Ryokans and minshuku provide Japanese-style rooms in Japan.
A minshuku is a small scale accommodation facility that is run by a family.
Some ryokan are more upscale, while others offer reasonably priced Japanese-style rooms.
Here, we will guide you through some of the relatively reasonably priced minshuku and ryokan type accommodations.
How to make a hotel reservation
Hotels in Japan can be easily booked through major reservation sites such as Jalan.
Cancellation policies vary from hotel to hotel, but for most "bare-night" hotels, you can cancel up to the day before your check-in date.
If there is a strict cancellation policy, it will be stated in the terms and conditions, so be sure to check.
Please note that for plans that include meals, cancellation fees may be charged from about a week before the reservation date.
For ryokan-type hotels, the hotel may ask you to confirm your meal preferences.
Check-in
In the case of ryokan (Japanese style inns) and minshuku (guest houses), you will generally be given a proper key (not a card key or any other type of key).
In some hotels, you may be asked to leave your key at the front desk while you are out, so please check when you check in.
In Japan, hotels do not require any kind of deposit at check-in.
Therefore, many hotels do not require a credit card for deposit.
(Some hotels do require a deposit.)
Shoes are strictly prohibited in Japanese-style rooms.
Be sure to take off your shoes when you enter the room.
Usually, slippers are provided inside the ryokan, so you can wear them while you are inside.
Some ryokans require you to take off your shoes when you enter the inn.
Hotel Dining
There are also plans that include no meals, but in many cases, ryokans offer plans that include meals.
The style of meals varies, so depending on the ryokan you are staying at, you may eat in the hotel's large plaza like a banquet hall, in the hotel's restaurant, or in your room.
Most ryokan (Japanese style inns) come with what is called a yukata.
At this ryokan.
Bathrooms
Japanese inns and minshuku often have large baths inside the ryokan that you can use. In some cases, there is no bathroom in the room, but a shared bathroom in the inn.
If you would like a room with a toilet or bath, please check carefully when you make your reservation.
Futon (quilted Japanese-style mattress laid out on the floor)
There is a futon in the Japanese-style room, so you lay it out and sleep on it by yourself.
In some ryokan, futons are already laid out for you when you enter the room.
Check-out
Depending on the hotel, the check-out time is usually from 10:00 a.m. to about 12:00 p.m.
If you have already paid for your stay through a reservation website, you will be charged for any additional food or drink (for example, if you ordered beer or other beverages during dinner, you will be charged separately from your plan).
If the reservation is made in such a way that you pay when you check out, you will pay for your stay and food and drinks when you check out.
High-end ryokan types generally accept most payment methods, including credit cards and cash, but please note that some smaller ryokan in rural areas do not accept credit card payments.