Stay at a Ryokan

Travelers often visit ryokan inns for its peaceful and comfortable atmosphere. Ryokan often take great pride in their beautiful gardens, kaiseki dinners, arts, baths and other common areas for their guests to enjoy. Be sure to take advantage of the various facilities during your stay.

One of the most popular things to do at a ryokan is to indulge yourself in a hot bath. Often the ryokan’s baths are supplied by a natural hot spring (onsen), although ryokan tend to have nice large baths even if they are not supplied by a hot spring. For more information on Japanese baths, see our page on how to take a Japanese bath.

At a Japanese ryokan, one of the highlights is dining on “kaiseki” (a traditional, multi-course dinner). Indeed, many Japanese think of a ryokan as a place to dine on “kaiseki” rather than as a type of accommodation. What exactly is kaiseki? The term “kaiseki” means hot stone in a kimono fold, and it is believed that Zen priests would tuck hot stones wrapped in towels next to their stomach to cure their hunger pangs during their morning and afternoon prayers (the term “kai” means a fold in a kimono and “seki” means stone). In this way it was believed that only a small amount of kaiseki would be enough to take away your hunger. Originally, kaiseki was a simple, vegetarian meal served during the traditional tea ceremony. It was thought the tea would taste better if the guests were not so hungry. Today kaiseki is no longer a strictly vegetarian meal but may also include both meat and fish. One kaiseki dinner can consist of anywhere from 6 to 15 different kinds of food.

After a nice hot bath, many travelers enjoy taking a walk around the ryokan’s garden or neighborhood. In some traditional onsen resorts, such as Kusatsu, Dogo, Shibu, Kinosaki or on Miyajima, it is a common sight in the evenings to see ryokan guests strolling around town in their Yukata and Geta (wooden sandals) enjoying a walk.

Some larger ryokan will be accommodating groups and events. They often include additional restaurants, bars, karaoke rooms, kids rooms, shows and shops on their premises.

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