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Ryokan and Onsen Etiquette: Essential Knowledge

Time, experiences, relationships—these are precious. Time in a Japanese inn does not beat to high-speed rhythms. Is that not why ryokan time appeals? The rich experience of truly feeling one with Japanese-style living, even for a night and a day, is rare and yes, very different. Interacting with hosts and fellow inn guests takes the meaning of international understanding to a personal level. The more guests know of ryokan and onsen expectations and customs, the more they can feel at ease. Allow these particular Japanese customs to suavely coax all who cross the threshold, who slip into steamy hot spring waters to pause...to relinquish distracting concerns…to delight in the many exquisite facets of a Japanese spa inn. Herewith, essential truths of some ryokan and onsen rituals:

If you are not fluent in Japanese, it is preferable to fax or e-mail your reservation request. English is more readily understood in writing than on the phone. You can expect to receive a written response. Keep in mind that for the most part, English is little understood. Unless we have specifically stated here that an innkeeper is fluent, you should expect to be trying to speak Japanese.

The New Year (January 1-3), Golden Week (April 29-May 5), and Obon (August 13-15) are Japan's highest travel seasons. Expect to pay maximum rates, and be aware that rooms are often booked more than a year in advance for these popular times.

Since a night in a ryokan includes a set dinner and breakfast, rates are per person and not by room. Usually, service charges are included in the rate, but some ryokan charge an additional 10 to 15 percent. A five percent consumption tax and a bathing tax of ¥150 per person will be added to your bill.

Personal checks are not popular in Japan and are rarely accepted by ryokan. Most ryokan accept major credit cards, but it is wise to confirm acceptable means of payment when making reservations.

Tipping is generally not customary in Japan, but if you wish to express appreciation for unusually attentive hospitality and room service provided by your nakai-san ("maid") upon departure, you can present ¥2,000-3,000 in a small envelope.

A nakai-san is the specific hostess assigned to care for you during your stay. Upon arrival, you are likely to be welcomed by the nakai-san and guided to your room. She will help you fill out the hotel register. She may serve you tea and a sweet bun, and— depending on the ryokan—serve you dinner and breakfast. She will explain where dinner will be served and may ask if you have a time preference. At some point during the evening, she will return to your room to pull out the futon (one or two floor mattresses and a cover quilt) for sleeping. Traditional Japanese pillows are filled with buckwheat husks.

Check-in is usually around 2:00 or 3:00 pm, and it is best to arrive before 4:00 pm, if you would like to follow Japanese custom and enjoy a spa bath before dinner.

At the inn entrance (genkan) you will find slippers for you to use during your stay. You should leave your shoes in the entryway and use slippers within the inn. Remove your slippers before stepping on fragile tatami floors, and use the special bathroom slippers, when provided. Try to avoid the comedy of being spied in your bathroom slippers outside of the bathroom! If you decide to take a stroll in the garden, use the zori or geta thoughtfully provided for you. Leave your in-house slippers beside the garden door and slip on Japanese outdoor footwear.

A typical Japanese-style room will come with a tokonoma, an alcove display for flowers and treasured works of art. This seemingly empty space is considered sacred and is, therefore, not a spot to sit or stash your bags. Each guest is supplied with a yukata, an informal cotton kimono, and a haori or tanzen, short robes often made of silk stripes. Yukata, haori and tanzen are to be worn anywhere within the inn, and yukata may also be used as pajamas. Tie your yukata with the left collar on the top. Buddhist tradition stipulates that the right flap only appears on top when a person is dead.

Onsen are often open all day and night, although they may be closed for mid-morning cleaning. The frequency with which you take to the baths is up to you. It is not uncommon to visit the baths before dinner, after dinner, late in the evening, after drinks in the bar, and before or after breakfast.

You may think you know, but here is "how" to take a bath: don your yukata and feel free to bring a small cosmetics bag of preferred toiletries, shampoo, comb or brush. Generic brands of shampoo and body wash are usually provided. Bring along the towel or towels provided in your room. Men and women's baths are most often segregated, and entrances are usually labeled in different colors. In the changing room, place your yukata in one of the baskets. Bring the small towel and any toiletries to the showering area. Before entering the mineral baths, wash your body with the hand-held shower nozzle or bucket (oke). Beside the onsen waters there may be a small mineral water bath (kakeyu) for pre-washing your body and acclimatizing it to the hot temperatures. Fill a bucket with these waters and splash them over you prior to entering the communal bath. Take the small towel with you into the hot springs area. That scant piece of terrycloth is your only chance of modesty, but it is not to enter the waters. Some people drape the towel over their heads, others set it aside.

Onsen temperatures vary. Waters can be warm and comforting, sometimes very hot. The soothing benefits can be felt after only a few minutes, so feel free to alternate between hot and cooler baths. Since the mineral content of certain waters is particularly good for the skin, it is not considered necessary to bathe or rinse after a final onsen soak.

Some inns have private onsen baths adjoining the rooms or kazukoburo, family baths for private use. But communal bathing is as Japanese as the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that fascinated and inspired American Impressionist Mary Cassatt. Her now famous "Woman Bathing" is a focused, unselfconscious tribute to a ritual that holds great meaning for the Japanese. Stroking the body with soap, removing a day’s dirt and floating in a warm watery buoyant embrace-these are pleasures and spa joys the Japanese continue to hold dear.

Guests at Yumoto Choza, situated at the foot of the northern Japanese Alps, can choose to hike, climb or wander in the white birch forests; The quiet grounds of Kikusuiro, the oldest ryokan in Nara, provide an ideal place of rest; Yagyu-no-Sho on the Izu Peninsula is nestled in the thick of a bamboo forest in Shuzenji; Saryo Soen in northern Japan, charms with its garden tea-ceremony cottages with pastoral views; Tsuru-no-Yu in northern Japan is one of the most popular "secret" onsen in all of Japan.