AGEHA Inn Kanmu Heishi — Hotel in Nikko

Stayed 3 nights in July at this historical Japanese Inn with nearly 300 years of existence. We selected this place for its reputed great onsen and traditional decorations. We had some reservation about the comfort level relative to western style hotels. Since July is the low season, we booked through Rakuten at a very reasonable rate. We figured there would not be much downside to the adventure. We were not disappointed!||||The hardest part of the journey was getting there. Most visitors arrived in their cars. We traded off and decided to utilize the Japanese transportation system. We used the Nikko Marugoto pass offered by Tobu. We left Tokyo at about 10 am in the morning. After 4 train transfers and a bus ride rumbling about 20 km into the mountain, we got there a little after 2 pm. The transfers were synchronized within minutes.||||The check in started at 3 pm. The old gentleman at the counter was friendly and efficient. He offered us the private onsen option at 2160 yens. We thought it was the daily rate for unlimited use of private onsen rooms, but turned out to be for the entire stay, what a bargain! ||||We had a riverside view tatami room with futon beds. The room is spacious and air conditioned, a must in humid July. The decoration is appropriately traditional Japanese and kind of throwback to a time in the past. The room comes with a small wash basin but no toilet or bath. A clean modern facility is shared by a few rooms on this wing. It is a little inconvenient but not unexpected in Ryoken type hotels.||||The draw of this place is the natural hot spring. We washed up in the common facility before heading to the private onsens. There are 6 private rooms of various sizes and decors. All are open to the riverside and semi secluded. We used 3 or 4 roooms and liked the fartherest onsen room the best which has a cascading fall feature. The water temperature is hot but not scalding like some. It was comfortable to soaking while enjoying the serenity. At night, there were flood lights illuminating the trees with a purple hue which also provided some privacy against the dim light of the onsen rooms. ||||Breakfast and dinner were included in the room rate. Both are buffet style and fairly authentic local Japanese dishes. The menu items were practically the same for the 3 nights we were there. However, there were enough varieties that we were not fatigued from it. the taste of some dishes can be exotic but we're fine by us, especially comparing to the traditional raw egg over hot rice fare.||||Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the Japanese hospitality and experience offered by this hotel. If you plan to use this hotel as a jumping point to visit Nikko areas, the last bus leaving the station is 5:10 pm, so plan and check...

The location of this traditional ryokan might be a bit too secluded and inconvenient for those using public transport but if driving then this place offers a reasonable and interesting stay. ||||The interior decorations of the ryokan might take some time getting used to but aside from that, we had a good night's stay that included dinner and breakfast. Both meals are served with a buffet style but the food are mainly catered for Asians and Japanese so don't expect to find eggs & bacon here. They have private onsens which you can rent for a fee but I found the public ones to be good enough, especially if you can snag a spot in the outdoor tub facing the flowing river. ||||The rooms were tastefully decorated and they will help set up your futons while you are away for dinner so don't get a shock when you come back to find your room neatly tidied up. ||||The only real area for improvement would be their communication in English. Most of the staff apart from the front desk speak little to no English so if you need some help around the ryokan, you may find it hard to get your...

The location of this traditional ryokan might be a bit too secluded and inconvenient for those using public transport but if driving then this place offers a reasonable and interesting stay. ||||The interior decorations of the ryokan might take some time getting used to but aside from that, we had a good night's stay that included dinner and breakfast. Both meals are served with a buffet style but the food are mainly catered for Asians and Japanese so don't expect to find eggs & bacon here. They have private onsens which you can rent for a fee but I found the public ones to be good enough, especially if you can snag a spot in the outdoor tub facing the flowing river. ||||The rooms were tastefully decorated and they will help set up your futons while you are away for dinner so don't get a shock when you come back to find your room neatly tidied up. ||||The only real area for improvement would be their communication in English. Most of the staff apart from the front desk speak little to no English so if you need some help around the ryokan, you may find it hard to get your...