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Nasu inns that take dogs: 5 with private dog runs and dining together
Approximate, at the rate on 2026-10-02. You pay in yen.
- Nasu dog friendly hotel stays differ on large dogs, eating together and private runs
- Angel Forest and Shiki no Yado Koyomi give each cottage its own dog run
- Livemax and Koyomi have a tub for the dog
The five
| Best for | Where to book | Score | Weeknight (per person) | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six rooms, and Italian cooking with the dog beside you — if you can’t decide | The Heartfield Inn Check price |
83/100 | ¥21,000–32,000 | ¥23,000–32,000 |
| A fenced private dog run with every cottage | Angel Forest Nasu Check price |
82/100 | ¥28,000–101,000 | ¥42,000–114,000 |
| An indoor dog run, and dogs in the restaurant | Livemax Resort Nasu Kogen Check price |
76/100 | ¥9,000–35,000 | ¥14,000–38,000 |
| Sulphur water and a private run, in a cottage of your own | Shiki no Yado Koyomi Check price |
74/100 | ¥28,000–34,000 | ¥46,000–49,000 |
| Six dog rooms in a wing of a large resort | Hotel Epinard Nasu, Terrace Wing Check price |
67/100 | ¥14,000–48,000 | ¥23,000–53,000 |
Prices are the cheapest per person found on Rakuten Travel for Wednesdays and Saturdays between 2026-11-11 – 2027-01-02, for 2 adults in one room (checked 2026-11-04). They move daily — the link shows live prices.
The booking links go to Agoda, which shows today’s price and lets you pay in your own currency. Its price can differ from the Rakuten Travel figures above.
Six rooms, and Italian cooking with the dog beside you
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 5.00/5 (109) · Ikyu 4.78/5 (47) · Jalan 5.00/5 (272) · Google Maps 4.10/5 (90) · Tripadvisor 3.80/5 (4) · 522 in total
- Six-room hotel on the Nasu plateau
- The chef’s Italian cooking is the point
- Guests have the dog run free from check-in until 21:00
Why it made the five
- Dogs: small to giant, up to two. Vaccination required.
- The dog is charged, at different rates for small and medium dogs and for large.
- Six rooms. The hot spring is a private open-air bath by reservation; the indoor bath is not thermal.
- Baskets for dogs in the dining room, so the Italian dinner is eaten together.
Getting there: On the Nasu plateau. A car or taxi.
Language and payment: English, card acceptance and tattoo rules are not published, so ask when you book. The hot spring here is a private bath booked in slots, which answers the tattoo question. There is a microwave and a fridge for the dog’s food.
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Right for: A small, calm inn where you can bring a large dog and still eat properly.
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Not for: Two dogs maximum, and there is no hot spring in the room.
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Worth knowing: Paws are wiped before entering the building, and the inn asks — though does not require — that dogs wear manner pants.
Score breakdown — 83/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★☆ | Rakuten shows 5.0 for dinner and breakfast and 4.86 for cleanliness but withholds the rest, so this is our editors’ judgement from the 5.0 average across 109 reviews and the inn’s six-room scale. |
| Value for money | ★★★☆☆ | About 82% of the median weekday price per person. |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Large dogs accepted, a dog run, the dog in the dining room, a private open-air bath, and a microwave and fridge for the dog’s food. |
| Trust | ★★★★★ | 4.82 across 522 reviews on five sites. |
| Only here | ★★★☆☆ | A six-room inn where the chef’s Italian dinner is eaten in the same dining room as your dog, with a private hot-spring bath besides. |
A fenced private dog run with every cottage
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.70/5 (342) · Ikyu 4.53/5 (46) · Jalan 4.80/5 (212) · Google Maps 4.20/5 (135) · 735 in total
- Cottage property for dog owners, opened in 2023
- Private run fenced at about 120 cm, so the dog runs off the lead without meeting another dog
- Shared runs divided between small and medium dogs and large ones
Why it made the five
- Dogs: small to giant. Up to three small or medium dogs, or one large dog over 50 cm at the shoulder.
- The dog is charged, by number and size.
- Every cottage has a private dog run. Some have a hot-spring or half-open-air bath, and the undiluted Shirasagi-no-yu spring is also available.
- Dinner in the cottage — wagyu shabu-shabu, sukiyaki or a barbecue — or in a restaurant the dog may enter.
Getting there: In the Nasu area. A car is assumed.
Language and payment: English, card acceptance and tattoo rules are not published, so ask when you book. With a hot-spring bath in some cottages and dinner delivered, you need not use a shared bath at all. You sign an undertaking covering vaccination, and bring the rabies and combined vaccination certificates; copies are accepted.
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Right for: Keeping entirely to yourselves, with a private run and dinner in the cottage.
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Not for: One large dog only, so not for two big dogs.
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Worth knowing: You must agree to the dog-stay terms and bring vaccination certificates, copies accepted.
Score breakdown — 82/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★☆ | A 4.71 average on Rakuten’s room, bath and dinner scores. |
| Value for money | ★★☆☆☆ | About 1.23 times the median weekday price per person. |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Dinner and breakfast delivered to the cottage or a restaurant, large dogs accepted, a private run with every cottage, two shared runs divided by size, and the dog at the table either way. |
| Trust | ★★★★☆ | 4.63 across 735 reviews on four sites. |
| Only here | ★★★★★ | Every cottage has a fenced dog run, so the dog can be off the lead while you eat dinner in the cottage. |
An indoor dog run, and dogs in the restaurant
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.61/5 (75) · Jalan 4.50/5 (68) · Google Maps 4.20/5 (46) · Booking.com 3.85/5 (8) · Agoda 8.6/10 (4) · 201 in total
- Renamed and refurbished in October 2025
- Woodchip dog run outside, and an indoor one for rain or heat
Why it made the five
- Dogs: small to giant, up to three per room. The dog must be toilet-trained.
- The first dog is included in the rate; from the second there is a charge.
- Fourteen rooms — a 21 m² Japanese room, a 38 m² Western room, a 76 m² junior suite. A private family bath with a tub for the dog.
- The restaurant has lead hooks and baskets for small dogs.
Getting there: On the Nasu plateau. A car is assumed. Check-out is 11:00.
Language and payment: English, card acceptance and tattoo rules are not published, so ask when you book. The private family bath answers the tattoo question. Show rabies and combined vaccination certificates from within the year at check-in.
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Right for: A large dog or several dogs, with a dog run and a restaurant, at the lowest price here.
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Not for: The cheapest Japanese room is a compact 21 m², and no room has an open-air bath.
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Worth knowing: Bring rabies and combined vaccination certificates from within the year.
Score breakdown — 76/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★☆☆ | A 4.58 average on Rakuten’s room, bath and dinner scores. |
| Value for money | ★★★★★ | The cheapest here, about 43% of the median weekday price per person. |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Check-out at 11:00, large dogs accepted, indoor and outdoor dog runs, the dog in the restaurant, and a private bath with a tub for the dog. |
| Trust | ★★★☆☆ | 4.45 across 197 reviews on four sites. |
| Only here | ★★★☆☆ | All fourteen rooms take dogs, and the indoor dog run means a wet day is not wasted. |
Sulphur water and a private run, in a cottage of your own
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.70/5 (78) · Jalan 4.80/5 (43) · Google Maps 4.60/5 (104) · 225 in total
- Run by the company that supplies Nasu’s hot-spring water
- Each private dog run is more than 100 m²
- One building was built for large dogs
Why it made the five
- Dogs: small to large. Whether giant dogs are accepted is stated inconsistently, so confirm.
- The dog is charged, by size and number.
- Eight cottages, let whole. Every one has an undiluted sulphur bath — half-open-air in two — plus a tub for the dog and a drying room.
- Both meals in the cottage with the dog. A dog menu by reservation.
Getting there: In the Nasu area. A car is assumed.
Language and payment: English and card acceptance are not published, so ask when you book. A whole cottage with its own sulphur bath means nothing is shared and tattoo rules do not arise. You sign an undertaking, and the vaccination must be between two weeks and a year old.
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Right for: Doing the bath, the food and the dog run entirely in your own space.
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Not for: Only eight cottages, so Rakuten availability is thin. Breakfast scores 4.06, below its other scores.
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Worth knowing: The dog cannot be left alone. Rabies and viral-disease vaccinations between two weeks and a year old are required, with a signed undertaking.
Score breakdown — 74/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★☆☆ | A 4.64 average on Rakuten’s room, bath and dinner scores. |
| Value for money | ★☆☆☆☆ | The weakest axis: about 1.36 times the median weekday price per person. |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Both meals in the cottage, large dogs accepted, a private dog run of over 100 m² with every cottage, a hot-spring tub for the dog, and a pet drying room. |
| Trust | ★★★★☆ | 4.67 across 225 reviews on three sites. |
| Only here | ★★★★★ | Run by the local hot-spring supplier, so every cottage has undiluted sulphur water, a tub for the dog, and a private run of more than 100 m². |
Six dog rooms in a wing of a large resort
Hotel Epinard Nasu, Terrace Wing
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.44/5 (8,618) · Ikyu 4.43/5 (328) · Jalan 4.50/5 (401) · Google Maps 4.20/5 (6,099) · Tripadvisor 4.10/5 (512) · Booking.com 4.20/5 (338) · Agoda 8.6/10 (1,052) · 17,348 in total
- Detached wing on the grounds of a large Nasu resort hotel
- Its own dog run and shampoo room
- Main-building hot-spring bath house open to you; French, Japanese and buffet restaurants there
Why it made the five
- Dogs: no size limit. Up to three small dogs, two medium, or one large. Some breeds restricted.
- The dog is charged, at different rates for small and medium dogs and for large.
- Six rooms in the Terrace Wing — a 44 m² suite, a 32 m² deluxe, a 24 m² superior. The bath in the room is not thermal and the dog cannot share it.
- Room service means eating with the dog; choose a main-building restaurant and the dog’s meal is brought to the room instead.
Getting there: Free shuttle bus from Nasushiobara station, by reservation. Check-out is 11:00.
Language and payment: A large resort hotel, so of these it is the most likely to handle English and cards — and the free shuttle from Nasushiobara means you can do this without a car. The main building’s bath house is communal, so ask about tattoos. Rabies and infectious-disease vaccination certificates are required.
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Right for: Wanting a full resort’s facilities and choice of restaurants with a dog along.
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Not for: The most expensive here, and the review scores are for the hotel as a whole, not the Terrace Wing.
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Worth knowing: On plans where you eat in a main-building restaurant, the dog waits in the room during dinner.
Score breakdown — 67/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★☆☆☆ | A 4.44 average on Rakuten’s room, bath and dinner scores — the weakest here. |
| Value for money | ★★★★★ | About 57% of the median weekday price per person. |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Check-out at 11:00, the free shuttle from Nasushiobara, room service with the dog, large dogs accepted up to one, a dog run with a small-dog area, a self-service shampoo room, and a dinner menu for the dog. |
| Trust | ★★☆☆☆ | 4.34 across 16,296 reviews on six sites. |
| Only here | ★★★☆☆ | A dog-only wing on the grounds of a large resort, with the main building’s restaurants and hot-spring baths open to you. |
Know before you book
- Whether a large dog is accepted depends on the room type. At some inns it is one large dog only, so check.
- If you want the dog at your table, pick one that allows dogs in the restaurant; at others dinner comes to the room instead.
- The cottages with their own dog run give you 100 m² or more to yourselves, and one shared run here is 1,600 m² of natural turf.
- Free pick-ups from Nasushiobara station must be booked, and at some inns the dog can ride too. Without a car, confirm first.
- Rabies and combined vaccination certificates are required, usually at least two weeks and less than a year after the injection.
- Even where a room has a hot-spring bath, the dog usually cannot get in. Whether there is a tub for the dog, or a drying room, is worth checking.
How we chose: theme, conditions, scoring
How we chose
- Candidates: every property in Nasu listed on Rakuten Travel — 352
- Passed the review filter (counts and averages on Rakuten Travel, the one site that lists every property in the area): 113
- Met every condition below: 26
- Kept: five, each the best at something different
Where the facts come from
- Facts: Rakuten Travel property information (in some articles, each hotel’s own site too)
- Prices: Rakuten Travel live availability, Wednesdays and Saturdays over eight weeks
- Reviews: counts and averages from Rakuten Travel, Jalan, Ikyu, Google Maps, Tripadvisor and Booking.com, added up in each hotel’s Trust row. Agoda’s reviews are shown under each hotel name for reference only and do not count towards the score
Conditions (all of them, not most of them)
- The dog stays in the same room as you, per Rakuten Travel’s facility information
- Bookable on a one-night plan with dinner and breakfast
- Reviews are consistent: a floor of 30 or more reviews averaging 4.2 on Rakuten Travel, after which we add up the published counts and averages from Jalan, Ikyu, Google Maps, TripAdvisor and Booking.com, and score the trust star on that combined total
- Prices are the cheapest shown on Rakuten Travel for two adults with both meals. The dog is charged separately, or included at some inns
Scoring
Five criteria, one to five stars each, weighted to one hundred points. Every star says where the number came from.
- Quality25 pts
- The average of the room, bath and dinner scores on Rakuten Travel. Where Rakuten withholds scores, our editors judge from what is published.
- Value for money15 pts
- The cheapest two-meal plan per person against the median of the inns we compared.
- Easy to stay25 pts
- What matters with a dog: size accepted, dog runs, eating together, a bath or shower for the dog, and the pick-up.
- Trust20 pts
- Review counts and averages from Rakuten Travel, Ikyu, Jalan, Google Maps, TripAdvisor and Booking.com, added together.
- Only here15 pts
- What this inn offers a dog owner that the others do not.
What we dropped
| Property | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| DOG SPA RESORT Altopiano | Runner-up (77/100) | On the five criteria it scored higher than two of our picks, but with only three rooms taking a large dog it does not serve the readers this article is for. |
| Hotel Forest Hills Nasu with DOGS | Runner-up (59/100) | The 1,600 m² turf run is the largest here, but on the combined scores it placed below the five. |
| Hotel Laforet Nasu | Runner-up (56/100) | The cottages work, but dogs are barred from the restaurant and the certificates must be sent in advance, so it placed below the five. |
| Animare Premium in Nasu | Below the floor | A dog-owner’s inn with a room bath the pet may share and five private baths, but 420 Rakuten reviews averaging 4.12 is under our 4.2 floor. |
| HAMIRU’S FOREST WITH DOG | Below the floor | Cottages for dog owners, but only 18 Rakuten reviews against the thirty we require. Worth revisiting as reviews build. |
| Hotel Shiki no Yakata Nasu | Not selected | 81 Rakuten reviews at 4.79 is a strong score, but dogs are limited to small ones of 6 kg or less, the dog waits in the room during dinner, and there is no bath the pet may use. |
| Cottage Wan’s | Needs checking | 373 Rakuten reviews at 4.79 and advertised as having no restrictions on pets, with barbecues in summer and hotpot in winter eaten with the dog in the room — but we could not confirm the cap on numbers or whether vaccination certificates are required. |
Questions visitors ask
Can the dog eat with us?
At most of these. Altopiano, The Heartfield Inn, Livemax Resort Nasu Kogen and Forest Hills Nasu all allow dogs in the restaurant. Shiki no Yado Koyomi serves both meals inside your cottage, and Angel Forest Nasu lets you choose the cottage or the restaurant. At Hotel Epinard Nasu it depends on the plan — room service means together, a main-building restaurant means the dog waits. At Hotel Laforet Nasu dogs cannot enter the restaurant at all, so take a cottage-dinner plan.
I am visiting Japan. Can I bring my dog?
Not quickly. Bringing a dog into Japan needs a microchip, two rabies vaccinations, a rabies antibody test and advance notification to the quarantine service, and the process runs to months before you fly. This article is for people living in Japan, or whose dog is already here.
How large a dog can I bring?
Forest Hills Nasu, Angel Forest Nasu, Livemax Resort Nasu Kogen and The Heartfield Inn all take large dogs — Livemax up to three per room, Heartfield up to two, Angel Forest one. Shiki no Yado Koyomi takes large dogs and has a building built for them. Hotel Epinard’s Terrace Wing and Hotel Laforet’s cottages take one large dog each, and at Altopiano only three rooms take one.
Which have a dog run to ourselves?
Angel Forest Nasu gives every cottage a fenced private run, and Shiki no Yado Koyomi gives every cottage more than 100 m². The others share: Forest Hills Nasu has 1,600 m² of natural turf, Livemax Resort has one indoors and one out, and Hotel Epinard Nasu has a large run with an area for small dogs.
Can the dog get in the hot spring?
Not in the baths meant for people — Japanese bathing rules do not allow it. But Shiki no Yado Koyomi gives every cottage a tub of undiluted sulphur water for the dog, and Livemax Resort’s private family bath has a tub for the dog. The Heartfield Inn’s private open-air bath is listed as usable with the dog. At Hotel Epinard the room bath is not thermal and the dog cannot share it.
What paperwork do they want?
Hotel Laforet Nasu requires rabies and five-way or better combined vaccination certificates sent in advance, which is the strictest here. Livemax Resort, Altopiano, Hotel Epinard and Angel Forest want certificates from within the year brought with you. Shiki no Yado Koyomi requires the injection to be between two weeks and a year old. Check the current terms before booking — these change.
Which one would you book?
The Heartfield Inn: six rooms, 4.82 across 522 reviews with 5.0 for dinner and breakfast, a private hot-spring bath, large dogs welcome, and the dog beside you at an Italian dinner — at about 82% of the median price. If you would rather see nobody at all, Shiki no Yado Koyomi gives you a whole cottage with sulphur water, a tub for the dog and a 100 m² run of your own.
Changes
- 2026-11-04 First published. Scored from 352 candidates.