Have you ever stayed at a traditional Japanese hotel? In Japan they have a number of different types of hotels such as capsule hotels, business hotels, love hotels, western style hotels and of course the old style hotel.

More like an inn, these traditional style hotels are called ‘ryokan’. In the city they may be located in more modern premises, but in the country towns they usually appear more like the image we have of Old Japan. However, even at a city ryokan hotel, step inside and you will be instantly immersed in Japanese culture and hospitality. The staff will make you feel most welcome, and will even take care of transforming your room from a private dining room, into a bedroom come nightfall.

Featuring lovely decor, many ryokan have relaxing hot springs either attached to them, or conveniently located nearby. The traditional-style rooms often mean sleeping on the floor, but the soft futons and tatami matting will ensure you have a peaceful sleep. In the morning ditch the Western breakfast (which you’ll usually find is just toast!) and try a carefully prepared multi-dish Japanese meal.

The combination of different foods and flavors is not only healthy, but a taste-sensation and a great way to start your day of traveling or sightseeing with vigor. We thoroughly recommend booking into a ryokan when you visit Japan, after all if you want to stay in a western hotel why are you visiting Japan for anyway!

TAGS: RYOKAN, JAPAN HOTEL, TATAMI, FUTON, ONSEN, HOT SPRINGS

This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2006 at 10:40 am and is filed under Culture, Travel, Accomodation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.