Japan: Our First Ryokan

adventures in Kyoto - first days

Going to Japan has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I started watching Miyazaki’s ‘My Neighbor ToToro’ and fell in love with the countryside of Japan.

In May of 2018, the stars aligned, and we bought our tickets to fly to Japan. The plan was to spend 8 days in Japan and then fly to Oahu for three days, then to Kauai for the remainder of our trip.

  After spending two days in Tokyo, we took the Shinkansen train to Kyoto, where we stayed at a ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, featuring tatami-matted rooms and typically including two traditional meals. Hands down this was the highlight of our trip.

Our ryokan was located in a rural area of Kyoto, high up on a mountainside. After taking another train and a long taxi ride through a quiet town admist a forest, our cab driver stopped part way up the mountain and instructed us to get out. We paid him and he told us to cross the bridge on foot. It was a beautiful suspension bridge over a river and on the other side was our inn. It was the only building on this side of the bridge, surrounded by forest. To be honest, it felt like we had stepped into Rivendell, if you know LOTR. It was that breath taking.

 We got to the ryokan early, so we checked our bags and hiked up to the top of the mountain to walk the grounds of Jingo-ji temple, built in the 800s. Afterwards, we bathed in our private onsen, put on our yukatas, and was served an 8 course dinner in our room.

“A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, featuring tatami-matted rooms, an onsen, and typically including two traditional meals. Hands down this was the highlight of our trip.””

Crossing the bridge to our ryokan in Kyoto.

 

the 8 course dinner, the river, and the mountain views, it was like a dream.

I still dream about eating the kobe beef we had that night. They served it in a ceramic pot with a little flame below it. The fire cooked the kobe in butter with other veggies. I didn’t know marbled beef could taste so good. After dinner we were exhausted. The ladies at the inn, cleared our dinner plates and set up our tatami mats for the night. The next morning we had a traditional Japanese breakfast in a communal room with other guests.

After spending one night at the ryokan, we then went on our way to explore the city of Kyoto. But, I’ll never forget our night at that ryokan. It was worth every penny, and if you have the chance to go to Japan. I highly recommend spending one night in a ryokan!

Looking back, Kyoto is my favorite prefecture in japan

More about our adventures in Japan to come.