Hotel Seikoen

“Good dinner, nice staff”

We stayed in a ryokan room of the hotel. That was a wonderful experience. The dinner was served in the room and was great. All these things that are unknown to us. It is like little presents. And delicious. They of course have a Onzen, nice too. The location is first class. Right next to interestin… more

We stayed in a ryokan room of the hotel. That was a wonderful experience. The dinner was served in the room and was great. All these things that are unknown to us. It is like little presents. And delicious. They of course have a Onzen, nice too. The location is first class. Right next to interesting temples. The trees here in the woods are amazing! Big!

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“Japanese impeccable service”

We travelled as 2 couples with one of us in a Japanese room and one in a western room. Both rooms have good and bad points. The jananese room provides you with a complete Japanese experience, sleeping on the floor and eating dinner on very low tables in your room which requires sitting on the floor… more

We travelled as 2 couples with one of us in a Japanese room and one in a western room. Both rooms have good and bad points. The jananese room provides you with a complete Japanese experience, sleeping on the floor and eating dinner on very low tables in your room which requires sitting on the floor. This room had an extra toilet at floor level whereas the other bathroom required a step up as it is in the western room. The Japanese room is spacious and there is a small wardrobe but not much ‘putting’ space. The western room is much smaller but has a bedside table with bedside lights. Bathrooms are both tiny with a shower over a small but very deep bath. However if you use the hotel onsen every luxury is available there including body lotions and even hair volume booster. The onsen is wonderful. The food is also an amazing adventure. Everything is beautifully presented and delicious. Every day is different. We would like to thank Nemoto and Yamaguchi in particular for looking after us. Nemoto explained every dish and patiently answered our questions. If he didn’t know the word in English he would go and find out and come back later with the answer. All the staff are pleasant and helpful. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything at a Japanese ryokan and we were quickly put straight if we made the mistake of walking around in our socks instead of using the slippers provided. The location of hotel sheikoen is about perfect. The pick of the temples is a short walk up hill from here. You are not allowed to take a car any closer anyway. Right outside the door is the bus stop for the world heritage bus which you can pay cash or use a suitcase card to get to other temples or back to either station. The Shinto bridge is just down the hill from where you can get the white bus to The lake area. We thoroughly recommend a stay here if you want to experience authentic Japanese hospitality and culture. We spent 3 nights and enjoyed every moment.

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“Humble little ryokan in an excellent location”

Don’t expect upscale and classy; the property does look a little worn and the rooms are functional at best. The room comes with dinner served in room and breakfast at the restaurant, which are the highlights. The elaborate kaiseki dinner was a fun and delicious experience (lots of yuba, Nikko’s spe… more

Don’t expect upscale and classy; the property does look a little worn and the rooms are functional at best. The room comes with dinner served in room and breakfast at the restaurant, which are the highlights. The elaborate kaiseki dinner was a fun and delicious experience (lots of yuba, Nikko’s specialty) used in interesting ways) and even though English is not widely spoken in this ryokan, the staff who served it tried his best to explain what every single dish was in English, and he did an excellent job. Breakfast at the restaurant was also filled with interesting dishes and yummy. There’s an indoor and outdoor onsen and also a sauna within the indoor onsen, though I only had time to try the indoor one. Through the full length window, you can view the trees outside, making for a relaxing experience. The indoor onsen is open 24 hours, so you can even go in for a late night soak according to the helpful staff but the outdoor one and sauna have limited opening hours. In terms of location, this ryokan can’t be beat. It’s smack in the middle of Nikko’s famous temples. The UNESCO world heritage site Toshogu Shrine is a mere five minutes stroll away. Shinkyo Bridge and Kanmangafuchi Abyss are all within walking distance too. To reach the ryokan, you’ll need to take a bus from Tobu-Nikko station, and bus stop No. 81 is just right outside the hotel. Bus stops No. 7 and 8 at the main road are about a 10-15 mins walk away. (You’ll need to get to the main road to take the bus for the Chuzenji Onsen area and beyond.)

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