That Nikko lodging is a modern ryokan with an onsen. The room charge is per person, so you specified 2 persons when you booked. It looks like all the rooms are Japanese style - that means futons, not beds. Where did you book this where it said Western beds? I looked at three places that all said it is Japanese sytle: agoda, japanican, and here:
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/ryokan-styles/

Three nights is a lot of time in Nikko. I've SO wanted to do that, so maybe when my plan failed for a day trip starting in Utsunomiya that was a good thing - I can still make a 3-night stay.

For that amount of time I hope that you are looking at it as a regional area visit and not just Nikko. You could stay elsewhere or split your stays in the area. Kinugawa Onsen, for example. It is about 40 minutes from Tobu-Nikko station (very inexpensive fare).

Take a look at the link below. It is a pdf and might take a bit to download.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/pdf/viewer...-302.pdf&la=en

Scroll down to the Downtown Nikko map on page 2. Your lodging is on the left/west side of the map near Tamozawa bus stop.

Now scroll down to the Nikko map on page 3. The downtown Nikko part is on the east side and there is much more to the west. Kinugawa is off the map to the northeast.

Forgot to say: you're welcome.

You might find that you have more time for Nikko than you need, so that is another reason that you need to plan it out.

The Naoshima part is pretty simple. Getting from Nikko back to Tokyo is not as nsimple. Tokyo is huge, so the trip depends on where in particular you are staying and there are a few options.

MrWunrfl, We stayed a night in Utsonimiya last year, and it was a good base for also visiting Mashiko for pottery.

mrwunrful, I have been confused about the room type also, but the picture on hotels.com showed beds and the description is "2 Twin Beds
140-sq-foot (13-sq-meter) room with courtyard views." The other rooms were described as Japanese style and showed tatami mats. If they are futons it won't kill me.

I am also worried about whether that was too long a stay after reading some more. Plus, committing to 3 dinners in the same hotel is very risky!!! We will have Friday afternoon and Saturday, so I think I will change it to leave on Sunday for Tokyo. My son thought Nikko would work if it is raining, but I think you are right--might get claustrophobic and we won't have a car.

I will get back to my research later today. Thanks a million!

Ok, agoda shows the twin room too, half board. Must be few of them. I saw mention of a breakfast plan with a J-style room at the hotel's odd website.

You can figure that half the cost of a ryokan stay is for the meals, maybe more. And the dinner is on a schedule.

For example, at a traditional ryokan - Momijiso on Miyajima -
room + breakfast + dinner is 18,360 yen,
room + breakfast 11,340 yen,
room only 9,180 yen

That is standard rate, per person. Which is why some places don't accept single guests.

mrwunrfl, I knew when you said getting from Nikko to Tokyo is not simple, I should look carefully. But this explanation boggles my mind. http://jprail.com/destinations/world...d-asakusa.html
We will leave Nikko on Sunday afternoon for Tokyo. When we leave Tokyo we will be going to Haneda airport for a noon flight to Seoul. Right now I have reserved at Park Hotel Tokyo
Shiodome Media Tower, 1-7-1 Higashi Shimbashi, Minato-Ku 1057227 Tokyo
I welcome your advice once again!

Why does it boggle the mind? Do you know how to use Hyperdia? The link you posted simply points out there are multiple routes and the one you take depends on your preferred destination.

Boveney, you must be more used to traveling in Japan than I am. I am working on it though! I do not know Hyperdia but I guess I am about to find out about it.
Thanks!

Planning a Nikko- "Tokyo" trip means first figuring out your actual destination station. Yours is Shiodome. Shimbashi might be walking distance from the hotel (Shiodome to Shimbashi is 1 minute on subway).

When you go to www.hyperdia.com be aware that there are two railway companies in Nikko and their stations are very close to each other. The NIKKO station is JR. TOBU-NIKKO is Tobu Railways and less expensive than JR for this trip (generally speaking, because the best JR itins include the shinkansen).

The best way that I've found to plan the trip is in two legs. The first leg is using the timetables to get to a station in the city. Once there, the second leg does not require using the timetables because the subway and city trains run frequently, so you just need to know the route, not the schedule.

For you, JR Nikko to Tokyo as the first leg according to the timetable. Then just take the next Yamanote Line train to Shimbashi and then subway to Shiodome.

A second option is Tobu Nikko to Asakusa. Tobu has direct limited express trains on that route. Then just figure out the route, not the schedule, for Asakusa to Shiodome. (subway via Shimbashi or Daimon).

A third option might be to take the JR limited express that departs from Nikko Tobu to Shinjuku at around 4:30 PM

Thank you, that is very useful. I have cut and pasted your instructions, mrwunrful. I find that sometimes this all becomes more obvious when you are actually in the place. I am hoping that we will see how much we see of Nikko on our full day there Saturday, and how the weather is doing, and then decide what time we should leave on Sunday. I am looking to buy an unlocked wifi hotspot device so that I have better wifi for planning while traveling.

Uh oh. I am going to start a new thread about the wifi rental questions!