Nikko in February

Hi there,

I am planning to visit Nikko during Mid-February in 2019, and i have the following questions:

- How cold is the weather? I know that it will still be winter during February, but will we still see snow?

- Are there any major differences visiting on a weekend as compared to a weekday? will it be much more crowded? (jams on the way up to okunikko etc.)

Thanks in advance!

Winter is not nearly as crowded as summer, but the buses to get you around are also fewer. If you're lucky, you might have snow in the shrine area, but overall, the shrines are on the east slopes of the mountains which has a rain shadow effect. It will still be cold. Stay at someplace with a hot spring.

The upper area around Chuzenji is another story. You will have snow up there and the waterfalls will all be ice-covered. At the end of January, because the buses were few, I ended up hiking from Akechidaira (viewpoint for Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji) all the way to the lake along the road, which had snow piled up along the sides. Only a couple of cars went past and no bus, so we beat the bus. I don't remember if it was a weekend or not but there weren't a lot of people anywhere. I think most must have stayed in their onsen ryokan and soaked all day.