Nikko Stay for 2 or 3 nights?

Plse advise if staying at Nikko for 3 nights is too long as we will be staying in Kusatsu for 2 nights prior to Nikko. From Nikko we head back to Chiba and if 2 nights at Nikko is sufficient, can recommend a place to visit & stay before heading back to Chiba.
Thanks
Victor

Most tourists to Nikko only see the bridge, temples, and shrines at the upper part of town. If this is all you want to do, and you get there early in the day, noon or so, you can see the shrines and leave for your next destination. Many people just take the train up from Tokyo for a day trip.

If you get there late in the day, you would have to spend one night to just see the temple area.

However, there's a lot around Nikko depending on your interests. With a 2-nights stay and early arrival, you could see the temples on the first day, and take a bus up to Lake Chuzenji and beyond on the second day, and check out the morning of the 3rd.

If you want to take in the Urushi Museum, hike to some other waterfalls, pick up some souvenirs at Nikko-tsukemono-mura, watch ninja-dressed actors come down zip lines at Nikko Edo-mura, or head over to Mashiko to check out some pastel colored pottery, you might want to spend a 3rd night.

I personally like to spend 2 nights there after a late arrival, and spend the first day checking out a few antiques stores before they close and get an unagi dinner up by the Sacred Bridge. The next full day I can leisurely check out the temples and museums in the morning, and pick a second place to go in the afternoon. I then move on early on the 3rd day.

Hello,

I am just back from Nikko where I spent two days and one night. I had a really good time and although we rushed a bit to visit the city, I think two days were good enough to enjoy the scenery and visit the beautiful temples and shrines there.
We also wanted to sleep in a traditional ryokan which we did and if you want to try such thing, I have a very good address for you. It's called the Ryokan FUNAMISOU and it's located about 30 minutes from Nikko. There, you will sleep in traditional japanese style with tatami room, bamboo and japanese windows. The scenery outside the balcony is stunning and the onsen in the ryokan is at the feet of the mountains.
We really had the best time there and since you're in Nikko, you should really try this out. The food is excellent and the staff who spoke english talked to us a lot about japanese culture and food.
If you want more information, you can check their website : http://www.japanbooking.info/ryokan/funamisou
I hope this will be useful for you and I wish you have a great time in Nikko!

actually Camille's suggestion sounds good, but I'll throw up the Nikko Kanaya, the first western style hotel in Japan, built in the late 1800s I believe, just gorgeous with brass, red carpet, alabaster etc, it's like being on the Titanic without the ice, located just above the bridge. We were lucky enough to wake up to snow when we stayed, the whole experience was one of our favorites. The rooms are big, the staff are really friendly too. They have a sister hotel up in the mountains a bit, we didnt get to that though.

If you only wish to visit Nikko, you can do it in one day from Tokyo and not bother to spend a night there.
If you would like to go up the mountain and explore more remote areas, then you could consider spending at least one night there.