Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture hotel rooms at the Independent

"Nikko does not have a lot of hotel options in Expedia, but this one is perfectly fine for a small tourist town. Located directly next to JR Nikko station and downhill from Tobu-Nikko station, so easy to get to. Has its own onsen and a good breakfast Western buffet. Otherwise dine out. Rooms are somewhat small and older, but good beds. Pro tip: all the buses start at JR Nikko station, so if you get on there you are guaranteed to get a seat."

"It was a beautiful, historic place to stay. It was convenient to get to Toshogu."

"Great hotel, amenities, room, and food. Could not be more pleased. "

"The food was incredible. Wonderful staff"

"Amazing service. Yamazaki San, who is reception lady, her kindness is outstanding!!"

"A well run hotel at a bargain price. Staff most helpful. "

"This hotel was a bit hard to get to with 3 luggages to cart around (transferring from JR line to Tobu-Nikko line). However, the hotel staff helped us organised to transfer our luggages to our next hotel in Osaka (additional fees but so worth it for us and we were able to enjoy the Nikko area more freely). We booked our accommodation with kaiseki dinner and breakfast and it was simply devine! Japanese food was served in our own private table away from the crowd and it was another level. Our dinner and breakfast attendant was Freska and she explained our dishes in English. She also spoke Indonesian and Japanese and was so friendly. Our room had a private onsen, two twin beds and the hotel staff set up a futton bedding in the Japanese style living room while we were eating dinner. The room we had was spacious and offered us a peaceful mountain view. The hotel facilities was on the older side but we came for the hot spring experience and we could see this hotel was also popular Japanese families visiting from other parts of Japan."

"As the only westerners that we saw at the Hotel, we had a fabulous “Japanese” experience. The staff went out of their way to welcome us and to help us with any requests. Room was well serviced each day. Beds were very comfortable. The half board was wonderful. The breakfast and dinner selections were endless. The food was fresh, well presented and the variety was exciting for us as we got to try many different Japanese foods we otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to taste. We didn’t use the Onsen so can’t comment about that. There were drinks and snacks provided throughout the afternoon also. One of the nice things for us was being provided with the traditional Yukata to wear around the Hotel. Very comfortable and relaxing. A nice surprise was an evening performance by a Magician/Gymnast artist who was very entertaining. Although English was not generally spoken in the hotel, we had no problems communicating with staff as they went out of their way to help and understand any situation. We used Google translate for anything that was not understood by us or the hotel staff. Although not much around the immediate hotel for tourists, we had a car so it was the ideal, quiet location for us. Valet service for the car was efficient and quick. Can’t speak highly enough of this wonderful Hotel."

"Large and modern apartments which we were impressed with, we liked the movie projector and room setup. Well-stocked with even some laundry detergent which we found helpful. Nearby 7-11. Only thing to note to future travellers is that it’s about a 15 min walk from the station / main town area (we didn’t find this to be an issue however, and you can walk via some of the quieter back streets), but would recommend getting a taxi if you don’t have a car and are coming from the station with a lot of luggage. "