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Nasu Bettei Kai

Nasu / 那須
Between Nikko’s storied temples and the feudal castle town of Aizu-Wakamatsu is the imperial hot spr
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THE STORY

Between Nikko’s storied temples and the feudal castle town of Aizu-Wakamatsu is the imperial hot spring resort of Nasu. Tucked into the cool mountain highlands and enclosed in the lush nature of a national park, Nasu has long been favored by Japan’s elites. Since the discovery of the area’s first hot spring about 1400 years ago, nobles, samurai, and other aristocrats have been coming to soak in Nasu’s healing waters. And since 1926, it has been the summer retreat of the imperial family.

Just a short distance from the imperial estate is the exclusive ryokan Nasu Bettei Kai, a locally owned and run establishment with artistic flair. A newly constructed dining room, tea lounge, and villa wrap around a terraced garden, full of old-growth trees and hassocks of moss. An additional nine rooms are housed a lovingly renovated heritage building from 1951, which maintains its traditional character while offering the finest modern comforts.

Kai’s rooms are soothing retreats, each offering a private hot spring bath and cozy nooks that demand languid relaxation. Each is unique, offering lodgings tailored to your party’s needs, but more importantly, each is discrete, a secluded world unto itself, out of sight and mind of other guests and the world at large.

Owner Takao Kataoka conceived of Kai as a place to showcase the most beloved aspects of his home prefecture. The ryokan is defined by locality. It is built from Tochigi’s wealth of natural materials. The cuisine is full of delicacies like Nasu wagyu and freshly caught sweetfish from the Naka River. And it is not only decorated throughout with pieces from Kataoka-san’s favorite artists but serves as a venue for periodic exhibitions introducing regional art and handicrafts to a wider audience.

Kai, meaning both an instance and a recurrence, invites you to return again and again to this sublime natural retreat.

ROOMS

  • ROOM Sono Go The multi-tier living and dining space leads to a small terrace with garden views. A pleasant s…
  • ROOM Sono Roku This second-floor open-plan room cocoons you in white, with the sloped ceiling of a traditional…
  • ROOM Sono Nana The most traditionally Japanese room at Kai is a pleasing combination of pale wood, washi, and …
  • ROOM Sono Hachi The first floor of this maisonette room is given over to a sprawling two-level living room, who…
  • ROOM Sono Kyuu Passing through a long, dim entry hall, guests emerge into the sunny brightness of Room 9’s liv…
  • ROOM Sono Jyuu This detached one-bedroom villa is the largest of Kai’s rooms, secluded near the forest stream …
    ROOM Sono Go The multi-tier living and dining space leads to a small terrace with garden views. A pleasant sense of texture is created by varied patterning in the undulating naguri wood floors, as well as alternating pebbled tsuchikabe and smooth plaster walls. In the tatami room, burnished lacquer panels evoke the solemn beauty of aged temples, while the simple curves of the tokonoma alcove and low table are all modern tearoom elegance. The quiet double bedroom exerts a similarly pleasing balance of opposites, with the straight, dark lines of the wall battens paired with lamps rising from a bouquet of curving wood tendrils. The semi-open air bath has a built-in chaise lounge and retractable bamboo shutters to let in a breeze or take in the view.
    ROOM Sono Roku This second-floor open-plan room cocoons you in white, with the sloped ceiling of a traditional teahouse and soothingly rounded corners. Washi-covered windows can be opened to overlook the roof and garden, or kept closed to preserve a luxurious sense of seclusion. A single piece of polished zelkova stretches along one wall as a desk, opposite raised double futons and a corner sofa separated by a stone minibar counter, providing ample room to relax and socialize. In the spacious bathroom, a shower room and double sink of pale grey Ashino basalt lead to a semi-open-air bath of natural stone where lattice-broken light dances on the water’s surface.
    ROOM Sono Nana The most traditionally Japanese room at Kai is a pleasing combination of pale wood, washi, and tatami, with raised futon bedding, low-slung chabudai table, and an antique tansu cabinet. Two midnight blue armchairs in touchably soft velour frame a forest-facing window that can be opened to let in the mountain breeze and river song. A semi-open-air bath and shower are decked out in hinoki cedar, stone ,and tiny tiles nodding to the beloved mid-century sento bathhouse, with latticed windows opening to the forest on two sides. In the washi-windowed bedroom, the soothing creaks of the neighboring bamboo grove will be your lullaby at night and the diffused warmth of sunrise your morning greeting.
    ROOM Sono Hachi The first floor of this maisonette room is given over to a sprawling two-level living room, whose garden-facing daybed of smooth Tochigi leather immediately exerts an almost gravitational attraction. Readers, however, may favor the plush armchair next to the well-stocked minibar. An expansive closet is concealed in a central column, while a striking naguri wood staircase leads to the second-floor bathroom. A semi-open-air bath of natural stone is bracketed by a stylish burgundy tile wall and slatted windows overlooking the garden. A Scandi-style sauna chair provides a post-soak perch to cool off before descending to the windowless bedroom for a truly sound slumber.
    ROOM Sono Kyuu Passing through a long, dim entry hall, guests emerge into the sunny brightness of Room 9’s living area like a rebirth. A wide sofa stretches along the back wall, facing floor-to-ceiling windows and a private garden, offering a temptingly expansive perch for sun-lit afternoon naps. There is a small desk nook for those who prefer to work or write. A separate tatami-floor bedroom has just one small washi-papered window for deep dark and restful silence at night. Meanwhile, a spacious semi-outdoor bath of natural stone is shielded by latticed windows that provide privacy without sacrificing forest views or the brisk highland air.
    ROOM Sono Jyuu This detached one-bedroom villa is the largest of Kai’s rooms, secluded near the forest stream on the eastern edge of the property. The little waterway provides a burbling soundtrack for the villa’s expansive deck, which is shaded by two massive beech growing through the floor. The villa has two baths, one an open-air stone pool adjoining the deck, the other a traditional hinoki cedar tub inside. The living and dining rooms wrap around a central tatami room whose Karasuyama-washi doors slide open to create one expansive space. With an interior crafted from pebbled tsuchikabe walls, buttery Tochigi leather sofas, and polished uzukuri wood tables, every inch exudes sensual texture.

FACILITIES &
SERVICES

  • Jimiru The name of the dining hall is a neologism loosely translating to “nourish with wholesome food.” This nourishment begins with a space that radiates an earthy hospitality, with the dark wood rafters and lofty ceilings of a country inn. At the head of the hall, chefs bustle around a copper-hooded charcoal hearth, where skewers of the signature sweetfish are placed over the coals as each guest arrives. The subtle smokiness and warmth stirs a hearty appetite. The murmur of conversation from the guests’ lattice-screen booths is accompanied by the gentle sound of original koto music commissioned from Nasu composer Taro Ishida, lately famous for the Shogun soundtrack. With their four other senses thus fully primed, guests are ready to explore the tastes of Tochigi.
  • Cuisine The food at Jimiru elevates country fare to kaiseki cuisine with well-curated local ingredients, thoughtful seasonal preparations, and stunning lacquerware and ceramics from around Japan, including Tochigi’s own Mashiko ware. The flavors are bright and clean, exemplifying the washoku ideal of letting individual ingredients shine. This conception of luxury is about a deep understanding of provenance and respecting how the flavors have been coaxed from local soil and water. In the hands of Jimiru’s chefs, a simple dish like raw fig and okra topped with sesame ae can astound, while the meltingly soft Nasu wagyu cutlet puts all other steaks to shame.
  • Art Pieces by local artists and craftspeople abound at Kai, all chosen by owner Kataoka-san. His aesthetic brings together diverse media and styles in a sometimes surprising but harmonious mélange. In the lobby, for example, ceramicist Akira Miyazawa’s head-topped modernist containers, like wabi-sabi canopic jars, sit next to an antique lacquer folding screen, crackled with age and mounted on the wall like an oil painting. Many of the works are functional too, from chainsaw-carved lumps of raw cedar porcupined with umbrellas or the delicate brass fixtures and signage custom-cast for the ryokan. And of course, each room has at least one stunning conversation piece, like Irie Kiyomi’s textured plaster and acrylic nebulas.
  • Onsen The baths at Kai are fed by the Omaru Spring, the same source that supplies the Nasu Imperial Villa. The neutral hyponic waters are nearly colorless and clear, with traces of hydrogen sulfide and a mild astringency that is said to be particularly beneficial for beautifying skin. Soaks in the hot baths, which can be customized to a guest’s temperature preference by adding cold well water, relive fatigue and muscle aches, soothe stiffness and arthritis, and improve circulation.

Map &
Transportation

Closest Train Station Kuroiso Station
ROUTE DETAILS
Closest Bus Station Sansuikaku Entrance (Iriguchi) Bus Stop
ROUTE DETAILS
Free pick-up service NO
Key Gate Way Int'l Airport and Train (Shinkansen) Station
Route details

Ryokan Data

Area Nasu / 那須
Name of Ryokan Nasu Bettei Kai / 那須別邸回
Address 206 Yumoto, Nasu, Nasu District, Tochigi 325-0301
〒325-0301栃木県那須郡那須町湯本206
Total Number of Rooms 10 rooms
Check-in Time 15:00
Check-Out Time 11:00
Credit Card Yes

Meals

Dinner Start Time
Breakfast Start Time
In Room Dining Available No
Bar
Special Dietary Arrangements Yes
Vegan Friendly No
Western Breakfast Available No

Other Facilities & Services

Communal Bath No
Family Bath No
Private indoor bath in room Yes
Private open-air bath in the room Yes

Room Rates

ROOM RATES
X
Room Type Description Days Number of guest per room (JPY)
1 2 3 4
Sono Go 93 sqm
WD - - - -
HD - - - -
Sono Roku 70 sqm
WD - - - -
HD - - - -
Sono Nana 70 sqm
WD - - - -
HD - - - -
Sono Hachi 98 sqm
WD - - - -
HD - - - -
Sono Kyuu 88 sqm
WD - - - -
HD - - - -
Sono Jyuu 130 sqm
WD - - - -
HD - - - -
Note:
Non-smoking room: YES
Barrier free: YES

Ryokan rate is for one person, includes one night accommodation, Japanese full course dinner, breakfast, service charge and taxes.

H: Saturday, Previous night of public holiday and summer Obon season (TBA)
Seasonality: These rates are not applicable for the period from 31st December to 3rd January

- The mentioned rates and service are available only for LRC Members who book through LRC's website.
- The rates are subject to change without any prior notice.
- Please note that a particular room cannot be guaranteed in advance unless otherwise stated by The Ryokan Collection
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