A Ryokan Experience – Staying in a Traditional Japanese Hotel

Japan’s rural inns offer far more than a bed for the night—they’re an immersion into the heart of Japanese hospitality, culture, and cuisine. On a recent walking tour through the Kunisaki Peninsula with Walk Japan, I stayed in three different onsen inns (or ryokan), and each one revealed a different facet of what makes this type of lodging so rewarding.

First, let’s define some terms.

What is an Onsen?

An onsen is a natural hot spring in Japan, known for its geothermally heated mineral-rich water, which is believed to have therapeutic properties. Onsens are often found in mountainous or volcanic regions and are a central part of Japanese bathing culture. Facilities range from public bathhouses to luxury inns with private onsen baths.

breakfast at Kogane, Sansou, in Nakatsu

What is a Ryokan?

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn that offers a culturally immersive lodging experience. Typically, guests sleep on futons laid out on tatami mats, wear yukata (casual kimonos), and often enjoy multi-course kaiseki meals made with local ingredients. Many ryokans feature onsen baths and are known for their hospitality, traditional décor, and tranquil settings, making them a unique way to experience Japanese tradition and comfort.

A Warm Welcome

At every inn, the ritual began at the threshold: remove your shoes, step into the provided indoor slippers, and leave the outside world behind. That simple act of transition set the tone for everything to follow. You may also be offered a glass of juice or something else refreshing as a greeting.

In my experience, you are less likely to find a hotel staff member who speaks fluent English at a ryokan than at a Western-style hotel. But the check-in process itself is pretty scripted in any hotel. You present your passport and a credit card and receive a key to your room, just as in any hotel.

Guide to the Onsen

The real centerpiece of a ryokan is the onsen itself—a natural hot spring bath.

You should find a large towel, a small towel, and an indoor cotton kimono called a yukata in your room. Change into your yukata and bring both towels to the onsen. You will likely be more comfortable wearing your underwear and an undershirt under your yukata. There will also likely be another sort of over yukata to be worn for warmth if needed.

Also, you will often find a pair of socks made to be worn with your sandals. These are yours to use and keep. I find the sandals to be a bit more comfortable when wearing these socks.

At a traditional onsen, bathing is done in the nude, and therefore, there are separate baths for men and women. These entrances will usually be marked with a sign, but the sign will likely be in Japanese. A red curtain with the kanji symbol for a woman will make the woman’s entrance. A blue curtain with the kanji symbol for a man will make the men’s entrance.

The first room in the onsen will have a place to store your clothes. Disrobe here and place your clothes and your larger towel in the basket or other container.

You don’t enter the water to get clean; you get clean to enter the water. The next area will have a place to wash. Before soaking, clean yourself at a washing station, sitting on a stool and using a handheld shower with shampoo and soap.

Only when you are thoroughly clean and the soap is washed off do you step into the steaming, mineral-rich waters—sometimes indoors, sometimes outdoors under the trees. Use your small towel to help wash off, then leave it on the side of the onsen or wear it on your head (no, I am not making that up). Do not let it get in the pool, as it is assumed to be dirty.

There should be a sign somewhere in the onsen indicating the mineral content of the water. You can often change the temperature of the water by mixing it with cold water. I would generally avoid changing the water temperature significantly unless you have private use of the onsen.

When you have soaked as much as you intend, use the small towel to dry off a bit, rinse off if you wish to, and then return to the dressing room to dry off with your large towel and put on your yukata. Take your two towels back to your room and hang them up unless the onsen has different instructions.

There are different onsen experiences at different ryokans.

The first ryokan we visited in Kyushu (Kogane, Sansou, in Nakatsu) had two different onsens. The private one above was for guests only. It was smaller and could only hold maybe 4-6 people. They also had a larger one that was outdoors and was a public onsen for locals in the community. I am told that the women’s public onsen had an area that you could climb up to (still nude, of course) to a small waterfall.

The third ryokan we stayed in (Enokiya Ryokan, Yufuin) had a different setup. It had three onsens, each private for a single individual or a couple. In your room, an electronic display showed which onsens were in use.

I should say that I knew the onsen I was visiting was empty when I brought a camera in for the above photos. Bringing in a camera is not good onsen etiquette.

A Word on Toilets

While a ryokan is a “traditional” experience, you should still expect Japanese toilets, with all that entails. A typical Japanese toilet can wash your bottom with water after you have done your business (rear) or has a bidet function for the ladies (front). Press stop when you want the washing to stop. The privacy function will play music or white noise to mask any sounds you might not want other people to hear from your toileting. The flush and light flush buttons are a water-saving feature that only uses the appropriate amount of water.

What you might not expect is that even though you already took off your outside shoes for sandals or slippers, there will usually be a completely separate set of slippers that are to be worn only inside the toilet area. I appreciated these slippers from the Enokiya Ryokan, which made their function very clear.

Living in a Yukata

After bathing, you will typically wear your yukata everywhere, including dinner. Everyone else will be dressed the same, which added a layer of unity and cultural immersion to the experience. It felt like we were all travelers in the same story.

One detail to remember: always wrap the left side of the yukata over the right. Doing it the other way around is reserved for funerals and will raise a few eyebrows.

Meals That Teach You Culture

Dinner and breakfast at these inns weren’t just meals but almost ceremonies. Each course was a small work of art featuring local ingredients: sashimi, wild mountain vegetables, handmade tofu, grilled river fish, a bubbling nabe hot pot, and sometimes dessert like soy milk panna cotta or sliced persimmon. The meal pictured above was just the first course. It was followed by miso soup, egg custard, tempura, another fish dish, rice with unagi, and dessert.

Finishing your rice is important—it’s a sign of respect, since growing rice in Japan is labor-intensive. You will be expected to eat with chopsticks for most courses, and chopstick etiquette matters: never pass food from one pair of chopsticks to another, as that mimics a funeral ritual.

One advantage of a guided tour, like the hiking tour I did with Walk Japan, is that our guide could tell us what we were eating. I probably could not identify half the dishes on my own.

Designed for Rest and Reflection

The rooms at each inn were designed with intentional simplicity. Expect tatami mats surrounded by sliding paper doors and low wooden tables. The silence was calming. Some inns included modern touches like a flat-screen TV and Wi-Fi. All ryokans I have visited had an ensuite bathroom, but with just a toilet, no shower or bath.

You should not expect to find a bed in the room when you first arrive. Somewhere in the room is a closet with one or more futons, a duvet, and pillows. The staff at the ryokan may set up your futon during dinner, or you may need to do so yourself. In Japanese tradition, it is considered bad luck to set up your futon with your head facing north.

My room at the Enokiya Ryokan was more of a fusion between a traditional ryokan room and a Western hotel. The beds were not futons on the floor, but they still had a raised area with a traditional low Japanese table.

More Than a Place to Sleep

What struck me most—and what I later emphasized on my podcast about my Kyushu trip—was how staying in these inns deepened my understanding of Japan. It wasn’t just about resting after a day of hiking; it was about immersion. From how you bow to your host to how you handle a pair of chopsticks, every small gesture reflects centuries of tradition.

If you’re traveling through Japan’s countryside, consider pairing your journey with a stay in a ryokan.  It offers an unforgettable window into the quieter, more traditional rhythms of Japanese life.