Ryokan Resting

We stayed in ryokans throughout our trip. These ryokans were usually budget places that welcome foreigners. Loos were all clean but outside the bedroom, futon were comfy and I watched lots of fascinating ads on the little TVs.

Andon Ryokan, Tokyo

We stayed in Andon Ryokan in Tokyo. The staff are most helpful and friendly, especially Yuki-san who speaks some Indonesian! It's a budget modern ryokan but it's stylish, impeccably clean and even has a very fine jacuzzi on the 4th floor that you can book for your own use. It was designed by a professor of architecture from Waseda University. It's a 10-minute walk from Minowa Station, and not in the bright lights of Tokyo but it's 2 stops away from Ueno station so it rather convenient for train travel, and the neighbourhood has shitamachi atmosphere aplenty. There are some good restaurants nearby - Iseya, a restaurant widely recommended by many, including Rick Kennedy in his Little Adventures in Tokyo, for its Edomae-style tempura, a horse sashimi restaurant (Isaac gasps!) and Owariya sobaya.

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Osenkaku, Takaragawa Onsen

Great ryokan experience. Awesome food, excellent service and what a view!

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Murakamiya Ryokan, Kyoto

Convenient location near the station. Guests have to leave the ryokan from 10am-3pm every day for cleaning. When we got to the front door of the ryokan, Howie realised that it was the same place he stayed in his backpacking trip in 2001. He clearly remembers sitting on the step, putting on his shoes, when an American couple asked him whether he knew if there was a McDonald's nearby. At night, I took one of the many Lonely Planets jettisoned by previous guests and saw that Murakamiya Ryokan is on the recommended list. So, if you're seeking a true traditional ryokan experience, you might wanna check out Tawaraya or some other place. We bought loads of food from a supermarket and had a take-out feast in our room on the first night. I particularly remember the sweetness and aroma of the steamed kabocha (small Japanese pumpkin) and the tiny Nara strawberries that perfumed the whole room and tasted like summer on my tongue. Their strawberryness surprised me. They were not watery and insipid like the giant strawberries you often get air-flown to this part of the world. Howie bought a slab of karashi mentaiko (a spicy roe of some fish) to eat w/ rice. I do realise that my accommodation review is actually becoming a food review in disguise.

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Seikan-so Ryokan, Nara

I'd specifcally requested for a garden-facing room when I made the reservation because I had read that this ryokan has the prettiest garden. It did. And the room was large and comfy. The ryokan is located in the pretty Naramichi district, the old quarter with many merchant homes (now converted into craft shops and galleries). But the large inn is old and the corridors and hallways are very dark. Throw in the red carpets, yellowed chandeliers, empty rooms and sad, quiet air, and you've a combi that made me rather uneasy at night, especially when I had to walk to the bathroom. But I am also not your paragon of courage so you might find it just perfect and cosy.

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