yuba), tororo meshi (rice topped with grated yam), oyakodon (a bowl of rice topped with chicken and eggs), and more.

Kiribana

• 2480 Chugu Shrine, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture MAP
• Approximately 30 minutes from Nikko I.C. on the Nikko-Utsunomiya Road, in front of the Kegon-no-taki Waterfall Entrance bus stop.
• From JR Nikko Station or Tobu Nikko Station, take the Tobu Bus bound for Chuzenji Onsen or Yumoto Onsen (about 50 minutes), and get off at Chuzenji Onsen Station (about 3 minutes walk).
• 11:00 - 15:00 (close when soba noodles are gone; please inquire from January to March as the restaurant is often closed)
• Closed on weekends and holidays
• 0288-55-0177
• Parking is available at the prefectural parking lot.