120409-0036 - Nikko Kanaya Hotel

The garden of the Nikko Kanaya Hotel (日光金谷ホテル) in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. The hotel was founded by Zenichiro Kanaya (金谷善一郎 ) as the “Cottage Inn” in 1873 (Meiji 6), shortly after his encounter with Dr. James Curtis Hepburn, creator of one of the first Japanese–English dictionaries. The Cottage Inn was Japan’s first accommodation exclusively for foreign guests. English author Isabella Bird described her stay here in 1878 (Meiji 11) in her famous work “Unbeaten Tracks in Japan.” In 1892 (Meiji 26), Kanaya bought the Mikado Hotel when it was still under construction. The following year he moved his hotel to the new location, pictured in this photo, and named it the Nikko Kanaya Hotel. The hotel had two floors and thirty rooms. Together with the Nikko Hotel, with which it competed fiercely, it was Nikko’s top Western style hotel.

This image forms a panoramic view with 120409-0035.