While there is no lobby, no restaurant, no fitness center, Tawaraya Ryokan in Kyoto, Japan, offers the few guests accommodated each night tranquility in both the guest’s room with a view of a private Japanese garden and access to a few public rooms, such as this library with its own garden view
During our three-day visit to Kyoto, Japan, we stayed in a traditional ryokan – Tawaraya, regarded as a beautiful example of a small, traditional Japanese inn. “A ryokan (旅館) is a type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603–1868), when such inns served travelers along Japan’s highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata and talk with the owner. Ryokan are difficult to find in Tokyo and other large cities because many are expensive compared to hotels, and Japanese people increasingly use hotels for urban tourism…. However, ryokan are more typically located in scenic areas, such as in the mountains or by the sea… Most ryokan offer dinner and breakfast, which are often included in the price of the room. Most visitors take their meals at the ryokan, which usually promote themselves on the quality of their food. Meals consist of traditional Japanese cuisine known as kaiseki, which features seasonal and regional specialties. (Kaiseki originally referred to light meals served during a tea ceremony, and today refers to a meal consisting of a number of small, varied dishes.) In order for each dish to be enjoyed at the proper temperature, ryokan stress that guests should be punctual for their meals.” – Wikipedia
Visiting during the heart of the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season, the center of Tawaraya Ryokan, Kyoto, Japan, contains an outdoor cherry tree that was in full bloom, providing a calming vista to all guests who walked back to the front entrance from their guest rooms
Adjacent to the small library was a reception room where guests are met and served hot tea upon arrival, Tawaraya Ryokan, Kyoto, Japan
“Tawaraya is the finest ryokan in Kyoto and, arguably, the finest in all Japan. Private gardens and incredible attention to detail make it a very special Kyoto experience… But this isn’t why celebrities and political leaders from all over the world have stayed there. Rather, it’s because Tawaraya is one of the few accommodations anywhere that manages to get everything right. The rooms are impeccably decorated, in keeping with the wabi-sabi aesthetic of spare simplicity, with each item carefully chosen. All guest rooms look out over their own private gardens and invite hours of contemplative gazing. And the staff possess the uncanny ability to know what you want before you do. All in all, it’s a magical little world that you won’t want to leave. Only that would be a shame in a city with as many wonders as Kyoto.” – www.insidekyoto.com
Our traditional Japanese breakfast at Tawaraya Ryokan featured seafood, tofu and vegetables, Kyoto, Japan
This service box contained tofu and vegetables with a separate copper carafe of hot soup heated by the charcoal brazier, Ryokan breakfast at Tawaraya, Kyoto, Japan
Accompaniments for the tofu and soup, Ryokan breakfast at Tawaraya, Kyoto, Japan
Where in the world is Riccardo? 