my japanese ryokan research began 0
I’ve been trying to squeeze time into my schedule for our family vacation to Tokyo. Due to the language barrier in most Japanese websites, it’s been a little challenging planning our itinerary. Unlike most of our family vacation trips, planning a trip to Japan requires more research in the forums since travelers’ reviews posted in English would help heaps!
(picture courtesy of http://www.ito-yamatokan.jp)
Navigating around Tokyo is easy but finding an affordable, nice, cosy, comfortable, luxurious ryokan can be confusing. Since most travelers would spend a few days in Tokyo and Disney Tokyo, it’s usually a day trip to Mt Fuji or Hakone. But if you take time to do your research in Trip Advisor (which happens to be my favourite travelers’ review website), you will find many free and easy travelers who trek outside Tokyo.
After all that research, I’ve found a liking in several luxurious ryokans. In Japan, ryokans (japanese guesthouses) are divided several styles which determine the pricing during your ryokan stay:
- Category D: 7,000-10,000 yen per guest
- Category C: 10,000-15,000 yen per guest
- Category B: 15,000-20,000 yen per guest
- Category A: 20,000-30,000 yen per guest
- Category A+: 30,000-50,000 yen per guest
- Category A++: 50,000-70,000 yen per guest
- Category A+++: 70,000 yen and up per guest
The best place to understand what a ryokan is, the pricing, the style, ryokan etiquette, ryokan dining options and the different cultural explanations is to check out http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com
I’ll be posting my ryokan research for our family vacation to Tokyo in the next few posts.
