This is a nice, average Ryokan. Bit run down around the edges but still a fun experience. Japanese ryokans all seem to be expensive and a bit tatty unless you are wiling to pay a bomb! Location though was fantastic, right by all the main sights of Nikko and the staff very friendly (hardly any English spoken though, so be warned you may need to practice your Nihon-go skills first!). Dinner though was a brilliant and totally Japanese experience - 17 separate little dishes each (not sure what they all were!). Breakfast was a bit weird - I ordered 'Western' style... and we always eat potato soup for breakfast, right!? Was fun to sleep on tatami mats and wear our yukata though.

We spent one night here and although it's a bit pricey (as all ryokens are) it was pretty good.

The staff were great, the kaiseki was good (think we counted over 15 dishes each at dinner). The rooms were as we expected for a standard ryoken - a little tatty, but comfortable (and airconditioned). Didn't try the public bath. Have western breakfast as well if you don't fancy the Japanese breakfast - but you should try it.

The best thing about this ryoken is location - it's so close to the main shrine area and the bridge.

Free internet (in the lobby) and a courtesy bus back to the train station as well.

Stayed one night to visit Nikko. Typical ryokan with tatami mat, paper screen and futon bed rooms. Definitely worth staying at a ryokan at least once in a trip to Japan. Not a very luxurious, high end ryokan but very clean with good views from a large room. A good value way to experience a traditional Japanese hotel. The private onsen bath was nice. Bear in mind you sleep on a futon matress on the floor which takes some getting used to! The highlight was the food. The Japanese dinner and breakfast is laid out beautifully and totally different to the restaurant food we had. The ryokan doesn't have an English sign outside so make sure you have a map before you arrive! Nikko makes a great overnight trip fromTokyo with temples, cedar trees and mountains.

I had higher expectations for this ryokan which perhaps isn't fair given I've never stayed at one before. The lobby does not look like the website. The front desk is this little built out aesthetically unpleasant room. The furniture is quite old and it contains a convenience store. Our first room REEKED of smoke. Almost couldn't breathe in it. To the staff credit, they moved us quickly and kindly to another room when we asked. It was only 2 doors down so we could still smell some smoke but it was much better. But because they hadn't prepared that room, it was ice cold. They use a space heater to heat the room and it takes a while to warm up. At night they provide very fluffy warm down comforters so that was fine. Our room overlooked a side street and another house with cylinders stacked out back. The table and chairs looked somewhat battered. The room looked worn out but was basically clean. It was like we got the party room instead of the romantic one that overlooked the garden. I did happen to see one of the rooms that did overlook the garden and the furniture did look somewhat nicer. I didn't see different rooms rates listed on the website so I don't know how you get those rooms. The baths weren't that impressive. It wasn't quite the romantic visit that I envisioned.

On the positive side, it is very close to the shrine area and seemed authentically japanese. Most of the other visitors were Japanese. The food certainly seemed so. I can't really judge the quality of the food as I don't really have a good comparison. The food was just okay to my western tastebuds but again, I shouldn't judge. The staff was also really friendly and were very good about communicating with us with limited English. They certainly seemed to put in an effort. And were kind enough to hold our luggage for us with no fee.

I guess for the price I expected a bit more. I know you have to pay a lot more for a first rate ryokan but I still thought it would be nicer.