hot tab outside, friendly and attentive staff, proximity to the Toshogu, excellent meals, beautiful garden, beautiful mountain view from the windows, daily tea and tea snacks in the room, clean tatami room, yukata in the room Their kaiseki style dinner is excellent. The breakfast was super, too.

bath towels are small and not plentiful. They will give you new ones every day, but there’s no free bath towels in the public bath area. We stayed there 3 days consecutively. The first day and the third day’s meals were the same. It was okay because it was breakfast. Since the area is catered for day trip tourists, most of the restaurants are not open for dinner. We had to walk back to the station area to have a dinner at the only open restaurant at that time. And taxi back to the hotel.

Conveniently located 5 minutes walking from the Shinkyo bridge and a 15 minute walk from the Toshogu Shrine and Rinnoji Temple, Hoshi no Yado is a wonderful ryokan with exceptional service and amenities. The staff communicated with me before arriving and kindly arranged a shuttle to pick us up from the train station. The dinner and breakfast were beautifully presented and delicious, and the onsen was a nice touch after a long day of hiking. The staff are a very warm and welcoming group of professionals, and even arranged a taxi to take us back to the train station early on the morning of our departure.

Nothing.

I loved their super zen Japanese garden - our room and the dining room had views onto this beautiful garden. I also loved their outdoor onsen with the cedar wood tub - it was amazing to soak in this and smell the comforting cedar in hot spring water, absolutely decadent. And the food! Breakfasts and dinners were utterly amazing - especially our first dinner where we were taught to cook our own yuba sashimi (the local tofu delicacy in Nikko). The spread is huge, and everything tasted wonderful. But most especially, I liked that the hotel had the foresight to employ English-speaking workers, it made our entire experience much more meaningful when the staff were able to explain things to us. The hotel is perfectly located - about 5 mins by bus from the Tobu Nikko train station, and 3 mins walk to the Shinkyo bridge and close to the shrines. The bus stop is right in front of the hotel and we took this bus on the famous winding Irohazaka Road (which inspired the Initial D series) up to Lake Chuzenji and Kegon waterfalls.

The short steep climb up to the hotel from the bus stop - but it is this steep slope that allowed the hotel to be so primely located, while protecting its super serene and zen environment.

The views, the public bath, the room.

Breakfast. It is a matter of taste but I chose a Western breakfast and they include soup and salad which is very weird for me. But the worst for me was on my last day, putting me having breakfast in a private room, alone looking at a wall. The best part of my breakfast was enjoying the view of the restaurant each morning. The excuse for having more guests was not a good one. There were tables available, and choosing someone traveling alone to be isolated in a private room in front of a wall was not a smart choice.

Hoshino-Yado is beautiful and in the best location you could possibly have in Nikko, it’s literally 100 steps away from the Shinkyo bridge that leads to the World Heritage sights including the Toshogu Shrine. The rooms are lovely and the staff are always friendly and available to help. Make sure you at least do 1 day for the amazing Kaizeki dinner and breakfast, I was served a 9 course Japanese meal which had some of the best food I have ever eaten and some things completely new to me, it’s a must do experience for sure. The breakfast was also lovely with an assortment of delicious and new dishes I had never had the chance to try (Nattō was extremely fun, daunting and interesting but very nice) there is also an Onsen which I took a quick peek at but unfortunately didn’t try because I was going to unwind after the dinner but I was so satisfied and full that I fell asleep haha

I have no negatives for this experience

Thank you for a lovely stay. Staff - All staff were very friendly, helpful and hospitable. The shuttle bus from and to the train station was really useful. Room - spacious and clean, the massage chair was surprisingly good. Beds are futons and were very comfortable with an extra base. Food - breakfast was delicious as were the formal Japanese dinners (we had two dinners during our stay, they are different each time). One night we had additional tempura and a steamed fish dish - both were very good. Onsen - this was very good and very clean with a nice outside bath.

The only slight point to note is that the window screens in the room are the usual shoji paper screens, there are no additional wood shutters. This means that the light does come into the room with dawn. Actually it is quite a nice way to wake up.

The room is pleasant and it faces a nicely maintained garden and we do get distant Mountain View. The room is huge with ample space for at least 4 people. The sweets and tea set provided is unique and nice. The indoor showering room contains mood lights which is a nice touch. There is also built-in TV inside the showering room as well. The dinner and breakfast is good and highly memorable.

It would be good if we can had our dinner in the room but we do acknowledge not all hotel offer such services. It would also be good if we can add additional items for our dinner after 5pm (we didn't realise but it may be in the footnote but we missed it). That said, it is a nice place.

The room has nice views of the surrounding mountains. With the windows open, I could hear the sounds of a nearby river. The location is right next to the world heritage site. Dinner was fantastic--in addition to various small plates, we got to make tofu at the table. From the dinning room, we enjoyed nice views of a formal Japanese garden. The onsen is good too. In addition to the shared onsen, there is a private onsen that can be booked for a fee for those who want some privacy. The staff was super polite and attentive. The day after my stay it was raining. The hotel lent us some umbrellas and held our luggage while we spent the day out and about.

I don't have any complaints. It was a great stay!

Meal : We stayed two night and got different both for breakfast and dinner. The presentation of Kaiseki dishes were beautiful with Japanese sensitivity and it tasted wonderful. When we booked we requested if they could do dishes without meat (pescatarian diet) and it was served without any problem. (Might be helpful if there was a bit more detailed English description about taste and flavor for each Japanese sake and shochu in the drink menu at dinner) Room : We stayed in a deluxe room with wooden bathtub. It was well-cleaned and we got our futon ready everyday when we are out for dinner. The view from the room was very nice and we could hear birds singing in the forest behind the garden. There were a massage chair and it was fun experience although the language of the controller was English only. The Kimono we got first was too short for my partner (190cm) but they brought new one right away when we called the front desk. Staff : Generally they were pretty nice and friendly. There are front staff who speak English also. Bath : We booked a private bath (1500 yen for 45 minutes) We really liked the privacy and spacious bath for two people so we ended up booking twice a day. Location : It was a comfortable ride from Tobu-Nikko station. On the way back we took a walk and it was also a nice experience.

Nothing! We are really happy about the whole experience.

Our room was amazing - we really enjoyed how spacious it was. Very clean - really appreciated how the beds were made while we were at dinner. The ryokan was in the perfect location in town and shuttle service was great.

We booked a large/more expensive room because we didn't understand whether we would have a private bathroom or not in a less expensive room. When we arrived, we realized we got the biggest room in the hotel, and probably didn't need to do that. Might have just been a language barrier issue.