I Looked Into Hotel Epinard Nasu

On this blog, I've been running a series looking into destination candidates for whenever I get in the mood to say 'let's skip camping today and go do a hotel staycation instead.'

This time, I looked into Hotel Epinard Nasu in the Nasu area of Tochigi, a place I'd been curious about for a while. I heard that its hot spring is supposedly one of the largest in the Nasu Kogen area, which got my attention as someone who leans more toward indoor activities, so I put together what I found.

A Hotel Known for Its Spacious Hot Spring and Pool

Hotel Epinard Nasu is apparently located in Nasu Town, Nasu District, Tochigi Prefecture. The hot spring uses simple thermal water from its own private source, and it's introduced as "the largest in the Nasu Kogen area." There seem to be quite a variety of baths, including a large indoor bath, an open-air bath, a sauna, a jacuzzi, a cypress bath, a waterfall bath, and a reclining bath. The open-air bath is apparently built from rock, with views of trees, a babbling river, and even a waterfall flowing in the distance, with the temperature kept around 42°C across the baths.

For overnight guests, bathing is apparently split into a morning and an evening session, while day-trip visitors can use the baths from 12:00 to 22:00 (last entry at 21:00), according to the listing. Day-trip visitors seem to get a yukata and towels included. That said, I couldn't find any mention in the official site's text about whether private baths are available or whether there's a system for switching the men's and women's sections, so if that matters to you, it's probably easier to check by contacting the hotel directly.

Another highlight is apparently the all-weather indoor heated pool (25 meters) that can be enjoyed year-round. There also seem to be two kids' pools of different depths, so it struck me as a facility that would work well for families looking for a place to play regardless of the weather.

Komorin

Just having an indoor pool for rainy days makes me want to keep a place on my shortlist. I'm more the indoor type than the outdoor-play type myself.

It Seems to Pay Close Attention to Families with Young Children

The rooms are apparently divided among the Main Tower, the Annex Tower, and a Terrace wing where dogs can stay with you, and the lineup seems quite broad, including a family-oriented "Kizuna Room," character-themed rooms, and baby & kids rooms. Here are the main features I found while researching.

• Childcare service: apparently there's a service called the "Piyo Piyo Room" staffed by dedicated childcare personnel
• Baby & kids room: a dedicated space on the 3rd floor with toys and hammocks seems to be available
• Certification: apparently the hotel is certified as a "Welcome Baby Inn" by a child-rearing support organization
• In-room amenities: free Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, a TV, a washlet toilet, an electric kettle, and other basics seem to be standard
• Dining: the hotel apparently has restaurants offering buffet, French, and Japanese cuisine

Details like room size, capacity, and the latest pricing plans seem to be the kind of thing you need to check each time through the official site's booking system, so I couldn't track down all the fine details just for this article. Reservations can apparently also be made by phone. If you're interested, it's probably best to check directly on the official website.

I Checked Whether You Can Get There Without a Car

Since I'm a driver in name only, access was the first thing on my mind. Looking into it, there's apparently a free shuttle bus from the west exit of JR Nasu-Shiobara Station, run on a fully reservation-based system. It seems the bus won't run without a reservation, and you're supposed to contact the reservation center by the day before, though same-day bookings are apparently possible up to an hour before departure if seats are available.

From what I can tell from the timetable, there seem to be multiple departures from the station between 10:40 and 16:05, and from the hotel between 9:20 and 14:40. The official site doesn't give a specific travel time, only a note that it varies depending on road conditions, so I couldn't pin down the exact duration. By car, it's apparently about 10 minutes from the Nasu Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway.

If you're traveling with a pet, riding the shuttle bus apparently requires using a carrier, and pets can't ride along if you're using the round-trip direct bus package. Since there's a separate standalone building (the Terrace wing) where you can stay with your dog, it may be that this is the option meant for pet owners instead.

Komorin

Having a free reservation-based shuttle from the station is a real help. Since it's fully reservation-based, though, you'd need to book it properly ahead of time if you're planning to go.

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

As a Rakuten Mobile user, signal conditions are something I always want to check. When I looked up this facility's location using the official "My Area Coverage Simulation" tool, no result came up at all, and instead I got a message saying something like "currently undergoing temporary maintenance." This could be the behavior that shows up when the address data hasn't been registered yet, but either way, I couldn't judge it as good or bad this time, so I'm marking the result as "unknown."

To sum it up, there simply wasn't enough information this time to judge whether the signal is good or bad. If you're actually planning to stay there, it might be reassuring to check with your own device or tool before you head out.

Komorin

This was the first time I've seen a maintenance message pop up, so it was good to confirm that this kind of thing can happen too. Whenever no result comes up, I just make a point of writing it down as-is.

Wrapping Up

Pulling it all together, Hotel Epinard Nasu struck me as a hotel that pairs a natural hot spring, said to be one of the largest in the Nasu Kogen area, with an indoor heated pool you can enjoy all year round, making it a good fit even for indoor types like me. It also offers plenty of services and room types for families with young children, and the free shuttle bus from the station made it feel reassuring that you could visit even without a car.

That said, there's still a lot that's hard to pin down just from the official site's text, such as detailed room rates, the shuttle bus's travel time, and whether private baths are available, so if you're actually considering booking, it's worth checking the latest information through the official website or booking system. As for Rakuten Mobile signal conditions, I wasn't able to get a reading this time, so if that matters to you, I'd suggest checking with the official tool yourself.

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Related Links

• Official Site