Ryokan

3/16/2017

Ryokan "旅館" are traditional Japanese inns, and a visit to one is the highlight of many, a trip to Japan.

They can be found throughout the country, especially around tourist areas such as hot spring resorts, ski resorts and in mountains.

Arai Ryokan

Ryokan - Japanese Inns

There are two types of Ryokan; the small traditional-style one with wooden buildings, long verandas, and gardens, and the more modern high-rise sort that are like luxury hotels with fancy public baths.

Since some knowledge of Japanese mores and etiquette is required to visit one, many hesitate to take non-Japanese guests especially those who don't speak Japanese, but some cater specially to this group.

Sakan Hotel

A night at a ryokan for one with two meals starts at about 8000 yen and goes up into the stratosphere. 50,000 yen a night per person is not uncommon for some of the posher ones, such as the famous Wakura Onsen near Kanazawa.

Typical Ryokan Guest Room

People often visit ryokan with the aim of relaxing in a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere. Ryokan go to great lengths to create beautiful gardens, baths and other common areas for their guests to enjoy.

Be sure to take advantage of the various facilities during your stay. Here are some explanations of what to expect during a ryokan visit.

View Of Ryokan Garden

Check-in Time

Ryokan usually operate on a fairly strict schedule and you will be expected to arrive by 17:00. Great emphasis is put on a guest's arrival into the ryokan. Staffs aim to ensure that guests feel welcomed, taken care of and relaxed from the moment they step onto the property.

In the rare event that you have not yet been greeted, stand in the Genkan "Entry Hall", and call out a greeting, such as "hello", or in Japanese "gomen kudasai". For check-in, guests are handed a form on which they are asked to fill out their name, address and phone number. Foreign travelers "except residents of Japan" will be asked to show their passport for photocopying as required by law.

On entry, take off your shoes and put on the slippers you will wear inside the house. Your shoes can be left in the genkan, and will be attended to by the staff. After checking-in you will be led to your room, simply but elegantly decorated and covered in tatami matting. Be sure to take off your slippers before stepping on tatami.

The attendant will provide a series of explanations with regards to the ryokan facilities; the public baths and their opening times will be pointed out, the location and times of meals will be explained and once in your room, you will be shown where to find the yukata, air conditioning and heating controls and other amenities.

Before dinner which is usually served around 18:00 or 19:00, you will be encouraged to take a bath. Some ryokan can accommodate late arrivals, either by delaying or canceling the dinner, and they should be informed as early as possible.

Ryokan guests typically take a bath before dinner, after dinner or before breakfast, and it is not uncommon to bathe more than once during one's stay.

Outdoor Onsen - Rotenburo

Most ryokan baths are open during afternoons, evenings and mornings, and some may be open 24 hours a day.

Ryokan baths are usually gender segregated communal facilities with typically at least one indoor bath per gender. Some ryokan also have private baths for families and couples who wish to bathe together.

Indoor Onsen

Some ryokan, mainly high end places, might also have private hot spring baths in some of their guest rooms.

The large mega-ryokan in particular are known for being accommodating to groups and events. They often include additional restaurants, bars, karaoke rooms, game rooms, shows and shops on their premises that operate into the night.

Modern Sento

Baths are identified by the curtains that hang outside the changing room door. Usually blue or black curtains are used for the men's bath and red for the women's bath.

Small towels are provided in the guest rooms and should be brought with you to the bath. Larger bath towels can be found either in the guest rooms or in the changing room.

Onsen Changing Room Entrance

You will probably wish to change into your Yukata bathrobe before bathing and it's a simple enough garment.

Place the left lapel atop the right when closing it. Secure everything in place with the obi "belt" by wrapping it around your waist.

Ryokan Yukata & Towel Set

Begin in the front and wrap it around your back.
Cross the belt around your back and tie it in the front.
For men, the belt should rest fairly low on the hips.
For women, the belt is tied at the waist.
Adjust the knot so that it lies on your right hip or your back.

If the yukata provided are not big enough, simply ask the maid or the reception for oversized "Tokudai - 特大". Many ryokan also have color-coded yukata depending on sex: pinkish tones for women and blue for men, for example.

Once you have bathed, dinner will be served. Guests usually dine in either their own guest room, in a separate private dining room or in a communal dining area.

In most ryokan dinner is very elaborately prepared and presented from carefully chosen seasonal ingredients; by all means ask if you are not sure how to eat a given item.

Hotel's Banquet Hall

The food in a good ryokan is a substantial part of the experience "and the bill", and is an excellent way to try some high-class Japanese cuisine.

The ryokan should be consulted in advance if you have any special dietary requests or allergies.

Ryokan Dinner

After you have finished the dinner you are free to head out into town; in hot spring towns like Kinosaki it is perfectly normal to head out dressed only in yukata and geta clogs "wear underwear underneath", although doing so as a foreigner may attract even more attention than usual.

Many ryokan have curfews, so make sure that you get back on time.

Kurokawa Onsen

When you return you will find that Futon "Japanese mattress", bedding has been rolled out for you on the tatami.

While slightly harder than a Western bed, most people find sleeping on a futon very pleasant.

Pillows may be remarkably hard, filled with buckwheat chaff.

Futon - Japanese Mattress

Breakfast in the morning is usually served communally in a dining hall at a fixed time, though the high-class places will again serve it in your room after the maid tidies away the bedding.

The breakfast is invariably Japanese style, meaning rice, miso soup and cold fish, although staff may agree to cook your raw egg on request.

Ryokan Breakfast

Some ryokan, especially those with a lot of foreign guests, may also offer a Western style option, while large establishments may offer buffet style breakfasts that include both Japanese and Western dishes. The time and location of breakfast will be confirmed the night before by your attendant, but it is typically held at the same place that you were served dinner.

Checkout Time

Checkout time for ryokan is usually 10:00 or 11:00. This leaves just enough time to have a morning bath and to linger over breakfast. In case you have the breakfast in a dining hall, a staff member might come into your room while you are away eating breakfast to put away the futon. If not, it is acceptable to leave your futon laid out on the floor, although you should try to leave the rest of the room tidy.

Checkout normally happens at the reception desk or in the lobby. While most ryokan now accept major credit cards, smaller establishments may not, so it’s better to carry enough cash with you.

In many ryokan you will be attended to by one person for your entire stay; to check you in, serve your meals, prepare your room and bid farewell as you depart.

Tipping

Although tipping is neither expected nor required at a ryokan, you may leave a tip if you wish, especially at better ryokan where you are attended to by one person for your entire visit.

High-end ryokan are one of the few places in Japan that accept tips, but the "Kokorozuke" system is the reverse of the usual: around 3000 yen "around 1000 yen per guest is appropriate", is wrapped in a paper or placed in an envelope and handed to the maid bringing you to your room at the very beginning of your stay, not the end. While never expected "you'll get great service anyway", the money serves both as a token of appreciation and an apology of sorts for any difficulty caused by special requests "for example; food allergies" or your inability to speak Japanese.

An alternative to tipping is to bring along a small gift that can be shared by the staff. This option is best reserved for small ryokan.

Note: Some establishments with the word "ryokan" in their name are not the luxurious variety at all, but just Minshuku in disguise. The price will tell you the type of lodging it is.

Minshuku "民宿"

Minshuku are the budget version of ryokan; family operated Japanese-style bed and breakfasts.

The overall experience is much the same but the food is simpler, dining is communal, bathrooms are shared, and guests are expected to lay out their own futon "although an exception is often made for foreigners".

Shirakawa Village

Consequently minshuku rates are lower, hovering around 5000 yen with two meals "一泊二食 - Ippaku-Nishoku". Cheaper yet is a stay with no meals "素泊まり - Sudomari", which can go as low as 3000 yen. Minshuku are more often found in the countryside, where virtually every hamlet or island, no matter how small or obscure, will have one. They offer visitors a good opportunity to meet local families and experience the traditional Japanese lifestyle.

The hardest part is often finding them, as they rarely advertise or show up in online booking engines, so asking the Local Tourist Office or a service such as Japanese Guest Houses is often the best way.

A popular place for tourists to experience a minshuku is around Shirakawa-go and Gokayama where visitors can stay in historic traditional farmhouses.

Shukubo "宿坊"

Shukubo are lodgings for pilgrims and tourists, usually "but not always" located within a Buddhist Temple or Shinto Shrine.

Again, the experience is broadly similar to a ryokan, but the food will be vegetarian "Shojin Ryori", which has developed around the Buddhist moral precepts that prohibit taking the lives of other creatures.

Although they are often subtly flavored and simply seasoned, the meals are nonetheless savory, filling and delicious.

Guest may be offered a chance to participate in the temple's activities. Some Zen temples offer meditation lessons and courses.

Ogurizan Dainichiji

Shukubo can be reluctant to accept foreign guests, but one place where that will not be a problem is the major Buddhist center of Mt. Koya in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka, where the monks are accustomed to foreign guests and reservations can be made relatively easily in English.

Japanese Temple Vegetarian Dinner

Kokumin Shukusha "国民宿舎"

Kokumin Shukusha, a mouthful that translates quite literally into "people's lodges", are government-run guest houses.

They primarily provide subsidized holidays for government employees in remote scenic spots, but they are usually happy to accept paying guests.

Akatonboso Tatsuno-shi

Both facilities and prices are usually more comparable to ryokan than minshuku standards; however, they are almost invariably large in size and can be rather impersonal. Popular ones need to be booked well in advance for peak seasons: sometimes almost a year in advance for New Year's and the like.

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