Ryokan Experience in Japan

A stay at a Ryokan is a uniquely Japanese experience that wraps you in local hospitality, nourishes the body with local seasonal cuisine, and soothes the spirit.

Ryokans are traditional Japanese inns dating back to the Edo Era (1603–1868), when they hosted samurai, merchants, and others traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto. Today Ryokans are mostly located in scenic areas with onsens (natural hot springs) and serve as a weekend getaway for the Japanese. For a visitor, they offer a glimpse into traditional Japanese culture and customs.

A co-worker suggested the resort town of Shuzenji, in the Shizuoka Prefecture. Its resort town vibe and prolific local artisans provided a nice contrast to nearby Tokyo. This became apparent as soon as I transferred from the shinkansen (bullet train) to the local train and entered the local’s Japan.

Shuzenji was built around the area’s onsens (natural hot springs). It is said that high priest Kobo Daishi Kukai (774-835), a great Japanese Buddhism priest, possessed miraculous powers. He encountered a boy washing his sick father with in the riverbed. Moved by the situation and the boy’s filial piety, he tapped his Tokko, a ritual bell with a single-pronged handle, on a rock in the riverbed. Hot water started flowing and cured the father. This is how the Shuzenji hot springs came about. The spot is called Tokko-no-yu and to this day hot water continues to flow.

I arrived at Kikuya Ryokan and had a wonderful time. The service was impeccable and impossibly polite. Dinner was exquisitely prepared and the onsen was a soothing and natural commune with nature.

Shuzenji is best explored on foot. I fist stumbled across a small shrine. It was early in the morning and the only other person around was a lady sweeping the shrine entrance. This was the experience I envisioned, not the reality of old Edo choking with tourists and chicken wire (to keep discourage pigeons). The Shuzenji Temple was busier as a tour bus pulled up halfway through my visit. But I was still in a very zen place.

While I did come across a nice park, I was a little disappointed in not finding a dense bamboo forest to explore. I probably didn’t look in the right place. Finally, I explored the local businesses selling beautiful Japanese pottery and woodcarvings. I even caught a glimpse of a local chef making noodles by hand. Amazing!

Quick Tips:

Try to at least have a Japanese-English dictionary if you are heading off the beaten path. English speakers thin out a bit.

Read up on Japanese and Ryokan etiquette to make sure you know what to expect. Manners and respect are very important and you are likely to make some mistakes, but it is best if you can avoid the simple mistakes.

Ryokans vary greatly so try to find one that matches your personality and comfort levels. I used two websites to compare and learn how ryokans work: www.japaneseguesthouses.com and www.ryokan.or.jp. I booked my stay through Japanese Guest Houses and had a smooth transaction.

Once you are in Shuzenji’s resort area, walking is the best way to explore. Otherwise you’ll miss all the little treasures and moments tucked around town.

Best Way To Get Around:

To get to Shuzenji from Tokyo, I took the shinkansen (bullet train), made a connection to a local train (outside of the JR system) and from the Shuzenji train station took a bus up to the resort area. I’m sorry; I don’t have the train and route names. I got my original directions from a tourism office. But it was relatively easy, so easy in fact that I managed to navigate the system completely drunk.

No, I am not an ugly tourist. Since I don’t really care for fish, by the time I checked out of the ryokan I was starved and had a wicked fish taste in my mouth. Figuring some Coca-Cola would kill the aftertaste; I scoured the town to no avail and wound up in a beverage store where I picked up a can of what looked to be lemonade.

On the train ride back I scarfed my lone energy bar and chased it with the awful tasting drink. When I got up to change trains the world around me spun and I realized I had just downed hard lemonade and it had gone straight to my head. Somehow I managed to make all my connections making only a small nuisance/spectacle of myself and still managed to meet up with my friends in crowded Shibuya, sweating and clutching the wooden fish I had bought in Shuzenji.

Upon arrival at the Kikuya Ryokan, an elderly gentleman traded my shoes for slippers. I had never felt as large and lumbering as I did at that moment, with the heel of my 10.5 feet sticking out of the back of my slippers.

After checking in, I was led to my room by the hostess that would be attending me during my stay. After removing my slippers, we entered the room and she gave me the tour of my 10 tatami mat room; rooms being measured in standard 33.5” x 70.5" tatami mats. The room was spotless and uncluttered. It featured a glass enclosed sitting area, overlooking the garden and the marvelous old trees that dominate it. In keeping with tradition the room also had a Tokoma, a built in alcove where a flower and hanging scrolls were displayed.

The room also had a private bath with a decent dressing area and a REALLY small tub. The point being you sit on the stool, wash up and rinse using the provided bucket and then rinse off with the shower attachment. The room actually had a separate WC where the toilet was. This goes back to the concept of separating clean and unclean areas. There were even bathroom specific slippers provided.

Before she left, she provided me with a yukata (robe) to wear in the room and around the ryokan, which I then proceeded to explore.

The garden at the heart of the ryokan is idyllic and relaxing. You can explore it once you don the appropriate Geta (wooden clogs). There is a lot of shoe changing in order to maintain clean and unclean areas separate. Kikuya also sits beside the Katsura River and this provides some beautiful vistas as well.

Sometime after dinner, staff will come into your room to "make" your bed. In actuality, the table at the center of the room is moved aside and a large futon is laid out. It was quite comfortable and I fell asleep while contemplating the scroll in my room.

In July 2003, I paid about $250 for my one night stay. While at the time it was the most I had spent on a room night, it was still among the lowest in the "luxurious" ryokan category.

Kikuya is reopening in July 2006 after a 9-month renovation, and I am curious if it updated its somewhat outdated 80s feel. Kikuya has 40 rooms, 4 onsens (hot spring baths). The indoor baths are open 24 hours a day, the outdoor baths from 5:30am until 11:30pm. For more, see my entry on Onsens.


Overall, my stay at Kikuya was excellent if short (I only stayed one night). I recommend spending at least two nights to allow yourself to detoxify and adjust to a slower, more contemplative rhythm.

One of the highlights of a Ryokan stay is dining on kaiseki, a traditional, multi-course dinner. It is said that kaiseki is a meal at one with nature. It reflects only the freshest and highest quality local ingredients, the season, and local culinary traditions.

I should confess that I am not a huge fan of Japanese food. I like California sushi, Shabu Shabu, and Japanese curry houses. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of fish, even when cooked. Still, I was looking forward to the ritual of the meal. And even then I was worried of committing some etiquette transgression.

Dinner was served in my room by my hostess. As expected, dinner was laid out in a beautiful array of serving ware: porcelain, glass, wood, and lacquer. It was a truly sumptuous sight—if I liked fish that is. I can’t remember when the hostess slipped out of the room, probably in an effort to allow me to save face as I struggled with the meal.

I started with the miso soup, and tried the appetizer-sized items. Some were quite nice. I was now faced with a choice. Do I tackle the sashimi (raw seafood) or the small fish grilled whole, and impaled on a stick? I started with the sashimi because it looked so fresh. As I tried each type and found myself unable to eat more than a bite or two of what I am sure is the best sashimi I would ever eat, I could hear my sashimi loving friends screaming "Infidel!" inside my head.

I was now down to the impaled fish. There it was, upside down with a stick in its mouth, over a basket of still warm coals, a drop of condensation hanging from its snout. "You know you want me." it taunted. "I may be fish, but am one of the few things on this table that has been close to a heat source…" I was delirious with hunger by this point.

After silencing the fish by eating it, I sat there for what seemed an eternity, wondering if the dinner was over. Eventually I got up and went to the onsen for a nice soak. To my horror, I returned to my room to find the table cleared and a fruit dessert waiting for me. I had taken off before dinner was done.

The next morning, when my hostess returned to serve breakfast, I attempted to apologize using her Japanese-English dictionary, and probably made a bigger fool of myself. It might have been the hunger, but I thought breakfast was great. Everything from the taro cake-looking squares to the quick-fried minuscule fish was pretty good.

Don’t allow my experience to deter you. I am sure dinner was excellent. And even so, it is one of the most memorable meals I’ve had, just for the sheer care that was taken in preparing and presenting the meal.

The Shuzenji temple is one of the oldest structures in eastern Japan, the original structure dating back to 807. High priest Kobo Daishi Kukai (774-835), said to be responsible for the areas hot springs, commissioned his apprentice, Priest Gorin, to erect the temple. The temple remained a Shingon Sect for four and half centuries before declining.

Doryu Rankei (1213-1378), a Zen master from China pivotal in spreading Zen Buddhism in Japan was exiled to the temple under suspicion of being a Mongolian spy in 1275. When cleared of the suspicions, Priest Rankei revived the declining temple and changed the denomination to the Rinzai sect. The Temple thrived for nearly a century, until it was devastated in the revolt against the Governor-General reigning Eastern Japan.

The temple was rebuilt in the 15th century by So-un Hojo (1432-1519), a chief of a powerful samurai clan who restarted it as a Soto Zen in 1489.

The Main Hall has been destroyed many times by fires, and the present one was rebuilt in 1883. The main object of worship is a statue of Dainichi Nyorai, or the cosmic Buddha usually revered by the Shingon Sect. Casual visitors are not allowed to view it except for the first 10 days of November, when it is on public display in the Treasure Hall (admission fee).

After the madness of Old Edo in Tokyo, Shuzenji Temple was a breath of fresh air. Quiet and introspective, it felt like a place of worship as opposed to a tourist attraction. Even after the tour bus arrived!

The temple is 10 minutes by bus from the Shuzenji train station. If you are already in town staying at one of the ryokans, it is a short walk as the town is pretty small.

Onsens are Japanese natural hot springs of volcanic origin, and a starring feature at some ryokans. Communal bathing is part of Japanese culture and onsens provide an opportunity to break down the hierarchical nature of society through the mutual nakedness of skinship.

The word skinship was originally used to describe the closeness between a mother and her child due to the physical contact of their naked skin. Contemporary use of the word includes the close relationship that develops between friends or coworkers when they share their nakedness at a public bathhouse. Unquote.

I headed to the outside onsen after dinner. Or so I thought, I inadvertently walked out before the meal was over. Oops. I entered the changing room, stripped, and headed to the outdoor shower stall. Onsens are only for soaking and you MUST wash all dirt AND soap off you before stepping into the onsen.

By the time I had done all this, the one guy that was in the onsen took off so I actually had it all to myself. Probably for the best. I’m not quite sure I was up to engaging in skinship. I was still getting used to just being naked outdoors. But once I got into it it was hard to leave. It was nightime when I went and it was great just sitting there gazing at the stars.

Kikuya also had indoor onsens and onsens that could be reserved by families or couples.