ryokan experience, is one night enough?
 

My wife and I want to experience a Ryokan (Japanese Inn) while in Japan in October. We are trying to decide if we should spend 2 nights in the Traditional Ryokan we plan to stay in or if one night will be enough to give us a real sense of what it is like. It costs about $425/night for the two of us including dinner and breakfast so cost is the reason why we haven't just booked the two nights in the Ryokan already. If we only stay one night in the Ryokan, we would spend the other night in a Western-style hotel.

Is one night enough or should we go for two nights to really have the authentic experience?

One night will have you wishing for a second night. Our experiences at Tawaraya in Kyoto are among our most cherished travel memories. By all means, stay at a Ryokan, even if it is only for one night.

We are definitely going to stay in a Ryokan. The question is whether it is worth it to spend two nights as far as the cost and the cultural experience goes or if one night is plenty. The Ryokan is not a top-notch well-known establishment so we are not going to be treated like royalty while we are there.

I have only stayed at ryokans far less lofty than the Tawaraya, so I certainly didn't experience what obscure2k did. For the places I have stayed at, one night, or more specifically, one night per Japan vacation, was plenty. But I certainly do not regret spending that the one night in a Japanese inn -- it is a classic travel experience, which everyone who visits Japan should have.

One Night is Sufficient
 

We visited Kyoto for four days staying at the Kyoto Hotel (great) for two nights, then walked about four blocks to the Tawaraya for one night, then back to the Kyoto Hotel. If you check in early you can enjoy your room, private garden and soak in your tub. Dinner in your yukata is a three-hour affair. I think two nights in a row of this would make the second night seem like "old hat". It is definately worth it, but one night will be fine. While in Kyoto take a walk through the food market.

Hostage
 

I find that one night is usually enough even in the top end ryokan (I stayed in Elizabeth Taylor's old room at the Hiiragiya in Kyoto ;) ) The only problem with ryokan is that you're pretty much held hostage from about six o'clock when dinner is served. This is fine if you are at an onsen or resort ryokan, but can be a little frustrating if you are in a city like Kyoto or Tokyo. It's worth spending more on one of the more expensive ryokan as you are ultimately paying for the food and in a country like Japan, you get what you pay for! In Kyoto, the Hiiragiya has a reasonanly priced bekkan (annex).

Last summer we did 2 nights in Kyoto. One night with dinner, one night without dinner. The price was adjusted accordingly. Ask.

Dan

Did you mention where you would be? If you are in a city, then one night might be enough and as others have said, Kyoto is the place for a city Ryokan experience. I've had the pleasure of staying in Ryokans in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Hakone. Hakone was for two nights and I was with family and the experience was simply breathtaking.

The Ryokan we are planning on staying in is in a town north of Takayama. We are using points at Westin hotels for our other stays including in Kyoto to help reduce the cost of the trip.

[QUOTE=spike74]It costs about $425/night for the two of us including dinner and breakfast so cost is the reason why we haven't just booked the two nights in the Ryokan already. If we only stay one night in the Ryokan, we would spend the other night in a Western-style hotel.
QUOTE]

I won't for a moment try to put you off a Ryokan experience - I'm truly envious and just wish I could afford one myself!
So far I've had a 'budget option' in a beautiful old building that USED to be a Ryokan with gorgeous stone onsen, but where the owners weren't able to provide the glorious meals and service (although the food was very nice!). The cost was about 70$ a night each.
It was in the Taiyo-Sanso in Gora, in Hakone, and I wish I could tell you the contact details but I can't find any mention on the web, and I've lost my old notebook - sorry! (nope - I've found it again!)
If you're looking to hang on to the Japanese experience for a bit longer before settling for a soul-less western room, then you could try the state subsidised versions of ryokans - kokumin shukusha
There is a website (all japanese, alas) with lots of beautiful pictures of what's available:
http://www.kokumin-shukusha.or.jp/

However, you can use this WONDROUS website to open it (or any other japanese pages)
http://www.rikai.com

As long as the characters are 'written' into the web page (rather than images) you will get an instant translation just by hovering the cursor over a word. It's an amazing tool.

I do hope you have a lovely time (just don't get a taxi from the airport - it will ruin you!).

Little Machine With A Green Light
 

Whilst writing about my night in an Inn in Hakone - very romantic, it's where my Fiance and I fell in love (we'd gone there as friends) I remembered something not so pleasant.

Mosquitoes :( .

Alas, I'd spent a couple of hours that night as a banquet for the pests, before soon-to-be-Mr LapLap remembered what the little machine was for and plugged it in (he was brought up in the UK and doesn't read Japanese). I never would have figured it out by myself.

So my advice is:
Please ask about any mosquito repelants wherever you're staying in October.
The mozzies weren't too viscious, but they were uncomfortable.

A ryokan is not really a 1:1 substitute for a hotel. A ryokan, especially a high-end ryokan as LapLap has booked, is best suited for relaxation and unwinding. It is not nearly as well suited as a place to touch down, quickly wash your face, rush out and explore the city, stop back for 10 minutes, then go run out again. There's nothing at all wrong with the latter way to visit a city, it's just that I wouldn't choose a ryokan if that were my plan.

That said, I'd definitely go for 2 nights. In many ryokans, you are asked to check in after 3pm and check out in mid- or late morning, which doesn't give much opportunity to peel back many layers of the onion. And while you're likely to be served an elaborate (kaiseki) dinner the first night, the ryokan will likely give you the option for a different type of dinner on subsequent nights. Or, as dhammer experienced, you may be able to opt out of dinner with some appropriate price adjustment.

My guess is that 10 years from now, you'll remember the ryokan experience about 20 times more clearly and happily than the hotel experience. (Not that the hotel would be bad -- but it would simply be one among many.) Go for 2 nights, and be sure to tell us about it when you get back.

I'd agree with wideman on the whole objectives of ryokan stays. It's the whole experience of it, very relaxing and to unwind. That said, I would probably get more out of a ryokan stay in a resort area as opposed to one in a bustling city like Tokyo, where you tend to be on the move all the time.

My wife and I went to ryokans in Beppu and Yufuin, about 35 mins apart in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, to partake of the hot springs baths there. Enjoyed it a lot. I'd recommend staying two nights if you can, but if the budget is tight, just stay for one.

We orginally wanted to go to Yufuin and stay in a Ryokan but decided we didn't to spend 8 hours traveling there from Tokyo and flying was too expensive. Thanks for your advice and thanks to Wideman too... you make a good point about what I would remember 20 years from now.

fyi.. this is the ryokan we may visit http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d...a/yatsusan.htm

We just returned from Japan
 

We used Japanese guest houses to book our two nights at the Nagase Ryokan in Takayama and one night at Shojo-shin monastary at Koyasan. (Family of four: 2 parents and two teenage sons.)

First, I cannot say enough about Japanese Guest Houses' service for booking...easy, clear and FREE. They were great! (You already have their llink, I see.)

Second, our ryokan stay was a definite high point of the trip. It would have not been the same (not so relaxing) one night. If you can afford it, and you are staying at a high quality one---I recommend two nights.