The team at Secret Retreats have curated a luxury ryokan collection to share the quintessentially Japanese hospitality experience of a Ryokan stay with you. A Ryokan Hotel is a Japanese traditional inn. The oldest Japanese inn, Ryokan are a repository of Japanese culture, an immersive experience from dining through sleeping. For visitors to Japan a stay at a ryokan is really an experience not to be missed. And by understanding the character of a stay and the customs of a traditional ryokan, you will be assured of making the most of your stay and enjoying a really unique and memorable time at each of the luxury ryokan collection you book with Secret Retreats for your holiday in Japan.

 

The Ryokan, Traditional Japanese Inns

Ryokan are traditional Japanese inns that have been providing hospitality, Japanese style hospitality, across the archipelago from north to south for more than 1,300years. An essential part of Japanese culture, according to historical records the very first ryokan appeared in the 7th century CE. As a model and style of hospitality the ryokan is certainly the oldest Japanese inn, and a style of hospitality that travellers can still enjoy and experience today. In most cases ryokan are family owned and family managed inns. Located and found all over Japan, the atmosphere is very much one of staying within a home, and often they are in fact the homes of the family that own them. Ryokan hospitality is infused with what is known locally as the omotenashi spirit. This essential quality of Japanese culture roughly translates as ‘hospitality’ with the Japanese word ‘Omote’ meaning ‘public face’ or the image one wants to present to outsiders, and the word ‘Nashi’ meaning ‘nothing’. Thus the spirit of omotenashi is to provide hospitality, service, from the heart, no artifice, no pretense, nothing hidden or contrived. This spirit is found throughout Japanese culture in their understanding and practice of hospitality and very much exemplified in the oldest of Japanese inns, the ryokan.
There are more than 60,000 ryokan hotels across Japan today, a lot of choice, and a lot of variety in terms of the style of property, the level of service available at the property and of course pricing. With so many ryokan hotels to choose from, selecting the best ryokan in each destination to suit your travel plans is a rather daunting prospect. At Secret Retreats, our team of travel professionals on the ground in Japan are here to help you. We have curated a collection of the pick of the ryokan for our luxury ryokan collection. Our team in Japan is constantly searching for the best travel experiences, the best places to stay, along with places to dine and places to visit. Booking your ryokan stay with Secret Retreats for your vacation in Japan avails you of full concierge support and travel planning too, all provided with the spirit of omotenashi to ensure for you a sincerely good travel experience – this is the Secret Retreats difference.

 

Japanese Inns – Luxury Ryokan and Hotels

The key difference between a stay in a typical hotel and a stay in a luxury ryokan or Japanese inn is in the dining experience. Unlike typical hotels where a restaurant provides a menu that is designed with the commercialisation of dining behind it, at a ryokan the dining style is completely homestyle. Many ryokan do not have a formal restaurant and will only prepare and serve meals to in-house guests at prescribed meal times. The meals at the ryokan are prepared fresh daily from the seasonal ingredients the family sourced at the market that morning. Each meal served at a ryokan is unique and special. Prepared for today with no two days the same, guests at one of the Secret Retreats luxury ryokan collection will enjoy truly local flavours, dining as generations of family members of the ryokan have dined, on traditional recipes made from the freshest seasonal produce. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the rooms and hot-spring baths, or onsen, at many luxury ryokan exist only in order for the guests to enjoy the meals. This is the hallmark of ryokan cooking, and the pleasure of the ryokan dining experience.

 

 

The onsen is a hot, natural mineral water bath. Sometimes the onsen is literally the site of the hot water spring, and sometimes the bath-house is placed near a hot spring and the onsen within the bath-house filled with the hot mineral water from the nearby spring. Bathing in hot water from natural springs in Japan has been practiced for its health promoting and restorative powers for more than 2,000 years, and still today a regular trip to an onsen is a central part of Japanese culture. This is why Japanese inns and hot springs are such a key part of traditional hospitality, and of the luxury ryokan experience. And why the Secret Retreats team have included some of the best onsen hotels in Japan in their curation of the luxury ryokan collection.

 

A Typical Stay at a Luxury Ryokan

To help you enjoy the best possible experience of a stay at a traditional Japanese ryokan,
let’s take a look at what you might expect in a typical stay at a luxury ryokan.

15:00 – Check-in:
Arriving at the ryokan your host will greet you at the entrance with a warm welcome and a deep bow. On entering the ryokan you will need to remove your shoes and change into the slippers provided by the ryokan. Once check-in formalities are complete, you will be taken to your room. Slippers are removed at the room’s entrance and you enter your room bare foot or with socks on. The ryokan staff will inform you about the property, the spa and onsen, the meal times and any other services available. Tipping is not necessary or expected.

 

 

The Guest Rooms at a Ryokan
The design and décor of a typical ryokan is the same as a room
in a classical Japanese home.
The décor and design traditionally includes:- The entranceway or agari-kamachi. On opening the door to your room you step into this small area and this is where you remove your slippers before entering the room.
– Shoji, the sliding paper doors which divide the agari-kamachi from the room.
– Tatami, the floor coverings, which are finely woven reed floor mats.
– Low wooden tables.
– Zabuton are cushions specifically for sitting on.
– Futon are traditional Japanese beds comprising a floor based mattress and quilts that is designed to be set out for sleeping and rolled away during the day, clearing the tatami floor for daytime use.
– Tokonoma is an ornamental alcove built into the wall used for placing flower vases or hanging scrolls and is raised one step above the tatami floor. This is purely ornamental and should not be used to place your personal belongings or luggage pieces.
– Oshiire, a closet for the futon.

Once Checked-in:
The ryokan will provide a yukata or cotton kimono for you to wear while relaxing
in your room or within the ryokan.
Onsen (a natural hot-spring bath):
Many Japanese enjoy a soak in a hot spring before a meal. The Secret Retreats luxury ryokan collection include some of the best ryokan in Japan with private onsen. In public onsen men and women bathe separately, and often public onsen have a no-tattoo policy. Bathing is done completely naked, although towels are provided.