The Nikkō Kanaya Hotel, opened in 1873, is one of Japan's oldest Western-style hotels and a surviving piece of Meiji-era history. Built to accommodate foreign dignitaries visiting the shrine complex — this was the era when Japan was opening rapidly to the West — it hosted Queen Elizabeth II, Albert Einstein, and a long list of heads of state over its 150 years. The dining room, with original wooden panelling and period furniture, still serves Western-style meals.
Even if you are not staying at the hotel, it's worth stopping in for a look at the lobby and, if you can get a table, a meal or drink. The building and its grounds are beautifully maintained and feel entirely of another era. The hotel sits just below the Sacred Bridge.