Japan’s oldest classic resort hotel, opened in 1873 above the Shinkyo Bridge; for travellers who want history, French cooking and the shrines on foot.
From £83 a night
For two on the night of 19 January 2027, on Expedia.
Shinkyo Bridge, Nikko townOn our lists
The Kanaya began in June 1873, when Kanaya Zenichiro opened his family home to foreign visitors at the suggestion of the missionary doctor James Curtis Hepburn, and the hotel calls itself the oldest classic resort hotel in Japan. Today it has 63 rooms spread over four buildings, the Main Building, the New Building, the Annex and the Second New Building, on the slope above the Daiya river where the vermilion Shinkyo Bridge marks the way into the shrine precinct.
This is a Western hotel in the Meiji manner rather than a ryokan: beds, a Main Dining Room serving traditional French cooking, a lounge for light meals and cake, and a bar pouring Scotch whisky. Toshogu Shrine is about 15 minutes on foot. Rooms on Expedia run from economy twins to annex suites, so the same building suits a careful budget and a special night.
The baths
The hotel’s own pages list no onsen: rooms have their own bathrooms, Western style. For a hot-spring soak, its sister hotel on Lake Chuzenji has open-air baths.
Getting around
At the Shinkyo Bridge end of town, on the main road from the stations to the shrines; Toshogu is about a 15-minute walk.
Good for
Not for
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Departs from Kinugawa Onsen · Valid 1 day
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Toshogu Shrine admission bought ahead, exchanged at the Tobu-Nikko Station tourist centre.
Valid 1 day
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Dress in kimono and make your own matcha with a certified teacher, in a tatami room by the river.
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Daiya river, Nikko town · Ryokan
A ryokan above the Daiya gorge with a rooftop view bath and rooms with their own open-air bath; for couples who want dinner and a soak.
Shinkyo Bridge, Nikko town · Ryokan
A traditional family-style ryokan by the Shinkyo Bridge, with a hot-spring bath, a private bath to book and dinner; for a classic first ryokan night.
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An onsen ryokan a short walk from Toshogu, with rooms that have their own open-air bath; the best private-bath stay by the shrines.
From £148 a night
Sources: kanayahotel.co.jp, en.wikipedia.org, expedia.co.uk. Last checked 21 October 2026.
