Originally Posted by evergrn

There's a wide gamut of ryokans in Jpn and, even amongst expensive ryokans, you'll find varying quality, modernity and value. First of all, my ryokan stays are almost exclusively at places with natural hot springs. Onsen goes hand in hand with the whole yukata, kaiseki, futon experience. I wouldn't really care for the ryokan experience if it didn't have natural onsen. Another thing is, there are newer modern ryokans that place a premium on cleanliness, chic design and modern comfort (kind of like what Aventine was alluding to), and then there're what you'd call "shinise ryokans," places with history and tradition. However, many shinise ryokans have redone themselves and stayed fresh and modern, whereas other shinise ryokans have stayed old and stuck in the past (albeit still fairly well-maintained). There're some ryokans that have not renovated in >30yrs. I've not stayed at Tawaraya, but sounds like it fits into that latter category. Some people actually like that. I don't. My favorite ryokans are onsen places with clean, modern feel. There're many places like that all over.

Service/hospitality at ryokan can be a funny thing. I've stayed at places where they pamper you from check-in to breakfast. But as you get close to check-out time, all that goes out the door at some places. Cleaning ladies start working right outside your door, blocking hallway with stuff and making no bones about it as you weave your way through. One time I also had a bitter experience where I asked if we could stay no more than 30min past check-out and the staff graciously said 'take your time.' We ended up checking out a mere 10~15min past check-out and they'd still snuck in a 3000yen charge for late check-out. I raised issues with that, and the lady simply gave a one-sentence explanation matter-of-factly with polite and innocent keigo. To be honest, I got really p/o'd because she's politely blowing it off as nothing yet she's not going to reverse it. But in that setting, you'd look like an a** if you make a scene. So I just put up with it. As strict as Japanese hotels are about late check-out, no hotel chains in Jpn would charge you late fee for checking out 10-15min late. So with ryokans, it's kind of a hit and miss, good and bad, even within the same stay. Of course, I've had plenty of stays where it was excellent from start to finish.