Originally Posted by
InPlaneSight
If you are going to stay at a ryokan for the first time, I would suggest only one night. Being expensive, sleeping on tatami mats and a futon on the floor with a very hard pillow filled with beans, being served a small quantity of food that you may not like, and the experience of communal bathing, one night may be enough. When I started coming to Japan often, several years ago, I always wanted the ryokan experience at least once during my stay. Today, I wouldn't even consider it.
It seems you have been staying at the wrong places. One night is enough, but not for the reasons you mention. My biggest deterrent to staying one more than one night are (a) price (when you're paying more than 500 bucks a person per night, it adds up quick), and (b) the huge dinner (I can't take that much food two nights in a row). I know that it is possible to cut back on the second night's dinner, but I never bothered to try.