Kinugawa Grand Hotel Yumenotoki — Hotel in Nikko

We've stayed at many ryokan/minshuku-like hotels in Japan and this place was solid. We booked through Japanican for $250 for one night/two people with dinner and breakfast (we did not book early enough to get the early-bird discount). The staff was excellent, though only a few spoke English. As it was our honeymoon, the Manager gave us a set of Japanese tea cups and advised that a happy marriage is one where we drink tea together every day.||||The food was quite decent, but since we had booked through Japanican we could not opt for the higher meal plan in the tatami room overlooking the Japanese garden. Instead we were served traditional Japanese-style meals (not buffet) in the western-decored 'Fantasy Room'. ||||The public onsens were also solid and had both indoor and outdoor baths. The water temperature was quite comfortable for gaijin. We also reserved a private onsen for 50 minutes which featured an indoor tub with sliding glass doors that could be opened to view a private garden and enjoy the combination of warm water and cool night air. The private onsen was heated to Japanese temperature so we had to run the cool water tap for most of the 50 minutes.||||The room was very nice. It had a large tatami portion separated by half-shoji doors from another area where they laid out the futons. There were additional futons in the closet, which presumably would have been laid out in the tatami room if there were more than 2 of us. The room could comfortably fit 4 and would be perfect for a group.||||We were the only gaijin, and the other Japanese guests seemed to be couples or groups of friends. Given the noise from the Karaoke room, many were having a great time well into the night. If we still lived in Tokyo, this would be a great place for a weekend trip with friends for soaking, eating, drinking, and possibly seeing the nearby sites in Nikko. ||||Wifi is only available...

We've stayed at many ryokan/minshuku-like hotels in Japan and this place was solid. We booked through Japanican for $250 for one night/two people with dinner and breakfast (we did not book early enough to get the early-bird discount). The staff was excellent, though only a few spoke English. As it was our honeymoon, the Manager gave us a set of Japanese tea cups and advised that a happy marriage is one where we drink tea together every day.||||The food was quite decent, but since we had booked through Japanican we could not opt for the higher meal plan in the tatami room overlooking the Japanese garden. Instead we were served traditional Japanese-style meals (not buffet) in the western-decored 'Fantasy Room'. ||||The public onsens were also solid and had both indoor and outdoor baths. The water temperature was quite comfortable for gaijin. We also reserved a private onsen for 50 minutes which featured an indoor tub with sliding glass doors that could be opened to view a private garden and enjoy the combination of warm water and cool night air. The private onsen was heated to Japanese temperature so we had to run the cool water tap for most of the 50 minutes.||||The room was very nice. It had a large tatami portion separated by half-shoji doors from another area where they laid out the futons. There were additional futons in the closet, which presumably would have been laid out in the tatami room if there were more than 2 of us. The room could comfortably fit 4 and would be perfect for a group.||||We were the only gaijin, and the other Japanese guests seemed to be couples or groups of friends. Given the noise from the Karaoke room, many were having a great time well into the night. If we still lived in Tokyo, this would be a great place for a weekend trip with friends for soaking, eating, drinking, and possibly seeing the nearby sites in Nikko. ||||Wifi is only available...

This hotel is also known as Kinugawa Grand Hotel especially outside Japan. We checked into the hotel and was shown to the room by a charming hostess. We were provided a yukata each (like a house coat). The room was spacious as we had booked a Western/ eastern room so there was 2 single beds in an area and the 'lounge' was where we would sleep on the futon or floor. ||All ready, we decided to explore the hotel. We had seen all the guests wearing the yukata when we were checking in, so decided to join in hoping it was not becuase they were going to the onsen! We were right, they were just relaxing in the yukata. We wore that to dinner too. We booked their special dinner and that is an experience not to be missed! We were together with 1 big extended family and another couple. It was interesting to eat eat in a big room as we got to observe the Japanese way of life even more. At breakfast, we were shown to our little private room and again it was a memorable experience.||However, waht was fantastic was the numerous onsens. There's always an in and out hot springs and they change the onsens for the male and female so you will have the chance to experience the different ones offered. If you have not experience an onsen before, like us, the water is so hot, it was difficult to dip yourself in - I was sure I'll be burned but nothing like that. It was so refreshing and you feel so clean and relax after.||The hotel provided a service to and fro the station. We chose to walk back to the station as we did not have much luggage and it was also a very interesting walk enjoying the little shops and restaurants. ||A must to experience although they did not have any westerners when...