If you read my Kyoto Travel Guide (see here: Highlights of Japan Part 2: Kyoto), you know that my husband and I had the opportunity to stay in a traditional Japanese ryokan during our visit. It was an amazing experience and I’m so excited to share the details of our stay below.
So, what is a ryokan?
A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn or guesthouse. There are many types of ryokans – many of them are small, family-run establishments however there are several larger hotel-like facilities as well. We opted to stay at a smaller, family-run establishment and felt like it provided a more intimate experience. If you want to follow in our footsteps, book the Ryokan Motonago (4.5 stars TripAdvisor – #14 in Kyoto). I found Motonago after doing extensive googling online and was lucky enough to book the last of the 11 rooms available. So, if you’re interested…book early!
What’s typically included in a ryokan stay?
Staying at a ryokan can be rough on the budget – the average stay per night is around $150-$200 per person. To save money, we only stayed in a ryokan for one night despite being in Kyoto for 3 days. Motonago is considered to be a mid-range ryokan and we paid ~$350 for a one-night stay for 2 people. This included a private tatami mat room, 2 pairs of slippers, 2 yukata robes, and 2 futons for sleeping. We were able to reserve private time in the wooden onsen bathing facilities (once at night, and once in the morning). Additionally, a snack was included at check-in (tea with some mochi dessert), and breakfast (grilled fish, rolled omelet, pickled vegetables, rice, and tofu) was also included in the stay.
Favorite things about staying in a ryokan:
- The personalized service and hospitality! Everyone we met at the ryokan was super friendly and gracious. We were absolutely blown away by the service.
- Experiencing something completely new. We were hilariously confused the entire time we stayed at the ryokan (there was a bit of a language barrier, and we also didn’t want to offend anyone with our American habits….) but had a blast.
- Enjoying the wooden onsen/bath. I’m a neat freak so was definitely nervous about the cleanliness of the bathroom facilities prior to visiting. Turns out, there was nothing to worry about because the wooden onsen was spotless and well-maintained. It felt so nice to be able to take a hot bath after a long day of walking around the city!
- The breakfast. See pic below, enough said.
Some helpful tips when staying in a ryokan:
- Never wear shoes into the ryokan (there’s an area before the entryway where you can take them off). It’s considered extremely offensive.
- Wear your yukata while lounging in the ryokan. Tie your yukata with the left side over the right side (the other way is meant for corpses). Eek.
- Don’t wear slippers (provided to you by the ryokan) onto the tatami mat.
- Allow enough time in your stay to enjoy the ryokan. Between breakfast, time for tea and desserts on your tatami mat, and onsen bathing time…you’ll want to make sure you have enough time to truly take advantage of the experience.
- Some ryokans will give you the option of Western or Japanese style breakfast. It’s all up to personal taste preferences however….I felt that opting for the Japanese style breakfast made the experience much more authentic.
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