If you are going to Japan, consider staying in a ryokan (a traditional Japanese guesthouse) instead of a hotel, as many Japanese do, when they travel within their country. Many ryokans are small, family-run guesthouses that offer a very Japanese experience. They vary in price and quality, with high-end ryokans costing hundreds of dollars a night, and less expensive ones, even in Tokyo, under $100. Some people call them the Japanese version of the B&B, but it’s nothing like a B&B. Many ryokans have Japanese communal baths in the basement or the rooftop. Indulging in the Japanese bathing ritual is quite a delight: you wash first, then immerse yourself in a large hot pool of steaming water. The more expensive ryokans also serve you a kaiseki dinner (multi-course Japanese “haute cuisine”) in your room.

My Japanese ryokan experience

I stayed in a marvelous ryokan when I visited Kyoto in February 2008. My room had a real tatami mat which I had to be very careful not to ruin. I took off my shoes when I entered my room and donned layers of thick luxurious Japanese robes and slippers for walking around the ryokan. They had Japanese baths in the basement, which I used every evening. There’s nothing like a hot Japanese bath after spending all day walking around the city.

At night, they served a kaiseki dinner in my room, which I ate on a low table while sitting on the floor. Later in the evening, the staff came back to take out the futon from the closet and roll it out for me. In the morning, they came back to put the futon back into the closet and to serve me a delicious Japanese breakfast.

Because many ryokans do not have staff who can take reservations in English, it’s wise to go through a ryokan booking service who can also advise you on other matters, such as in which part of the city to stay, the type of ryokan that would suit your budget and more. I used Japanese Guest Houses, which handles the reservations for many ryokans. So I asked Jeff Aasgaard, owned of Japanese Guest Houses, to give me his list of favorite ryokans in Japan:

Osenkaku in Gunma

Shojoshin-in on Mt Koya

Momijiso in Miyajima

Kikokuso in Kyoto

Kankaso in Nara

Sumiyoshi in Takayama

Magoemon in Shirakawa-go

If you want to stay in a high-end ryokan, Jeff suggests these places:

Hiiragiya Ryokan in Kyoto

Tamahan in Kyoto

Yagyunosho in Izu Hanto

Arai Ryokan in Izu Hanto

Regular readers of Mapplr know that when it comes to hotels, I prefer to stay in places that do not belong to a chain. I like small, intimate hotels or B&Bs whose owners pay a lot of attention to design, atmosphere and personal service. Last winter, I had a chance to go to Japan for the first time. I was invited to speak at a wireless conference in Fukuoka and decided to stay an extra week to visit Tokyo and Kyoto.

Finding a non-chain hotel in Tokyo is challenging. Thank heavens for the ryokan, a Japanese-style B&B. There are many ryokans in Tokyo and Kyoto, but some accept only Japanese guests because they do not have English-speaking staff. Fortunately, ryokans are becoming more popular among foreign visitors so finding one that accepts foreigners isn’t a problem anymore. What to expect from a ryokan: tatami mats, sitting on the floor at a low table to drink and eat, sleeping on a futon which the ryokan staff roll out at night (and roll back into a closet during the day), Japanese breakfasts, a Japanese bath on the premises, and in more luxurious ryokans, kaiseki breakfasts and dinners served in your room.

Here are my favorite hotels and ryokans in Tokyo.

Claska
1-3-18 Chuo-cho
Meguro-ku
Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 3719 8121
www.claska.com/en/
Small hip hotel in Meguro

Yoshimizu
3-11-3 Ginza
Chuo-ku
Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 3248 4432
www.yoshimizu.com/en/ginza/index.html
Eleven room ryokan in the heart of Ginza

Sukeroku No Yado Sadachiyo
2-20-1 Asakusa
Taito-ku
Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 3842 6431
www.sadachiyo.co.jp
Modern ryokan in Asakusa

Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu
1-31-11 Asakusa
Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 3843 2345
www.shigetsu.com
Ryokan by Sensoji temple in Asakusa

Shibuya Granbell Hotel
15-17 Sakuragaoka-cho
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 5457 2681
www.granbellhotel.jp
Boutique hotel by Shibuya station

Andon Ryokan
2-34-10 Nihonzutsumi Taito
Tokyo, Japan 111-0021
+81 3 3873 8611
www.andon.co.jp
Industrial chic meets traditional Japanese design

The b Akasaka
7-6-13, Akasaka
Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan
+81 3 3586 0811
www.ishinhotels.com/theb-akasaka/en/

Mapplr’s favorite ryokans in Japan

If you are going to other cities in Japan or out into the countryside, make sure you check out my favorite ryokans.

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Here is a Google map of Tokyo with my favorite hotels and ryokans.

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I posted a few notes on my trip to Japan, including photos, on Rosecantine.com:

With luggage like this, you’ll never be at a loss at the airport baggage carousel

Cheap fast food in Tokyo: noodles

Funky outfits near Harajuku station in Tokyo

In Japan this week