Nikko Hoshinoyado

Japan , Tochigi
Nikko, 1115 Kamihatsuishi-Machi, 1115
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50 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

07 Mar 2026

Emma

I was travelling solo around Japan and on quite a tight budget so this was one of my pricier stays ... it was well worth it though!

Lovely to have the Japanese style room for the experience - and the onsen was perfect having inside and outside options.

The location was perfect - immediately adjacent to the key attractions of the area ... the only slight issue was lugging my bags up the hill as I missed the shuttle bus and made my own way there. The staff were very responsive thought coming out to help when they were aware - also with umbrella when raining.

Food was an amazing experience - being of somewhat unadventurous vegetarian, I opted for the western breakfast which was lovely. However looking at the tables laid out for those who had a more traditional breakfast I can see that it was first class!

I fully recommend this property for those visiting Nikko and all its historic sites - you won't be disappointed!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Mar 2026

Aaron

What stand our was the spacious room with two beds and tatami. Daily kaiseki breakfast and dinner were delicious and we didnt have to eat lunch everyday. Public onsen are well maintained as well. Great location with very short walking distance to the famous bridge and shrine.

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

19 Feb 2026

Francis D

The staff were very friendly and the room was beautiful. The onsen facilities were also very good.

Self

8/10

Excellent

19 Dec 2025

Michael

Should not gave children there

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2025

Janet

Honeymoon stay exceptional!

Partner

2/10

Poor

24 Oct 2025

Serina

We were shocked when we were asked to check out at 10am in the morning the next day ! As the day we check in was 5pm! I left my medication in the hotel and they refuse to checked and was advised that nothing was found ! Asking for beauty salon services the receptionist lady unwilling checked and gave us a displeasure look!

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

19 Oct 2025

Marc

Great location - walking distance to the shrines - room 301 spacious with good views

Business Partner

8/10

Excellent

18 Oct 2025

Beautiful location

Beautiful location, and great to see all the sights of Nikko. We struggled with the food from a western perspective, very traditional Japanese. But it was all cooked and presented beautifully and there was lots of it! We had the private onsen which was also lovely.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Aug 2025

Helene

Not worth the money until they improve

Good: Very close to the World Heritage sites, the famous bridge, a bus stop to the ropeway and waterfalls etc. Not good: the rooms (especially bathrooms) are tired. Some of the staff are terrific; the rest are untrained and/or not given the tools to do an excellent job. Case in point: we had no idea we had to serve ourselves rice (everything else was served to us), and then desert was delivered before our rice course. They also nickle & dime guests for use of a parasol, make you bring your own flimsy towel from your room to the bath, and use bad translations that are off-putting (“if you do X, you will be punished”).

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Aug 2025

Manish

We had a lovely stay here.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jul 2025

Jill

This was a real highlight of our trip to Japan. The food was amazing, and getting to the

8/10

Excellent

20 Jun 2025

Ryan

The highlight is definitely the breakfast, which was a truly great experience for those seeking an authentic Japanese ryokan. The view of the gardens there heightened the experience, and the public bath was modest but very nice and in a beautiful area. The building itself shows signs of age (especially the walls) and the amenities were certainly not modern, but that was all made up by the conscientious and helpful staff and the very friendly shuttle driver who went out of his way to help, including letting me stop at the other train station on the way to the ryokan to pick up tickets. The whole city is very quiet and shuts down early, but there are a few nice restaurants a short walk down the hill, and if you are heading to Nikko Toshogu itself, then it's easily walkable right from the hotel. Don't bother getting on the bus (as long as mobility isn't an issue). Entering the forest at Shinkyo is nice, and getting there just before 9:00 helps avoid the crowds. For smaller groups, I would recommend this place.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2025

Ernest

The meals were extraordinary! The service was great and the dining environment was beautiful. Close to bus stop so it was convenient to go to Lake Chuzenji. Also a short walk to see shrines in Nikko National Park. The Onsen has a beautiful view!

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

04 Apr 2025

Irene

Good location

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Nov 2024

Jaime

Thank you Nikko Hoshinoyado- we had a wonderful Japanese experience in Nikko and at the hotel. We are sorry we don’t speak Japanese, and that made little things challenging a bit. We wish we knew that for a best experience we should have booked dinner at the hotel because we did not find a single suitable place to eat within walking distance of the hotel (October 18, 2024). So we did not have dinner that night. Breakfast, on the other hand was fantastic. We also loved the Onsen experience. Arigato Gozaimas!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

12 Oct 2024

Kerry

The staff are wonderful, the food is delicious and the rooms are comfortable, with excellent views of Nikko. Definitely take the shuttle from the subway if you can, I made the mistake of walking as it wasn’t that long, but the last stretch is a very steep hill

Self

10/10

Exceptional

09 Oct 2024

Barbara

Our two day visit enhanced our cultural understanding of Japan from authentic cuisine to traditional ryokan. The English speaking manager suggested several activities beginning at Tobu bus stop 7 (walkable one block from hotel) to stop 26 Kogan Falls. The serenity of the landscape surrounding the hotel relaxes the stress of Tokyo.
My only regret is not finding the private shower!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

04 Oct 2024

Arlene

Our Japanese room was lovely, and the front desk staff was very helpful. The servers at the kaiseki dinner could have been more assistive in explaining the meal, and a history of yuba and tofu making would have been nice. The visual presentation of the meal was excellent, while the servers seemed more interested in the mechanics of serving and cleaning up.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Aug 2024

gerald

Good typical Japanese experience with futon on the floor and a shared onsen for bath and shower. Location is good but be warned the town doesn’t seem to get a lot of overnight visitors so there is slim pickings for dinner. The breakfast was very traditional Japanese. Lots of things you’ve not tried before and some a little peculiar.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

22 Jul 2024

Henrik

Tl;dr: I would not recommend this place. The location is great and onsen and grounds are fine. But at $400/night for two people and half board it’s way overpriced. The wallpaper is peeling, the carpets are dirty, it smells a little funky and there is no shower in the room. The dinner / breakfast are fine and the staff friendly but I would expect more at this rate.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Jul 2024

Everything is great. There is no bath in the room so you have to go to the onsen room to take shower.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Jun 2024

Reena

We were let down overall by our stay at this hotel.
The room we stayed in was really dated and the overall smell of the hotel was not very pleasant. The room walls were dusty. For the condition of the hotel, I think we over paid. The positive about the hotel is its location near the shrines and bridge. The hotel did provide shuttle services from Nikko train station which was really nice. The staff did speak English.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

20 Apr 2024

Verified traveler

Would overall recommend a different place

This hotel is very over priced. The great thing about this hotel is location, walking distance to main shrines. Otherwise it is outdated and smells like mold-throughout the entire hotel. The room is already over priced and then they want you to pay for private bath time. There is no shower in your room, so it’s public bath or pay extra. Also, there is an extra charge for extra towels. I do take into consideration this is supposed to be more simplistic and traditional however an update should be done for the price. They do have a nice restaurant with pretty view of the small garden.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Feb 2024

Irene

Restaurant was the best

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jan 2024

Ohad

Staff is very helpful and hospitable. Public baths are clean and not too busy. The staff gave good explanation on the Onesen. We took the Japanese breakfast and it was OK but not great, we didn't find a lot of alternative dining options close by.

Location is great - next to the temples and close to the bus station.

The one thing I would improve would be the towels - They give only one towel per person which is not enough if you go 3-4 times a day to the public bath like we did, and there's no way to dry your towel quickly especially in the winter when it's freezing.

Overall we enjoyed our stay and the public bath was great.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Dec 2023

Pratik

Location was right outside the Nikko Park and major tourist attractions. The dinner in the hotel was quite good but a bit expensive. The onsen was incredible too. Highly recommend this place.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

07 Dec 2023

Kevin

This place is the best

This Ryokan is wonderful, amazing, delightful. Japanese style rooms, architecture is showing it's age a little but retains all of its charm and character. 1/2 board (breakfast and dinner) is the way to go. The meals were amazing, so well structured, theme was apparent, the food itself was an adventure. Onsen was really pleasant after walking through the world heritage parks.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Sep 2023

Bobby

A fantastic ryokan experience. We had a delux room with private bathroom. Slept on mats on the floor which was surprisingly comfortable. The onsen offered 2 small hot baths covered and open to outdoors. Breakfast was amazing, offering Japanese and American style cuisine. Had difficult time finding restaurants for dinner, not many choices and they fill up early. Walkable to most sights.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Sep 2023

Martin

Amazing stay, very nice staff, delicious food

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2023

John

Staff and facilities were excellent. The food we were served was very delicious and fun and providing a copy of the menu for us to photograph allows us to go back and translate to understand some of the food we did not recognize. The rooms could probably use a little updating but this did not disrupt our enjoyment of the short stay.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jun 2023

Kamalini

Would recommend a stay here. The room was comfortable with good views and a great ryokan experience. Staff are friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the kaiseki dinner here too. They also have indoor and outdoor onsen.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 May 2023

Verified traveler

Beautiful hotel, ideally located for visiting the shrine area. The service was warm and attentive; the onsen facilities were very nice. Highly recommend this hotel!!!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Apr 2023

John

Clean rooms. Friendly staff. Nice onsen. And half board meals were awesome

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 Aug 2021

Verified traveler

Excellent ryokan with a lovely onsen bath, situated near the center of everything you want to see.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

09 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

Nice service and food.
Wished the room hater was on was when we came in.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Dec 2019

Renae

This is a traditional Japanese hotel, so the bed is a thin sleep pad on the floor and shoes aren't allowed in the room. Chairs are also very low or on the ground so this is probably not going to be ideal for anyone with mobility issues. However, if you are looking for an authentic Japanese experience, then this is the place. The rooms are lovely, with tatami mats and thoughtful little touches throughout. The staff couldn't be nicer and they even had a few who spoke English which I found to be fairly rare, even in the more Western stlye hotels I stayed in. There is also a lovely Japanese Garden, which is the view for breakfast. I went for the traditional Japanese breakfast which might not be for everyone because in Japan they eat the same things for breakfast as any other meal so amoung other things, it consisted of cooked fish, squid, pickled vegetables and sashimi so not exactly what Westerners are used to but it was beautifully presented and was really good. They do offer a Western breakfast too but I say be brave and go for the Japanese one. The location is great, an easy walk to the World Heritage shrines and the hotel does a shuttle to and from the train stations which is a bonus. I would definitely stay here again.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2019

Pascal

Half Board was a very good deal. Excellent Food. G

Staff was very helpful to organise our daily tourist activities

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 May 2018

Sean

Excellent Ryokan (Japanese Inn) Experience

The staff here was accommodating, the room prices were reasonable for the room sizes, location, and view, and overall it was a lovely ryokan with a lot to offer.

Their dinner and breakfast service is interesting to say the least, with it providing unique Japanese meals, but I wish the skills of the staff there didn't vary quite so much. Some of the staff are friendly, helpful, and willing to give you an idea of what is being presented with each dish, but others kind of just leave it up to you figure it out.

Part of this is a language barrier I'm sure, but the first staff member I had on my first night in the restaurant was so excellent at this that it soured my experience a bit with the other staff members there. Overall, the food service was worth it if you want to experience something distinctly Japanese and with an excess of food each morning & night.

My overall impressions of Nikko Hoshinoyado were very positive and I'd gladly recommend it to anyone else travelling in the area. Great location, great general staff, plenty of English language support, and lovely facilities.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Top quality in every sense of the word. The staff are kind and they really stive to deliver the best service. Great facilities and an amazing onsen both indoors and outdoors.

10/10

Exceptional

05 Feb 2018

Samantha

The room that we got came with an amazing view. The only problem we had was the toilet is too cold even there's a heated floor. We requested for a portable heater which was a great hello for our 2 nights stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jul 2016

Amazing Onsen Hotel 100m from Shinkyo Bridge

A wonderful stay in June 2014. I wanted a full onsen (hot springs hotel) experience, and my daughter and I had plans to fully explore the temples in Nikko. The location was superb - 100 meters from the red Shinkyo Bridge, and right at the entrance to the temple areas. The carving that gave rise to the saying \"hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil\" is a 15-minute hike away. The only downside is that there aren't many restaurants in this portion of Nikko, so you have to walk or take a bus or taxi to the main area of town. There is a fine steak house just down the hill from the onset, but be sure to check its hours, since it closes early. My first choice for a stay in Nikko!

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2016

Verified traveler

Nice place for get-away

Nice Japanese style room. Clean and spacious. Great staff and service. Good food.

Partner

4/10

Poor

13 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

Some Problems

Ou Travelocity reservation said that we needed to call in advance to allow us entry to the hotel and that there was no front desk--both wrong. We had no cell phone service, so the call from the tourist bureau turned into comedy because the hotel did not speak English. Meals were not included in our reservation, but the hotel made it difficult to eat at the hotel, and said that dinner the first night at the hotel was not an option. While it is near the temples & World Heritage sites, in winter at least the evening dining options are quite limited. Many basic arrangements were made more difficult because few members of the staff spoke English.

10/10

Exceptional

19 Apr 2014

Great ryokan with outstanding service

The hotel room, front staff great and welcoming attitude and the incredible onsen are just what you need after and a day of climbing and trekking in Nikko. The staff is perfect into guiding you into a first ryokan experience. Highly recommended!

10/10

Exceptional

26 Aug 2013

Goodman

The real thing

It is a real Japanese Hotel, right around the corner from the walk up the hill to see the temples. Dinner was the same, the real thing.

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2026

Florian

Chambre super typique. Confortable, avec tous les acccessoires disponibles. Le bain privé est génial. Le personnel plus qu’aimable et vraiment arrangeant.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Dec 2025

FUMIKO

お料理がとてもおいしかったです。
お部屋から見えるお庭も素敵でした。

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Sep 2025

masako

食事はそれぞれがとても美味しくて大満足でした。
スタッフの対応もとても良かったです。