Ryokan: Japan’s Finest Spas and Inns
Arts & Culture ( 10 )
TOKYO —
“Ryokan: Japan’s Finest Spas and Inns” succeeds as both a guide to accommodations and as a coffee-table book. Authors Akihiko Seki and Elizabeth Heilman Brooke wax poetic about Japan’s “timeless retreats” while also providing reviews of specific ryokan and covering the basics of etiquette — for example, tipping your hostess a few thousand yen in an envelope is perfectly acceptable.
The book profiles 13 Kanto-area inns and 23 others around the country, from the southern tip of Kyushu to as far north as Sapporo. Paging through the beautiful photos (taken by Seki), it’s impossible not to be drawn into this world of rustic luxury — replete with indoor “irori” fire pits and outdoor hot-spring-fed swimming pools ringed by palm trees. Contact details are listed for all properties, though rates are not. (Metropolis)
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TokyoGas
These places look nice but some of the prices are in the stratosphere.
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Ranger_Miffy
Haven't seen the book, but will look for it. I have found that you can go anywhere in Japan, especially outside of Tokyo, and ask the local station master to recommend a nearby ryokan. Usually, they are relatively humble affairs but really comfortable, with sento, tatami, etc. And very reasonably priced. You could save enough there to afford one of this book's more outrageously priced attractions. Just a thought.
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sk4ek
A top-class ryokan with hot springs and two resplendent meals generally doesn't run much more than the room-only rate for a night at the Grand Hyatt. It's just a different interpretation of 'luxury'.
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TokyoGas
sk4ek - You are correct, the interpretation of 'luxury' is the correct way to look at it.
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Wakarimasen
Room at the Grand Hyatt about JPY 30k a night. Cost of top ryokan per person per night = JPY 40k. So unless you travel everywhere alone, I suggest that your analysis is a little off.
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hannari
Some of the 'top ryokan' rooms I know go for anywhere between JPY 30k-100k per person per night (with meals). eg. Kyoto's Hiiragi-ya, Tawara-ya... but those are just some of the places accessible to people without connections. THE ryokan in Kyoto is Ichiriki-tei ... wish I knew how much those rooms cost...
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tigris
Ichiriki-tei is Kyoto's most famous teahouse, not a ryokan.
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hannari
Ah, sorry, thought it was both :p
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Bento
this pair did a book called "the japanese spa" i suppose this is the reprint..anyway in it they review notable rotenburo around Japan and the prices are not restricted to the high end..Tsuruno-yu onsen in Akita has a 3 page coverage.and the rooms start there from 8,000 yen (2007 prices)..this place is definetly worth a visit if you like a Traditional, almost medieval, Ryokan experience.
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telecasterplayer
I can't afford a room at the Grand Hyatt either! Good thing there's the book..
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