The ryokan experience
Ryokans are more than B&Bs. While the B&B classification can include someone’s spare bedroom, the ryokan is closer to a inn. Waiting in your room they will have green tea and, sometimes, to counter the tea’s bitterness, sweets. They’re also expected to offer, for additional fees, both dinner and breakfast. Generally we’ve avoided eating in them in the hope of sampling the local cuisine for dinner and saving money with mooncakes or onigiri for breakfast. The evening on Shōdo-Shima, for ¥2000 we ate a full meal including a bit of sashimi, soba, rice, seared pork and vegetables, miso soup with mushroom and melon. In comparison, last night’s dinner in Matsue for ¥1000 included a salad, pickled vegetables, sashimi tuna and squid, rice, fruits, a small baked fish and a bowl of clam miso soup. Yesterday’s Japanese breakfast for ¥600 was a full meal in itself that kept us satiated well into the afternoon. Today’s, for free, was a cup of coffee (tea for S) and toasts with jams.
Bedrooms are either Western or Japanese. Western means a bed. Japanese means a tatami floor (not to be stepped on with slippers), a table usually in the center of the room with the tea and futons which you (or your host) unfolds later in the evening. The pillow is a heavy dense sac filled with, we think, rice shells. Since rooms are the same size, the Japanese one offers more space. Also awaiting you will be a yukata (a robe) and a towel. The yukata is meant to be changed into as you walk around the building. Our books say you can walk around town wearing only a yukata but we’ve yet to see anyone else do it. Often, the bathroom is shared. If so, it is separate from the toilets. Most ryokans have Western toilets although a few also have the Asian crouching style. The bathrooms are usually the Japanese style: a completely waterproof room with one or more shower heads, buckets and stools. The Tokyo ryokan’s was a self contained sealed capsule of plastic. If there’s a hot spring (or hot tub), it is strictly meant for soaking; you must shower before entering it.
The cheapest ryokan we stayed in was ¥7500 for two for the night. The price is typically not linear. Since you get your own room, one night for one might be ¥4500, two for ¥7500 and three for ¥10000. The most expensive ryokan yet was the one in Tokyo at ¥14000 for two without food. S reserved all of our nights ahead of time through the association of ryokan’s website. Where none were available, she deferred to the book or a bit of web searching. Still, the reality is that we’ve yet to stay in a shady place. We could therefore have spent less. We could also have spent a lot more; Western accommodations fetch a high premium. All of our hosts, women, have been genial though. We’ve been offered umbrellas for the rain, maps of cities for tourism (eventhough we already have plenty) and suggestions of shops and places to see at future stops.
Since the sun rises before 6 AM and sets before 6 PM, we’ve shifted our schedule from the one in Beijing and Seattle. Although bars (with yakitori, for example) are easy to find, we’ve mostly avoided the nightlife. We’re usually asleep before 9:30 PM and awake at 6:30 AM. That’s great since ryokans usually have a 10 PM or 11 PM curfew. Although my body’s happy to be back on its early morning cycle, S is having a harder time. Of note, the shrine across the street was beating the drums this morning at 6 AM.