Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [135]
Nikkō Tōkan-sō Ryokan (54-0611; fax 53-3914; www.tokanso.com; 2335 Sannai; r per person incl 2 meals ¥8400-14,000, min 2 people; ) Clean and spacious, Tōkan-sō provides a welcoming (if not luxurious) ryokan experience; it’s popular with tour and school groups. From the Shin-kyō bus stop, continue uphill, cross the street, turn right and bear left again uphill.
TOP END
Hotel Seikōen (53-5555; fax 53-5554; www.hotel-seikoen.com; 2350 Sannai; d per person incl 2 meals from ¥13,650) This 25-room hotel was built in the 1980s but somehow looks older. That’s forgotten in the neat rooms (mostly Japanese style) and alkali onsen, including indoor and outdoor baths and sauna. It’s past Tōkan-sō Ryokan, about 100m on the left-hand side.
Nikkō Kanaya Hotel (54-0001; fax 53-2487; www.kanayahotel.co.jp; 1300 Kami-Hatsuishi-machi; tw from ¥17,325; ) One of the finest heri-tage Western hotels in Japan, this grand lady from 1893 wears her history like a fine dress. The best rooms have excellent vistas, spacious quarters and private bathrooms. The lobby bar is deliciously dark and amenable to drinking scotch. Rates do not include meals and rise steeply in peak seasons.
Eating & Drinking
A local speciality is yuba (the skin that forms when making tofu) cut into strips; better than it sounds, it’s a staple of shōjin ryōri (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine).
Hippari Dako (53-2933; meals ¥500-850; 11am-8pm) With English menus, this three-table shop is an institution among foreign travellers, as years of business cards tacked to the walls testify. It serves filling sets, including yakitori (chicken on skewers) and yaki udon (fried noodles). It’s a white building on the left side of Rte 119, and has an English sign.
Gusto (50-1232; mains ¥500-1000; 10am-2am Mon-Fri, 7am-2am Sat & Sun) Nikkō’s only late-night restaurant makes up for what it lacks in individuality with value and variety. There’s a detailed picture menu, and offerings include pizzas, pasta and ribu rosu suteeki (rib roast steak; ¥899). Look for the red circle sign.
Hi no Kuruma (54-2062; mains ¥500-1500; lunch & dinner Thu-Tue) A local favourite for okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes), which you cook yourself on a teppan (hot-steel table). Most choices are under ¥1000, or splurge on the works: pork, squid, beef, shrimp, corn etc (¥1500). There’s an English menu. Look for the small parking lot and red-black-and-white Japanese sign.
Kikō (53-3320; mains ¥700-1300; lunch & dinner) Welcoming, home-style spot for Korean dishes, like ishiyaki bibimpa (rice with beef and vegetables in a hot stone bowl), chapchae (fried clear noodles with vegetables) and kimchi rāmen (noodles with spicy Korean pickles). It’s a few doors downhill from Hippari Dako, with a scrolling electronic sign. An English menu is available.
Yuba Yūzen (53-0355; sets ¥2700-3200; lunch Thu-Tue) This yuba speciality house serves it sashimi-style, with tofu and soy milk, and with a variety of seasonal side dishes. There’s no English menu, but there are only two choices for sets: ¥2700 if you’re hungry and ¥3200 if you’re really hungry. Look for the two-storey tan building across from the first left turn after Shin-kyō.
Gyōshintei (53-3751; set courses ¥3000-8000; lunch & dinner Fri-Wed) For shōjin ryōri in a setting to die for, Gyōshintei is worth the splurge. Set courses and prices change with the season, but a safe bet is the omakase kaiseki (chef’s choice kaiseki; price varies). This elegant, traditional eatery overlooks a carefully tended garden, around 250m north of the Shin-kyō bridge. There’s a three-peaked emblem on the door curtain.
Nikkō Beer (54-3005; beer & snacks from ¥525; 9am-6pm) Sample the local brew in the hills above town, a light lager-style Pilsner that’s won beer competitions both internationally and in Japan. Snacks include go-shurui sōseji (five-variety sausage set; ¥800). There’s a picture menu and an English sign.
Getting There & Away
Nikkō is best reached from Tokyo via the Tōbu Nikkō line from Asakusa Station.