Japanese Ryokan, Japan

The World’s Oldest Hotel Is a Ryokan and Has Been Run by the Same Family for 52 Generations

Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Yamanashi Prefecture opened in 705 AD and holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest operating hotel. The second-oldest hotel in the world is also a ryokan: Hoshi Ryokan in Ishikawa Prefecture, founded in 718 AD. These are not historical footnotes. They illustrate something structural about the ryokan as an institution: it is a form of accommodation that has existed, largely unchanged in its essential character, for over 1,300 years.

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. In its full form it offers tatami-matted rooms, futon bedding laid out by staff, onsen (hot spring) bathing, and kaiseki meals served in your room or a private dining space. In its reduced form it might be a small family-run property in a mountain town with a shared bath and a simple breakfast. Both count as ryokan. The experience varies enormously by price and region.

What You Are Actually Paying For

The central confusion for first-time visitors is the pricing structure. Most ryokan operate on ippaku-nishoku (one night, two meals), which means the price quoted per person includes a multi-course kaiseki dinner and a Japanese breakfast. The meals are not optional add-ons. This is why ryokan rates look alarming compared to hotel rates until you account for what is included. A mid-range ryokan charging JPY 20,000 to JPY 30,000 per person per night is providing accommodation, two meals, and onsen access. A luxury hotel charging JPY 20,000 per room is providing a bed.

Kaiseki refers to a sequence of small dishes, each using seasonal and regional ingredients, presented with attention to visual arrangement as well as flavour. The format originated in the light meals served during tea ceremony. A full kaiseki dinner in a high-end ryokan might run ten to fifteen courses and take two hours. Breakfast is typically Japanese: rice, miso soup, grilled fish, pickled vegetables, and tofu. It is filling and unhurried.

Onsen Etiquette

The rules are straightforward but non-negotiable. Shower before entering the communal bath. No swimwear; communal onsen are used naked. Keep your towel out of the water. If you have a tattoo, contact the ryokan in advance. Many onsen ban tattooed guests, a policy that originated to exclude yakuza members whose full-body tattoos were considered gang identification. Some properties now offer private baths for guests with tattoos as a workaround; others have no tattoo policy at all. The ryokan’s booking page will usually state the policy clearly.

Private onsen rooms (kashikiri onsen), where you rent a bath for a set period, are available at many properties and solve both the tattoo and privacy issues. They cost extra but are a reasonable option for couples or families.

Where to Stay: Key Regions

Hakone, roughly 90 minutes from Tokyo by train, is the most accessible onsen-ryokan destination for visitors based in the capital. The best rooms face Mount Fuji across Lake Ashi; cloud cover can obscure the mountain, which is something to accept rather than plan around. Ryokan in Hakone-Yumoto are the most budget-accessible entry point; properties in Miyanoshita, Gora, and Sengokuhara run from mid-range to high end. Budget JPY 15,000 to JPY 25,000 per person per night for mid-range, JPY 30,000 to JPY 80,000 for upper-tier properties.

Kyoto concentrates several of Japan’s most celebrated ryokan, particularly in the Gion and Higashiyama districts. A ryokan in Gion puts you within walking distance of the geisha districts, early-morning temple approaches, and the preserved streetscapes that most of Kyoto has lost. Gion Hatanaka, which has hosted foreign dignitaries and high-profile guests for decades, charges around USD 400 to USD 600 per person per night including meals. Budget ryokan in Kyoto are harder to find but do exist in areas outside the centre.

Takayama in Gifu Prefecture is a mountain town that has preserved its Edo-period centre almost intact. Ryokan here tend toward the rustic and are excellent value compared to Kyoto and Hakone. The local sake breweries and the morning markets (Jinya-mae Ichiba and Miyagawa Asaichi) make it worth a two-night stay.

Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture is the archetype of an onsen town: seven public bath houses at which all guests can bathe using a pass provided by their ryokan. The practice of yumegiuri, hopping between bath houses in your yukata, is a genuine local custom rather than a tourist confection.

Booking Mechanics

For properties available on international booking platforms, Rakuten Travel often prices ryokan 10 to 25 percent below Booking.com for the same room, because Japanese domestic booking sites have lower commission structures. Many mid-range and high-end ryokan also offer direct booking discounts of 5 to 15 percent through their own websites.

Book 3 to 6 months ahead for cherry blossom season (late March to late April), 3 to 4 months ahead for autumn foliage (November) and Golden Week (late April to early May), and 4 to 6 months ahead for Obon (mid-August). Mid-week stays outside peak season can sometimes be arranged 2 to 4 weeks out.

When booking, state any dietary restrictions in your message. Kaiseki menus can often be adjusted for vegetarian or fish-free requirements if notified in advance. Last-minute notification is ineffective, because the kitchen sources ingredients to order.

What to Know Before Arriving

Check-in at most ryokan is between 3 pm and 6 pm. Arriving outside this window is possible but should be communicated in advance. Dinner is typically served at a set time, either 6 pm or 6:30 pm; arriving late means your meal is held or served cold. This is not a hotel with a flexible room-service window.

Remove shoes at the entrance genkan and change to the slippers provided. Inside the tatami room, remove the slippers. The yukata (lightweight cotton robe) is worn to dinner, to the bath, and around the property; the left side wraps over the right. You will be given a thicker haori jacket to wear over it in cooler weather. Most ryokan have an earlier check-out than Western hotels, typically 10 am or 11 am, to allow time for room preparation before the next arrivals.

The futon is not laid out when you arrive; a staff member sets it out in the evening, usually while you are at dinner, and collects it in the morning. This is not intrusive; you will not see it happen.

A Note on Value

A good ryokan experience is expensive relative to standard hotel accommodation in Japan. It is also unlike anything that can be replicated outside the country. The combination of the seasonal kaiseki menu, the onsen bathing, the tatami room, and the particular form of attentive Japanese hospitality (omotenashi) that characterises the best properties constitutes a kind of experience that has no real equivalent. One night at a well-chosen mid-range ryokan is more representative of Japan than a week in a business hotel in Tokyo, which is why most people who do it once tend to plan the next one before they have left.

Book the ryokan with private onsen access if it is within budget, eat the breakfast slowly, and plan nothing for the morning after arrival.