From Tuesday, December 1 to Friday, December 25, 2026, THE BOTANICAL RESORT Rinne (林音, hereafter Rinne) in Naka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, offers a "Hands-Free Christmas Stay in the Forest" (森で過ごす“手ぶら”クリスマスステイ), in which the resort takes care of all the Christmas preparations. Rinne was created by redeveloping the Ibaraki Botanical Garden and the Ibaraki Prefectural Forest, and it is billed as Japan's first "overnight botanical garden" (see the note below).
The stay covers decorating a Christmas tree about 4 meters tall, preparing the feast, and even playing Santa. Parents who are usually on the preparing side can join their children on the side that gets to have fun this year.
The resort is about 90 minutes from central Tokyo. This Christmas is spent in the forest rather than in the city, and the 650,000-square-meter forest becomes the stage for a family's Christmas.
Note: The expression "Japan's first overnight botanical garden" is based on an in-house survey by the operating company as of September 2025 (including internet searches, database checks, and supplementary research using ChatGPT), which found no similar type of facility in Japan.
Freeing Busy Families From Christmas Preparations
According to the Labour Force Survey by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, dual-income households outnumber households with a full-time homemaker by about 2.5 times (Note 1).
A survey of families raising children also found that 74% spend Christmas at a party at home and about half decorate their homes (Note 2). Even amid busy days of work, housework, and childcare, parents want their children to enjoy Christmas, so the preparations for the day, from presents and meals to decorating the rooms, tend to keep growing.
Rinne takes on the whole of the preparations for Christmas and offers a stay in which the entire family can be the stars.
Note 1: Based on the Labour Force Survey by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. It compares the number of dual-income households with the number of households with a full-time homemaker.
https://www.stat.go.jp/data/roudou/
Note 2: From a Christmas survey conducted by Actindi Inc. (アクトインディ株式会社). Among families raising children, 74% said they spend Christmas at a party at home, and about half said they decorate the house.
https://resemom.jp/release/prtimes/20241127/129086.html
No Christmas Preparations This Year: Parents Get to Join the Fun
1. Decorating the Tree
Putting up a big tree at home is surprisingly hard work. This year there is no need to dig last year's tree out of the back of a closet. With no decorating to do, families can spend their time looking at the tree together and taking commemorative photos.
2. Preparing the Feast
The restaurant offers a Christmas-period-only dinner course using Ibaraki ingredients such as "Hitachi Beef" (常陸牛), "Nanakai mushrooms" (七会きのこ), and "Beni Haruka" sweet potatoes (紅はるか).
Without shopping for ingredients, cooking, or cleaning up, families can sit around the table together at a relaxed pace.
3. Playing Santa
On Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25, Rinne staff play Santa Claus. Parents do not need to be Santa this year, and all they have to do is capture their children's happy faces in photos.
Rinne's staff take on the role of Santa so that everyone in the family can smile.
Christmas Both Night and Morning at an Overnight Botanical Garden
There is no need to go out in the cold and the crowds. At night, guests can visit the tropical plant house (熱帯植物館), which is open to overnight guests only. In the middle of the winter forest, opening the door reveals a light-up show for overnight guests only, woven from plants, light, and music.
After the light-up show, guests can gather around a bonfire in the forest. They can toast marshmallows to make s'mores and hold a cup of hot cocoa, a Christmas experience unique to Rinne that cannot be found in the city. Looking up, they will see a sky full of stars, a natural illumination surrounded by nature.
The next morning, a chocolate fountain appears at breakfast. Christmas experiences continue throughout the stay, which is something only an "overnight botanical garden" can offer.
Note: How the stars look varies with the weather and other conditions.
Details of the "Hands-Free Christmas Stay"
The details of the stay, the dinner course menu, additional options, and a model schedule for one night and two days are introduced on a special page.
- Special page: https://rinne-resort.jp/?p=2042
Accommodation Rates and Options
- Cottage: from ¥21,340 per person (tax included)
- Glamping: from ¥15,950 per person (tax included)
- Mini tree making (option for overnight guests only): ¥2,500 per piece (tax included)
Reservations
- Christmas-limited dinner course reservations: https://d-reserve.jp/GSEA002F01400/GSEA002A01?hotelCode=0000003132&pl=PL00072605&ci=20261031&co=20261101&rmcd001=RM00019825&rm001=1<001=0_1_2_4&lnum001=2_0_0_0&sumrm=1&way=1&cinon=true&dpck=false&DPCheckEnable=false
About THE BOTANICAL RESORT Rinne
THE BOTANICAL RESORT Rinne is a renovation of the Ibaraki Botanical Garden and the Ibaraki Prefectural Forest, billed as Japan's first "overnight botanical garden," where visitors can stay, relax, eat, and play in a single place. Newly built facilities in the park include glamping and cottage accommodation in harmony with nature, a bathing facility with herbal baths and an herbal sauna, a dining facility using prefectural ingredients and local specialties, and an activity facility that makes use of the great nature of the Ibaraki Prefectural Forest. Visitors can experience the appeal of Ibaraki with all five senses. In the evening there are the illuminated tropical plant house and BBQ in the midst of nature, and in the morning a walk in the fresh air.
Location and Access
THE BOTANICAL RESORT Rinne
- Address: 4369-1 To, Naka City, Ibaraki 311-0122
- About 30 minutes by car from JR Mito Station
- About 90 minutes by car from Tokyo
- About 10 minutes from Naka IC on the Joban Expressway
