Mountain View Hotels in Nikko

Nikko Hoshino Yado was, without a doubt, the most stunning chapter of our trip. It's much more than just a hotel; it's a living temple of Japanese aesthetics. The beauty of its garden is comparable to the renowned Ruriko-in – the same interplay of light and shadow, the same myriad shades of autumn leaves, but with an added sense of private immersion. Staying in a room with a view of the autumn foliage, the window frame becomes a canvas, with the ever-changing seasonal scenery as its most priceless artwork. The kaiseki dinners and breakfasts are not merely a feast for the taste buds but also a visual art. Each dish is like a delicate haiku, narrating the seasonal stories of Nikko through the finest ingredients of the season. Then, sinking into the indoor and outdoor *furo* (baths), letting the warm spring water embrace your body, you can gaze upon the autumn colors of the garden or the starlit night sky. This ambiance is simply perfect. This wasn't just a stay; it was a profound healing experience centered around Japanese beauty.

Upon arriving, you can tell the hotel had its glorious days, and it's clearly put in a lot of effort to survive and remain standing in Kinugawa! The room was spacious and clean, and the staff even helped set up the futons while we were at dinner. The room rate included two buffet meals, both of which offered a good variety and quality of food. However, 90 minutes for dinner felt very rushed. I initially chose this hotel because the photos of the open-air onsen looked very appealing. But I was quite disappointed with the onsen facilities here. The hotel has three hot springs: the main bath on the 1st floor of the main building, the open-air onsen on the 13th floor, and the bathhouse in the annex. It turned out the open-air onsen was tiny, and the changing area was also very small. The strangest thing was that there were only four shower stalls, and they only had body wash – no shampoo or conditioner (which is really odd). Yet, the main bath on the 1st floor had over 20 different types of shampoo to choose from (bizarre!). I ended up having to wash my hair back in the room, but in the summer heat of June, it took an incredibly long time for the hot water to come on. I visit many onsen hotels in Japan every year. While this hotel's rooms and dining were decent, its onsen was the most disappointing I've encountered. And the room rate wasn't cheap either, so I won't be considering staying here again!

I've lost.my bag in the bus when I arrived at the hotel. I immediately seek the hotel staffs for help. They were very helpful and making calls to the places that I've may have left it. Train station, bus company. Lastly, was very lucky to have found it back. Someone picked up and passed it to the bus driver. In Japan, there's always a chance of finding back lost item. It's very safe.

The room was spacious, the bed was comfortable, and the view was great. The free cocktail and coffee services in the lobby were nice, as well as the free drink bar (including one beer per person) near the entrance to the hot spring. The paid massage service was also good. The meals were decent, especially the grilled beef, which simply melted in my mouth. The restaurant staff welcomed us warmly and provided friendly service. Cons: The variety of hot springs was lacking, and the view from the hot springs was almost blocked, which was disappointing. The lockers for valuables used combination dials, and foreign guests often didn’t know how to use them, locking their room keys inside and struggling to reopen them. This was a major inconvenience. They should switch to a key-and-wristband system like other onsen hotels. The room itself felt like an old, once-grand mansion that had seen better days. The furniture had many scratches, and the surfaces were worn and peeling. It made me think it must have been impressive in the past. Still, the room was definitely more spacious compared to other hotels.

Very old school ryokan run by very friendly who has been working there for many years. Your name will be displayed on the board next to the entrance of the ryokan to show that they were currently welcoming these guests staying at the ryokan! We stayed there for 2 nights with free parking and we didn’t have to drive anywhere until we checked out as the ryokan is within walking distance to the 3 major world heritage listed shrines including The Toshogu Palace. Avoid room 312 or 313 (which we stayed) which are the smallest rooms. Those rooms in the middle parts are bigger and more comfortable. Do ask for any room facing the back of the ryokan and avoid those facing the front where you only see car parks with coaches coming in the morning bringing tourists to the shrines. The onsite Onsen for ryokan guests, breakfasts and dinners are the highlights. You’d love the traditional Japanese meals served there and you won’t be hungry. Would I come back to this ryokan again? Yes definitely due to its location and friendly staff.

The hotel has no big problem. It is a traditional Japanese-style hotel and the service has nothing to say. The free drinks and snacks provided in the lobby are enough to eat. The only problem with the address positioning of oolong, according to the address, navigate to another hotel, almost no place to live. The picture is the distance of the two hotels. The actual address should be the hot spring Dayuan 1057, not the hot spring Dayuan 1060. I hope to check with the store.

A rather unique hot spring hotel. The room I booked was a Japanese-style room (washitsu), purely tatami room, and there's no bathroom inside – please be aware of this. To bathe, you need to go to a separate, traditional Japanese hot spring bath, separated by gender, where you must be naked and thoroughly washed before entering. Opinions on the experience vary, but the Japanese seem to enjoy it, haha. The hotel includes breakfast and dinner, which were surprisingly high quality, and the menu changed daily, which was a pleasant surprise. The service was excellent, with the typical Japanese attentiveness, and the staff spoke decent English, so communication wasn't a problem. Overall, a very unique hotel, definitely worth experiencing.

The hotel offers a shuttle service to Kinugawa Onsen Station, but even with a reservation, I was told it was full and I couldn't board. The hotel does have a public hot spring bath, which is a nice perk. However, the room didn't have a traditional air conditioner with an outdoor unit; it only had something like an evaporative cooler, which wasn't cool at all. I had to open the window for ventilation to try and cool down. On the positive side, the hotel room was very spacious.

The traditional central Japanese garden with pond and fish is superbly designed and is visible once inside, from the lobby, the lounge and the dining room with all the rooms directly above (at least 3 floors). The service desk is only open for check-in from 3-6pm (English spoken), though I arrived earlier (before noon) and left my luggage & went for a walk. Unless you book meals (breakfast plus dinner combined) ahead of your stay, meals are not available due to the the need to prepare them). I stayed 3 nights but hadn't booked meals so it was too late to enjoy a meal the first day or following morning. The next 2 nights I ate there OK. I highly recommend Ikari Restaurant (5 mins walk away) as an alternative also, because the Sakahijiri meals are VERY expensive ( ¥6,600) but the Sakahijiri dinner in itself is an extraordinary experience in Japanese cuisine by a seriously skilled chef that may be worthwhile having. The rooms are spacious and with traditional Japanese elements.The town is smaller and lacks much to see for some but it was a great respite for me due to the quietness that I sought. I used the in/outdoor onsen each day too. Access from the Railway Station is an easy, generally flat, 10-15 min walk. I've read some silly complaints about a few holes in some sliding paper windows caused by careless tourist/s. Sakahijiri is so pleasing overall and restful that criticism such as this misses the point of it uniqueness.

The most important buffet dinner during the stay was served very late, and the dishes were often empty, which is very rare in Japan. Because it was less than 700 yuan and included two meals, although the hotel had many flaws, it was understandable, but the faucet in the room seemed to be broken, and the water flow was not smooth, which should be replaced. Overall, this room was acceptable.