Ryokans - not for everyone, especially not klutzes

A last minute decision to travel to Takayama left me with limited accommodation options. I didn't want anything too expensive as I was travelling on my own but I wanted something close to town so I could walk to all the sights easily. Takayama is a traditional old town in a picturesque mountain area with many onsen nearby so it it not surprising I ended up in a ryokan.

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. I stayed at a ryokan call Yado Matsui, a cheaper style ryokan at 4,500 yen a night per person. Ryokans can get very expensive depending on where they are located, whether they have private gardens, natural spring onsens and the standard of the meals they provide.

 The entrance, shoes off everybody!

Rooms in ryokans are made using tatami mats and sliding doors. Bathrooms are shared, some have private toilets The beds are futons on the floors with pillows filled with buckwheat or beans. Usually dinner or breakfast is included, depending on your package selection. I opted to skip the breakfast add on at 1,000 yen. Pickles and miso in the morning just ain't my thing!

I understand the appeal of trying out the traditional style accomodation and the owner was very friendly despite the language barrier but these places just aren't my cup of tea. I try to follow the etiquette and I remembered to take off my shoes at the door. But when the owner was showing me my room, I stepped onto the tatami mat with my rubber slippers still on. Big no, no! I apologized profusely but the pain in her eyes is still brutally clear to me, even now, days later.

When it was time to use the shared bathroom late at night, I tried to walk on the balls of my feet. I attempted to slip quietly down the stairs. I urged myself to be silent as a ninja as I tiptoed into the bathroom for my midnight tinkle but it was not to be. The sliding door rattled, the steps squeaked even when I thought I had avoided the soft spot. One rubber shoe slid off and bounced along the hallway. It was no good, I am no ninja, I am no dignified yukata wearing local, I am just a western klutz, out of my natural habitat.

I returned to my bed and tried to beat my buckwheat pillow into something more comfortable. I rolled onto one side and then the other, eventually falling asleep. The next morning I was woken by sunlight blasting through the crack in the curtains and the sounds of my ryokan neighbour coughing up something from deep within his lungs.

After a nice hot shower downstairs, I dried off as best I could with my teeny tiny towel. I ate some breakfast at the low table in my room and went to brush my teeth in the pair of sinks in the hallway next to my room. Halfway through my teeth brushing, my phlegmy neighbour joined me, he attempted to make some conversation in Japanese and then proceeded to continue coughing up whatever he had swallowed last century into the adjoining sink.

In the end, you get what you pay for. This was budget accommodation and it was close to everything I wanted to see, it did the job.  Just be aware, if you want to stay at a ryokan, maybe just try it out for a night or two and see if you like it rather than booking it for a week or something crazy.