Tsuru-no-Yu – Nyuto Onsen, pages 208–213
JAPANESE INNS
AND HOT SPRINGS
A GUIDE TO JAPAN’S BEST
RYOKAN AND ONSEN
Akihiko Seki and Rob Goss
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore
Title Page - Kikkaso Inn – Hakone, pages 30–33
Seiryuso – Shimoda, pages 58–61
CONTENTS
The Ryokan Experience
A Tradition of Fine Hospitality
A Guide to Ryokan Etiquette
AROUND TOKYO
HAKONE AND MT. FUJI AREA
Gora kadan – Hakone
kai Hakone – Hakone
kikkaso inn – Hakone
Shuhoukaku kogetsu – Lake kawaguchi
IZU PENINSULA
Asaba – Shuzen-ji onsen
kai Atami – Atami onsen
Yagyu-no-Sho – Shuzen-ji onsen
Seiryuso – Shimoda
OTHER AREAS AROUND TOKYO
Tokiwa Hotel – kofu
kai nikko –Lake Chuzenji, nikko
Honke Bankyu – Yunishigawa onsen, nikko
KYOTO & NARA
KYOTO
Yoshida Sanso – northeastern kyoto
Aoi kamagowa-Tei – Central kyoto
Gion Hatanaka – Central kyoto
Hiiragiya – Central kyoto
kinmata – Central kyoto
kinpyo – Central kyoto
Seikoro inn – Central kyoto
Hoshinoya kyoto – Arashiyama, Western kyoto
Suisen – Yunohana onsen, kyoto
NARA
Shikitei – Central nara
Wakasa Bettei – Central nara
CENTRAL JAPAN
Bettei Senjuan – Minakami onsen, Gunma
Ryugon – Minami-uonuma, niigata
Hoshinoya karuizawa, nagano
Houshi – Awazu onsen, ishikawa
Araya Totoan – Yamashiro onsen, ishikawa
kayotei inn – Yamanaka onsen, ishikawa
Wa-no-Sato – Miya Mura, Gifu
WESTERN & SOUTHERN JAPAN
nishimuraya Honkan – kinosaki onsen, Toyooka
Tosen Goshobo – Arima onsen, kobe
Sekitei – Miyahama onsen, Hiroshima
Sansou Murata – Yufuin, kyushu
Tenku-no-Mori – kagoshima, kyushu
HOKKAIDO & NORTHERN JAPAN
HOKKAIDO
Ginrinsou – otaru
kuramure – otaru
zaborin – niseko
Hina-no-za – Lake Akan
NORTHERN HONSHU
Saryo Soen – Akiu onsen, Sendai
Tsuru-no-Yu – nyuto onsen, Akita
Travel Tips
THE RYOKAN EXPERIENCE
Browsing through the ryokan brochures at a Japanese travel agency reveals much about the variation and intricacies of the ryokan. Some ryokan specialize in food, at others the baths are the star, while with a few the history and traditions are the main appeal, but in most cases it’s the combination of factors that makes a ryokan special. Take somewhere like Hoshinoya Kyoto, a contemporary ryokan, where you'll find Michelin-starred cuisine coupled with a blend of European and Japanese design sensibilities. At the historic Hiiragiya in Kyoto, the lore of the ryokan itself combines with impeccable hospitality and the finest of traditional kaiseki cuisine.
One thing that unites all great ryokan, of course, is the food. The seasonal produce, regional specialties, and presentation will vary from ryokan to ryokan, but dinner usually follows the multi-course kaiseki template with a set succession of anywhere between seven or eight to a dozen or so courses. The culinary procession begins with a small, often single bite appetizer course—called sakizuke—designed to whet the appetite before the second course, the hassun, which appears with a larger selection of small dishes that will almost always include a fish of some kind and several other ornately presented seasonal morsels.
An elegant starter course at Hoshinoya Karuizawa (see pages 140–143). Multi-course kaiseki meals are an integral part of the ryokan experience and many ryokan pride themselves on providing meals that are better than what you get in an expensive MIchelin-starred restaurant. Of course the room rates reflect this, but keep in mind that half or more of what you are paying for is the food.
Next typically comes the mukozuke, a selection of three or four types of sashimi; perhaps a few slices of sea bream and some succulent small shrimp or scallop hearts. The season and the region will determine the selection, but being sashimi, all will of course be raw for dipping in a little wasabi and soy sauce. Next up comes the simmered takiawase dish, which could be any combination of vegetables or tofu with meat or seafood, and then the futamono dish—a light soup. After that will likely be a flame-broiled yakimono dish, which more often than not is seafood, before a vinegared suzakana dish that refreshes the palate ahead of the main dish (although several other small courses may also follow first),