Japan’s Best Product…. A Traditional Japanese Inn, Hot Springs, and Cuisine
Japan has some amazing things… but I think one of my favorite products of Japanese culture is the ryokan – a traditional style inn that serves traditional meals and is usually based around healing and relaxing hot springs — it is really the pinnacle of relaxation. Enjoy this quick tour of a local humble traditional ryokan and especially the meal!
These are sprinkled all throughout Japan and sometimes getting a reservation is hard with many speaking only Japanese and using outdated reservation systems. But you can still find many or enlist a service to help. The one featured here is in an area called Yudanaka in Nagano prefecture. This spot is well known because of it’s proximity to the Jigokudani Snow Monkey park where you can see monkeys bathing in their own hot springs in the mountains.
Typically these stays are a bit more pricey because they are more upscale and include the hot springs and a full traditional meal. One night stay per room here was about 17,000 yen or $117 during the winter in 2023 so this was a very afforable stay… you just need to find them and get there!
It was about an hour drive from Tokyo but you can also easily use the Shinkansen and local transporation to get there as well.
Have you enjoyed bathing culture before? Where is your favorite place to soak up hot springs?
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:22 Room
0:35 Hot springs
1:23 Traditional Dinner – Kaiseki
3:38 Hostess bringing more dishes
5:10 Dressing in lounge clothes – yukata
5:43 Breakfast spread with juiciest sweet strawberries
6:05 Thank you, relaxing vibes, and other Japan scenes
AloJapan.com