How Much Does A Ryokan Cost?

Above, our main room at an Atami ryokan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you should ever take a vacation trip to Japan, one of the things you should experience is staying in a Japanese ryokan (Japanese inn).

Ryokans are not all alike. There are expensive ones and there are budget ones. Whichever one is chosen, it is an experience unlike any other.

Above, the view of Atami and the Pacific Ocean from our ryokan room. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

How much does it cost to stay at a ryokan?

City-Cost.com has an article that will answer that question. As I mentioned, there are expensive ones and budget ones. Their article explores a wide range of ryokans.

They begin with:

A huge part of the ‘Japan’ experience is the ability to interact with the Japan of old; visiting historical sites, seeing kimono clad ladies on the streets, eating ancient snacks, getting snaps worthy of a glossy coffee table book and, of course, staying in the nation’s much storied ryokan, those ‘traditional’ lodgings where someone sneaks into your room to make up your futon. Well, that amongst other touches that make up the ‘ryokan’ experience.  As with many things over here, Japan's ryokan perhaps have a reputation for being expensive.  They needn't always be thus.  How much to stay in a ryokan in Japan then?  We take a look a variety of 'Best in Class' establishments across the country to get a gauge of the costs.

Ryokan could perhaps trace their roots back to the Edo period, as accommodations that sprung up along trade routes, providing a resting place for travellers. They were simple affairs; wooden houses, tatami rooms, common baths, and dining halls where everyone gathered during meal times.

That notion of ryokan hasn’t really changed much, and they remain one of the best ways to “feel” Japan. However, ryokan proprietors have shown some savvy to keep these things on the map, so to speak. Today, Japan travellers are presented with a variety of operations that cater to varying budgets, tastes, and just how much of ‘old Japan’ the traveller can take.

To see the range of options and the cost for each, go here.