Non-Smoking Ryokans in Kyoto?
 

My wife and I are considering staying in a luxury, traditional ryokan in Kyoto for our trip this July.

We're very sensitive to the smell of smoke and http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/ does not list any high-end traditional ryokans in Kyoto as being non-smoking.

For those who have stayed in a luxury ryokan, how noticeable is the smoke smell? Are guests allowed to smoke in their rooms?

Any suggestions of a ryokan in Kyoto (or anywhere else in Japan for that matter) where smoking is allowed, but the rooms don't smell like smoke at all?

Thanks!

If you are staying at one of the high-end ryokan (eg Hiiragiya or Tawaraya), ask them to "air the room thoroughly", pointing out you wish to avoid the smell of cigarette smoke. I'm confident they will do their best to excise the tobacco smell. Some of the cheaper ryokan will also make an effort.

I have never seen a Ryokan with no-smoking rooms. When you enter your room, the first thing you notice (often) is the tray on the table in the center of the room with a caddy of tea, a plate of local sweets and a big old ashtray... "Welcome to your room. Sit back, relax and enjoy a smoke."

Having said that, I have never felt overwhelmed by a smell of stale smoke at a traditional ryokan - even though it's a smell to which I'm pretty sensitive. (And I have often asked to move rooms at Western style hotels because of the stale cigarette smell). I think there might be a reason that the traditional Japanese rooms don't smell so bad - they don't have carpets and drapes and the bedding is shut away in a cupboard until bed time. As a result, there are fewer surfaces for the smoke to stick to than in a typical Western hotel room. (The tatami mats and wooden surfaces get wiped down with a damp cloth, which removes any residues from the cigarettes of previous occupants - unfortunately there's no good way* to remove the cigarette burns that some idiots manage to leave in the tatami).

(1) If you're staying at a high end ryokan, by all means ask them if they have a no-smoking room. (Even if they don't, it will be a good message to them that there is such a demand).

(2) As bsloane advised, you can emphasize to the ryokan you want them to air the room so as to remove as much residual tobacco smell as possible. I believe that the staff at the top end ryokan will not need any encouragement to do a great job of cleaning the room... but it's always good to tell them your special needs. (They are incredibly attentive to their guests wishes, but sometimes, some things are just impossible... ).

(3) I would also advise that you check-in as early as possible and visit the room straight away so that you might have a chance of requesting a change to a different room in the event that you aren't happy with the smell of the first room they offer. The problem is that many ryokan don't have a huge number of rooms and the arrangements are often inflexible because some parties require adjoining rooms and so on. (And bear in mind that not all rooms are equal - and they won't swap you around with someone who booked a larger, more expensive room... no way, no how).


I did find one web site that lists inns with no-smoking rooms:
http://www.clipit.jp/kyoto-all-f08.html

They list only one ryokan that offers no smoking rooms - Yachiyo:
http://www.ryokan-yachiyo.com/

I have never stayed there - but the location of Yachiyo looks good. And I like that the price structure is pretty flexible - they have options for people who don't want meals in the ryokan as well as "economy" full board (23,000yen per person when two people share a room), "standard" full board, "deluxe" full board (which will probably be more luxury food than you can stomach) and so on. For the prices they charge, I would expect a pretty damn good experience.

I couldn't find any information about no-smoking rooms on the ryokan web site... so I wonder if they really do have smoke-free rooms. You might want to email them and find out...

If you're super-sensitive about smoke and you don't want to take any risks, then you might have to forgo the ryokan experience and opt for a Western hotel (maybe a large Hilton, Hyatt or Starwood - where they have a better understanding of people who demand smoke free environments).

It might be worthwhile to ask the Westin Miyako Kyoto if any of their traditional rooms are no-smoking. (They have a set of very attractive, traditional Japanese rooms and some people prefer these to the full-on ryokan experience - which can sometimes be too much).

*There is one way to remove those cigarette burns. However it requires you to remove entire lengths of straw from the tatami and redistribute the remaining "threads" to cover the gap. You can only do this a couple of times before the mats start to look threadbare.

Try Ryokan Shimizu in Kyoto. Clean and easy on the nose. :P

Sanosuke!

I think most ryokan are "easy on the nose" - but few have non-smoking rooms.

Is the Ryokan Shimizu that you're talking about? They don't offer non-smoking rooms:
http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kyoto/shimizu.htm

When I was there in 2004, the room I was in had no ashtray. ;)

Sanosuke!

I've stayed in several high end ryokans and have never had an issue with smoke. And I'm sensitive to it, too. Most of them have signs saying "please don't smoke in bed" (I know, bed is ironic in this case). I can tell you for a fact that in Kyoto the Hiiragiya, Kinmata, and Tawaraya did not have any smell of smoke in the room. You should be safe at any of them.

Also, I don't know how you're defining luxury, but the Seikoro Inn (and less luxurious but still luxurious ryokan) also had rooms that did not smell at all of smoke.

Have fun. Don't worry about the smoke thing in these places, in my experience!