We stayed at Okunikko Guesthouse Jun at Lake Chuzenji to hike the various trails at Okunikko. This is a good base to stay as there are many restaurants and shops at Lake Chuzenji. We did not take the ferry ride as it consists of a round trip. I read that previously one can take the one way ride on the ferry to Ryuzu Falls. In the early morning, we walked to the Lake from our guesthouse. At night, I could see the numerous stars clearly in the sky. The shops here closed mainly around 5 pm but fortunately we could eat dinner at the blue Friendly restaurant which was the only one available at about 6.30 pm.

One of popular tourist spot you can mark for your visit around Nikko area, 3 hours drive from Tokyo. With the curve and small road, it is required skillful driver. Visit here around 3rd-4th week of October- 1st week of November should be good to see autumn leaves. I found the place was quite, calm and good for walking /wandering around the lake.

We strolled along the lake after our visit to Kegon Falls. Fall colors were visible and the day was clear allowing some nice photos of the lake and the G7 Nikko sign. However every now and then a cold wind kicked up and chilled us. It got much windier once we walked out onto one of the piers jutting into the lake. Most of the lake activities were closed except for the cruise. We walked by lots of the swan shaped paddle boats pulled up along the shoreline. Overall not much to do but worth a short stop for the views in the fall.

It's generally a pretty lake and we took a cruise in the late afternoon in November, because it was included in our Nikko "all area" pass. It's nice, but if you have to choose between this and Lake Yunoko (which is farther up near Yumoto Onsen), we'd suggest taking the time to go to Lake Yunoko. Also, perhaps because of the time of year/day (a Wednesday, in November, late afternoon) there were very limited dining options that were actually open.

I visited Lake Chuzenj in March and although beautiful there was not a lot going on. The town looked a bit rundown. But the lake itself is beautiful with great views of the mountains. I'd love to come back in the late spring to see what the atmosphere is like.

As others have noted, this area has very few open restaurants or shops. After 5 pm there are only 3 restaurants where you can eat: two by reservation and one by waiting in line 15 minutes before it opens at 6 pm. Many places are shuttered permanently. There is a good bike rental shop that helps you to spend a day riding in the area. Not worth spending more than two days and one night there.