This is one of the highest-rated hotels/ryokans in the area, and from appearances that seems justified. It's aesthetically attractive and its proximity to Nikko's major sights is hard to beat. However, it's also priced at a premium, and this doesn't always seem justified.
It isn't really designed for comfort and our room was a bit old and tired, aside from our private bath area which was fresher and very nice. Many of the Japanese staff actively avoid interacting with foreign guests, pushing the one Filipina staff member at us, and while she did her best it all felt rather odd. Information about the hotel was very sparse in English, eg we only found out there was an open-air bath on the roof when we were checking out, and the kaiseki dinner menu was printing in Japanese only. The dinner, which could and should have been excellent, was a bit of a farce as the staff clearly wanted to go home early and rushed us through the courses - the first three were all dropped on us at the same time, and this really detracted from what was meant to be a special experience (breakfast service was much better).
Perhaps the staff felt that as foreigners we would know no better, but I'm an experienced traveller in Japan and we know the difference. It isn't the first time I've stayed at a ryokan which is supposedly higher-end but doesn't really measure up. If I returned to the area I would look for something smaller and more low-key as those places are much better value and usually friendlier.