Ahhhh, I'm drooling (and it's not just the muscle control problem! )

Ordinarily, yes, I'd be gagging to back track, retreating into a mountain onsen... but, Mr LapLap doesn't 'do' mineral bathing - it plays havoc with his skin (or could potentially do so, he certainly will not want to chance it EDIT: he has excema - and please don't anybody say that the onsen at such & such a location are good for this!! It's not always true.).

We've already stayed at (and will be staying at) more intimate Japanese Inns - we actually fell in love in one after all but he's actually on edge in this kind of accommodation. It's to do with the conflict of how Japanese interact with the Japanese and how they interact with foreigners - but Mr LapLap is neither one nor the other and apparantly that creates tension.

So nearly all my Ryokan fantasies have been shelved, and instead of gorging on beautiful pictures of glorious country retreats and fantasising about drinkig tea and nibbling okashi next to an autumn landscape, or sipping sake with a flannel on my head while my skin turns into a wrinkly mush, I have to plod through SPG, ICC and Hyatt sites instead.

Otherwise, you've given some damn good advice :-: I just wish I could take it .... Hopefully, we'll return to Japan soetime soon, when Mr LapLap is elegible for a JR pass and having been away from Japan long enough to welcome a tatami room - and the accompanying service.

Still, I'm extremely grateful for the comments (DoubleJ - that website -and instructions- was a real find) and I will be booking the Sofitel completely happy, believing that mine truly will be the greenest grass. And that's priceless to me. Cheers all!