December 03, 2004
My stay at a Ryokan
Last night I stayed at a traditional Japanese hotel, also known as a “Ryokan”. It was a welcoming and quiet place, nicely decorated with Japanese tatami mats and typical Japanese furniture and futons. It was situated in an old part of Tokyo with small wooden houses and tiny stores selling flowers, fruits, rice crackers and Japanese handicrafts.
The owner and his family of six people had run the hotel for 53 years. The majority of the guests were international but still a few Japanese business men stayed there to enjoy the simple but cozy rooms instead of a boring and impersonal western style hotel. I totally understand them. I enjoyed a long relaxing bath and lots of green tea. It felt like a spa visit almost! Finally I went to the sembei shop close by to have a look at my favorite rice crackers.
