Our second Ryokan was a very different experience to the first. A proper guest house with paper walls, shared wash facilities and a very welcoming owner, found in a town which looked (from the main street) as it would have done when travellers hundreds of years ago used the Nakasendo Highway, a trail stretching from Tokyo (or Edo as it would have been known as then) to Kyoto.
The rooms again were very simple with tatami mat floors, futons (which even I would admit are incredibly comfortable) and bean bag pillows (which are noisy when you move your head so less comfortable!) The restaurant again had dividing curtains between tables, and of course all shoes to be left at the door! They found me some enormous woollen slippers – much better than the normal ones that just don’t fit!
Dinner and breakfast were amazing. Even the kids ate the majority of each 8 course affair. The owner and waitress took time to explain the food, all locally sourced. Best was the little chicken dumpling in an otherwise mildly tasting soup. The beef was pretty good too!
Our favourite accommodation so far, the only negative for me was the height of the ceilings – not really something our Japanese hosts would be troubled by!!