Accommodation Guide In Japan, Japanese Inns

Japan has a wide range of accommodations from deluxe hotels to small family-run inns. Picking the right place goes a long way toward making or breaking your trip. It depends on your pocketbook and what type of accommodation you feel comfortable with. In large cities, accommodations are almost exclusively Western hotels while in remote villages, there may be nothing but small Japanese inns.

JAPANESE INNS
Staying in a Japanese inn is one of the best ways to experience Japanese culture. We recommend you do it at least once during your trip. The inns are keepers of a tradition that has all but disappeared from the daily lives of Japanese. Perhaps that’s why Japanese enjoy staying a ryokan, traditional Japanese inns. They take great pride in their food their personal service, their facilities and gardens, however small, an their interior design.

There are many types of ryokan, from small wooden inns to large cement buildings with hundreds of rooms. We prefer the smaller inn. Most inns with over 30 or 40 rooms give you cookie-cutter service. The rate for most ryokan includes two meals, dinner and breakfast.

Your room will be a sparsely furnished traditional Japanese room with tatami mats on the floor, a tokonoma alcove where flower arrangd ments and art are displayed and sliding shoji doors with paper panels. So it isn’t a multistoried building, your room will probably look out on a small garden. In older inns, there may not be a private toilet, which, we must complain, is a pain in the middle of the night. Larger inns may have communal bath in addition to the private bath. Don’t be shy. Enjoy th opportunity to take a bath in a spacious tub looking out at nature.

Dinner will most likely be served in your room. As a matter of fact, your room is all-purpose: living room, dining room and bedroom. As you enter the room, you’ll notice a low table with cushions where you sit to drink tea. The maid sets up your dinner on this table. After dinner, the maid moves the table and sets up futon bedding on the floor. In the morning, the maid returns to fold up the bedding and set up breakfast on the table. In larger inns, breakfast may be served in a communal dining hall, often as a buffet. In this case, there will probably be some Japanized Western food items such as ham, bread and coffee.

There are some drawbacks to Japanese inns. They are fairly rigid in their meal times, and you are often out of luck if you want to have a late dinner, say anything after 7pm. They also have rigid check-in and out times, usually check-in is from 3pm and check-out at 10am. Often the maid will be knocking on the door at five after ten if you are still in the room. The inns, however, are happy to hold your luggage.

Another drawback is the attendant frequently comes in and out of your room, bringing tea and meals, and clearing dishes. She does leave you alone after she sets up the futon bedding after dinner, but if you wan a high level of privacy, the whole procedure is intrusive. And some inn wake you up in the morning with music over the loudspeakers.

In ryokan, the price is based per person. If there are more than two people in your group, you may get a slightly lower price. Japanese inns prefer to have a party of four stay in the same room. Ryokan prices begin at about 8000 per person with two meals and can go as high as 70,00! for a deluxe room in a top inn. The average rate is about 15,000 pe person.

How to Behave at a Japanese Inn
Staying at a Japanese inn is a unique experience. Don’t be surprised if you feel like a VIP. At the front door, the staff is usually waiting to greet you and give you your slippers. Take off your shoes and leave them at the entrance. In some larger inns, you’ll wear your shoes to your own room. You may be asked to fill out a registration card in the lobby, but often you complete it in your own room. The staff will accompany you to your room and help you to get settled. Be sure to remove your slippers before entering the tatami mat room.

You’ll get a lot of personal attention from your room attendant; probably she’ll only be taking care of two or three rooms in total. She will serve you Japanese tea and sweets in your room, and, while you have tea, will explain the inn’s facilities and arrange a time for your dinner and breakfast it sounds flexible, but your choice is usually within fairly narrow parameters. She may ask if you would like to order beer or sake (rice wine) with dinner.

Japanese think it’s a luxury to take a bath before dinner and will usually indulge themselves at a ryokan, either in the communal bath or a private bath. After a bath, Japanese don & yukata (cotton robe) provided by the inn and may stroll around garden before dinner. They will wear their yukata until they dress in the morning. It’s okay to wear them to eat dinner and to walk outside in a small resort town, but not in a large city.

Yukata come in several sizes and if you are tall, the room attendant may automatically bring you a larger one so you don’t have to go around with your knees showing. If she doesn’t, ask for XL. Make sure you wear the yukata with the left side over the right, and tied with the belt provided. The deceased are dressed in kimono with the right over the left, so make sure everyone knows you’re still alive and kicking. Sometimes yukata have so much starch, they practically stand up by themselves.
You’ll find special slippers in the toilet room. It’s a real no-no to wear them out of that room because they are considered unclean.

Ryokan serve dinner on the early side, about 6pm, and it can be a drawn-out affair with a procession of courses. If you’re going to arrive after 6pm, make sure the inn knows ahead of time. You may not be able to get dinner after a certain time unless prior arrangements have been made. Some inns will allow you to stay without eating dinner. After dinner, the maid clears away your dishes and sets up the futon bedding. We often enjoy a walk while she tidies up the room for the night. At the entrance, inns have geta (wooden sandals) so you won’t have to put your street shoes back on; if you wear a size 13, you may have to reclaim your own shoes.

Ryokan may lock their doors at a certain hour, such as 11pm. Check with the inn if you plan to stay out late.

In the morning, the maid will put away your bedding and set up your breakfast. If breakfast is in a communal room, the bedding will disappear while you’re out of the room. Check-out is quite early, usually 10am, and you are expected to clear your room by that time.

You don’t need to tip a maid unless she provides you with exceptional service such as washing your clothes or making special arrangements. If you would like to tip her, wrap the money in paper or an envelope and slip it to her after she serves tea or after picking up the breakfast dishes. 1000 to 2000 is sufficient.

Japanese onsen inns (hot springs) basically operate the same way except guests take a lot of baths.
A few tips: