Relaxing at the Ryokan

A quick recap of what we've already posted about Japan:


Thurs, Feb. 2: We landed in Kyoto in the morning, and spent the day in Osaka.
Fri, Feb. 3: We visited the Kyoto Imperial Palace, then enjoyed some delicious ramen for lunch.  That night, we journeyed out for the Nara Lantern Festival.
Sat, Feb. 4: We were busy exploring Kyoto shrines, visiting Gion, learning about tea ceremonies, and eating tofu.


Yikes - six posts to cover the activities of just three days.  No wonder we're blogging on such a delay!  We also have posts pending to tell you about Sunday, Feb. 5, when we visited Mt. Miyajima and Hiroshima.  We are planning a "He Said-She Said" post about this day, and it's a work in progress.  


But now, I want to jump to Monday, Feb. 6. Yeah, yeah - I know, we're eschewing chronological order.  But heck, it's our blog, and we can do as we wish.  And right now, I wish to tell you about our ryokan experience.  Don't worry, there's nothing really order-sensitive about this post anyway.  So sit back, relax, and let's head off to a traditional Japanese Inn (aka 'ryokan').


Historically, ryokans were constructed along Japan's highways as places for travelers to stop for the evening.  The rooms were simple, baths were communal, and there was a common room for guests to relax and chat.  Today, ryokans are viewed more like resorts/retreats, and tend to be in more scenic, rural areas.  We had one night booked at a ryokan in Gora, a small town somewhere between Kyoto (where we'd been) and Tokyo (where we were headed):

We again had the chance to explore Japan's extensive train system - we took a superfast train out of Kyoto, then switched to a local train to get to Hakone, and finally got on a special switchback-climbing train to take us up to Gora (~400 meters above sea level).  Riding the train up the switchbacks was AWESOME.  Basically, the train would climb, climb, climb, then pull up next to a platform (where the tracks ended).  The conductor & engineer (driver) would change places, then the train would pull out without turning around, with the last car now in the lead.  We would again climb, climb, climb, stop - and the process would repeat.  I believe we did this three times on the way to Gora.  [*cue my father turning green with envy*]

After about 2 hours of travel, we pulled into the Gora station in the pouring rain.  We didn't have directions to the ryokan, but the town was small, and a local shopkeeper helped us out.  On this cold, wet day halfway through our trip, we were ready to take a "rest afternoon" to see what the ryokan experience was all about....

I wish I had taken a photo of the reception/entrance area - but I didn't.  It was very traditionally Japanese, with painted screens, flowers, and low seats.  There was calm music playing. The staff were dressed in yukata (casual kimonos).  An English-speaking staff member helped us get checked in, and we were shown to our room.  After opening the sliding door from the hallway, we saw this:

"Another door?!?!"

To the right, you can see a shoe rack (shoes are left at the door in Japan), complete with ~8 pairs of wooden Japanese sandals of various sizes.  We wore these when we were out and about the ryokan.


To the left is the toilet:

A cozy little spot.
Note the slippers on the door. These are special "toilet slippers".
There are a lot of slipper-rules in Japan.

A close-up of the back of the toilet. I am in love with this design.
After you flush, water comes out of the faucet like a sink, then "drains" into the tank to refill it.
How smart and re-useful is that?!?!
Only problem = You can't use soap. Hmm...

Opening the second sliding door [by the way, we are also in love with space-saving sliding doors now] brought us into the actual room.  A view from the doorway:

We had a hybrid Western-Japanese room, meaning that instead of sleeping on tatami mats (the woven mats you see on the floor), we had actual mattresses placed on a slightly elevated platform.  See?

At the foot of the bed, you can see a yukata for each of us.
Come back soon for photos of us wearing these casual kimonos.

We appreciate how thoughtful AND clever the Japanese are.  In the photo of our mini kitchen area below, you can see the whisk and bowls that are used to make green tea in the traditional tea ceremony way.  If you're feeling lazy, there was also an electric water heater.  Also, note the bamboo mat covering the sink.  Remove it to wash dishes, then replace it over the sink and stack the dishes on it to dry. So smart!!

Japan: Always making the most of a small space!

All the way in the back left-hand corner of the room was another sliding door.  We opened it, revealing a sink and, to the right (blocked by the door), a shower.  

The shower was actually all glass, with one side looking into the sink area and the other looking directly out onto our small patio.  Speaking of patio...

To the left...

To the right...

Now, one feature of a ryokan that I haven't yet discussed is the onsen, or hot spring bath.  Most ryokans have one, or several. The baths are fed by hot springs, and are usually communal, but segregated by gender.  There is a slightly elaborate process required to prepare for a soak: Go to the bath, wash yourself in the shower (so that the onsen water stays very clean), rinse, then soak (with your towel on your head, if you like).  Don't stay too long - the water is hot like a hot tub, and you'll get light-headed if you soak for more than 10-15 minutes.

Now, the ryokan where we stayed also had 3 private onsens.  Basically, each contained two VERY small tubs fed continuously with hot water.  There were walls on three sides, and the fourth side looked out onto a very densely planted garden.  There was no roof.  

The day we arrived at the ryokan was cold and wet.  The onsens are located in buildings separate from building that contains the guest rooms.  Thus, we had to take our things and walk out to the onsens wearing thin kimonos and our wooden sandals (flip flops, really).  [Incidentally, the wet and slippery rocks we navigated on the path to the onsen while wearing said sandals would have been begging for a lawsuit in the US.]  By the time we arrived at the onsen building, we were FROZEN - and after a quick rinse clean, our next stop was a super-heated tub.  Keep in mind - when you're cold, the water feels that much hotter.  And what's the coldest?  The very first thing that hits the water: Your FEET.

I thought Kee-Min was going to leave the minute his big toe hit the water.  He is NOT a lover of super hot water baths.  Although he soldiered on and into the hot water, the whole thing was a bit too warm for his liking.

Now, me, on the other hand - I LOVE a hot shower, so I rather enjoyed the onsen experience.  I'm not sure what the water temperature was - perhaps about 45 C? [We later determined that a comfortably warm bath is about 40 C.]  But after the initial hot shock, the onsen was ... well, quite comfortable.  As long as I didn't let myself think about the other people that had been in the water before me (I told myself that the water turn over was high enough that "my" water was mostly "mine"), or about the potential for bacterial growth (I told myself the water was too warm for most bugs - probably true) - the experience was rather lovely.  But even for me - it only took about 5-8 minutes until I started to sweat and was ready to get out. I was amazed at how long I stayed warm after my soak, despite the return walk through the cold rain back to our guest room.

All warm and relaxed from a hot soak, I returned to the room and promptly took a pre-dinner nap.

It was pouring outside (even if that's not really clear from this photo).

A nap was quite important - we had a very exciting dinner planned fo that night.  We were going to have our first (and last, for this trip) kaiseki dinner!

[And after we return from Cambodia, I'll tell you ALL about it!  Check back soon, though, for some posts FROM Cambodia!]