Ryokan in Nagano region
August 15, 2010 8:12 PM Subscribe
We are going to Japan in October, and feeling lost on figuring out a ryokan in the mountains. Please help, or point us to a travel agent that can.
My SO and I are headed to Japan in October. We think we can handle planning Tokyo and Kyoto and the travel in between, but we would like to do a nice ryokan somewhere in the mountains (Nagano prefecture probably?) and it's quickly overwhelming us.
Generally what we are looking for is the following:
Someplace that is not ridiculously hard or long to get to. 2-3 hours from Tokyo or Kyoto is ideal (by train), much more than 4 is probably a no go. I do not care for buses in mountains but I will do a short bus transfer if required.
Mountains and natural beauty, with some hiking, that we can get to from the ryokan. We can rent a car while we're at the ryokan if it isn't too hard for two non-Japanese-speaking foreigners to navigate.
Nice. We will spend the money for a very nice place with good food and private baths in the room, up to a point. Good bath/onsen facilities are definitely a high plus for us.
We would also be interested in any travel agent recommendations for planning this sort of thing if you have them. We're in Manhattan, if locale matters.
Thanks!
My SO and I are headed to Japan in October. We think we can handle planning Tokyo and Kyoto and the travel in between, but we would like to do a nice ryokan somewhere in the mountains (Nagano prefecture probably?) and it's quickly overwhelming us.
Generally what we are looking for is the following:
Someplace that is not ridiculously hard or long to get to. 2-3 hours from Tokyo or Kyoto is ideal (by train), much more than 4 is probably a no go. I do not care for buses in mountains but I will do a short bus transfer if required.
Mountains and natural beauty, with some hiking, that we can get to from the ryokan. We can rent a car while we're at the ryokan if it isn't too hard for two non-Japanese-speaking foreigners to navigate.
Nice. We will spend the money for a very nice place with good food and private baths in the room, up to a point. Good bath/onsen facilities are definitely a high plus for us.
We would also be interested in any travel agent recommendations for planning this sort of thing if you have them. We're in Manhattan, if locale matters.
Thanks!
I was looking for a place recently (opted to check out Chiba this time around) and Nagano was mentioned. Perhaps something in here could help.
I also like using Google maps to zoom over places and watch the ryokans popup:
GoogleMaps
posted by lundman at 8:27 PM on August 15, 2010
I also like using Google maps to zoom over places and watch the ryokans popup:
GoogleMaps
posted by lundman at 8:27 PM on August 15, 2010
What's your travel budget for getting to this ryokan? What's your per-person nightly budget for the actual ryokan?
For example, if travel funds are an issue, it makes sense to stay at a ryokan in the mountains between your times in the Tokyo and Kyoto regions - you can go to a ryokan en route to Kyoto from Tokyo.
If you have a bit more time, and a bit more money to spend on travel, then 2-3 hours will get you to any number of interesting places north of Tokyo. I found this place in Iwate Prefecture, about 3 hrs north of Tokyo, on the Genbi Gorge.
But everything depends on what you want to do.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:44 PM on August 15, 2010
For example, if travel funds are an issue, it makes sense to stay at a ryokan in the mountains between your times in the Tokyo and Kyoto regions - you can go to a ryokan en route to Kyoto from Tokyo.
If you have a bit more time, and a bit more money to spend on travel, then 2-3 hours will get you to any number of interesting places north of Tokyo. I found this place in Iwate Prefecture, about 3 hrs north of Tokyo, on the Genbi Gorge.
But everything depends on what you want to do.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:44 PM on August 15, 2010
Ah, yes, Japanese Guest Houses should be able to help you out.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:46 PM on August 15, 2010
posted by KokuRyu at 8:46 PM on August 15, 2010
Tragically outside of your 4-hour range, but my koto teacher really likes Kamikochi.
Closer to Osaka, Koya-san is a nice place, but as the lodgings are in Buddhist temples they are not nearly as luxurious, with communal bathrooms and more traditional Buddhist monk food.
posted by that girl at 9:11 PM on August 15, 2010
Closer to Osaka, Koya-san is a nice place, but as the lodgings are in Buddhist temples they are not nearly as luxurious, with communal bathrooms and more traditional Buddhist monk food.
posted by that girl at 9:11 PM on August 15, 2010
I've found IACE Travel to be quite good in the past. It's probably worth giving them a call to see if they might be able to help. They also have a Manhattan office if you like doing things in person.
Your trip's gonna be awesome!
posted by caaaaaam at 9:15 PM on August 15, 2010
Your trip's gonna be awesome!
posted by caaaaaam at 9:15 PM on August 15, 2010
We used Japanese guest houses and were quite happy with the one we stayed at in Gunma Prefecture. It was all but deserted except for us and we took a public bus up to Lake and Mount Haruna to shop and ride the swan boats on the lake. It was maybe two hours max (?) from Tokyo (we were at the Hotel New Otani). The ryokan itself was kind of in a weird area but our room was HUGE and no one else was in the baths at all.
posted by GaelFC at 9:25 PM on August 15, 2010
posted by GaelFC at 9:25 PM on August 15, 2010
Isae Lafferty can help you over email (unless you're in Beaverton, OR and can visit her in person).
posted by halogen at 9:29 PM on August 15, 2010
posted by halogen at 9:29 PM on August 15, 2010
We were at a ryokan last October in Hakone; south of Tokyo, easy to get to, and beautiful. There are a ton there: we stayed at a place called Taisekan, I think, and it was $500 a night with kaiseki meals for dinner and breakfast. They had a private onsen you could book for an hour.
If you do pick Hakone, I recommend going to the open air museum. It's really, really cool.
posted by mckenney at 9:40 PM on August 15, 2010
If you do pick Hakone, I recommend going to the open air museum. It's really, really cool.
posted by mckenney at 9:40 PM on August 15, 2010
In the general vicinity of Tokyo, Hakone is a good option, as it's pretty close, easy to get to, and has a lot of public transportation. Other than Hakone, Gunma, specifically Minakami, is pretty nice, though there are definitely issues with buses. Other than that, Kinugawa in Tochigi is quite beautiful, and very close to Nikko, so staying overnight in Kinugawa, then going to the shrines in Nikko is a good overnight trip. Kamakura is also pretty good, it's surrounded by mountains, faces the sea, is filled with old temples and shrines, and is one of the nicer towns in the Kanto area.
posted by Ghidorah at 1:38 AM on August 16, 2010
posted by Ghidorah at 1:38 AM on August 16, 2010
If you do plan to rent a car, you should get an international driving permit issued before you go to Japan. More info is here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2022.html
posted by twblalock at 4:14 AM on August 16, 2010
posted by twblalock at 4:14 AM on August 16, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions so far.
What's your travel budget for getting to this ryokan? What's your per-person nightly budget for the actual ryokan?
Travel budget as in time? Don't want to spend more than a few hours, planning on spending 2 or 3 nights there. As in money? Flexible, but we don't want to fly. Per-person nightly is flexible. I really can't be more specific than that, we could spend several hundred a night for the right place if someone told us it was worth it, but we would happily spend less for a good experience.
I have looked at the japanese guest houses website, but it isn't enough to get us over the feeling of being lost.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:21 AM on August 16, 2010
What's your travel budget for getting to this ryokan? What's your per-person nightly budget for the actual ryokan?
Travel budget as in time? Don't want to spend more than a few hours, planning on spending 2 or 3 nights there. As in money? Flexible, but we don't want to fly. Per-person nightly is flexible. I really can't be more specific than that, we could spend several hundred a night for the right place if someone told us it was worth it, but we would happily spend less for a good experience.
I have looked at the japanese guest houses website, but it isn't enough to get us over the feeling of being lost.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:21 AM on August 16, 2010
Tokyo and Kyoto plus Nagano -- what's your schedule? Two, three weeks? Hakone might be more realistic then Nagano. Whatever, you first day in Tokyo should be like this.
a) Wake up at 3AM because of jet lag. Awake again at 4, you're starving!
b) Subway to Tsukiji for sushi breakfast. (Nothing else is open) Maybe explore the Hindu-style Buddhist temple there, afterwards.
c) Finally, things are opening up. Back towards Tokyo station, at Yurakucho find the Tourist Information Center (TIC). They speak English there and can book you rooms anywhere in Japan.
posted by Rash at 11:33 AM on August 16, 2010
a) Wake up at 3AM because of jet lag. Awake again at 4, you're starving!
b) Subway to Tsukiji for sushi breakfast. (Nothing else is open) Maybe explore the Hindu-style Buddhist temple there, afterwards.
c) Finally, things are opening up. Back towards Tokyo station, at Yurakucho find the Tourist Information Center (TIC). They speak English there and can book you rooms anywhere in Japan.
posted by Rash at 11:33 AM on August 16, 2010
Response by poster: Tokyo and Kyoto plus Nagano -- what's your schedule? Two, three weeks? Hakone might be more realistic then Nagano. Whatever, you first day in Tokyo should be like this.
2 weeks. My SO barely even wants to go to Kyoto but I have been told it is a must-see. We would really rather do the Nagano region but if it is totally unrealistic Hakone it is.
We're already planning on doing the early-morning Tsukji the first day we are there, no worries.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:12 PM on August 16, 2010
2 weeks. My SO barely even wants to go to Kyoto but I have been told it is a must-see. We would really rather do the Nagano region but if it is totally unrealistic Hakone it is.
We're already planning on doing the early-morning Tsukji the first day we are there, no worries.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:12 PM on August 16, 2010
You should just contact the Japanese Guesthouses website, and they can help narrow down your choices. I've interacted with them as part of my work, and they are professional and responsive.
If your SO barely wants to go to Kyoto, it may not be the destination for you. It's crowded and very, very busy, and it takes a lot of work to figure out how to get to the sites, and some people get "temple overload" after the first couple of hours.
I'd recommend going to Nara instead. You need to travel to Kyoto, and then transfer to a local (express) line to Nara, which takes about an hour. Nara is far less busy than Kyoto, but has a lot of cool sites, all close to the station - you'll definitely be able to say that you've seen temples and traditional architecture and a museum, with far less of the effort than it takes in Kyoto.
I'm also curious why you would like to go to Nagano. Gifu is also on the way to Kyoto, and it has some great hot spring resort towns. Hakone is also accessible, as is the Izu Peninsula. Atami is kind of cheesy, but is quite an experience, as is Shuzenji (both in Izu).
Another cool trip on the way to Kyoto would be to stay at Ise, in Mie Prefecture.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:56 AM on August 17, 2010
If your SO barely wants to go to Kyoto, it may not be the destination for you. It's crowded and very, very busy, and it takes a lot of work to figure out how to get to the sites, and some people get "temple overload" after the first couple of hours.
I'd recommend going to Nara instead. You need to travel to Kyoto, and then transfer to a local (express) line to Nara, which takes about an hour. Nara is far less busy than Kyoto, but has a lot of cool sites, all close to the station - you'll definitely be able to say that you've seen temples and traditional architecture and a museum, with far less of the effort than it takes in Kyoto.
I'm also curious why you would like to go to Nagano. Gifu is also on the way to Kyoto, and it has some great hot spring resort towns. Hakone is also accessible, as is the Izu Peninsula. Atami is kind of cheesy, but is quite an experience, as is Shuzenji (both in Izu).
Another cool trip on the way to Kyoto would be to stay at Ise, in Mie Prefecture.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:56 AM on August 17, 2010
Response by poster: An update from our trip: we ended up having a great time. We did two ryokans, one in Matsumoto (Nagano Prefecture) and one in Hakone. Matsumoto was very easy to get to, so for those reading this looking for advice, I would not fear the japanese rail system. Hyperdia and Jorudan are very useful for finding train times. The ryokan in Matsumoto was great, we were very happy to have a chance to see a more "remote" part of Japan, and we did some nice hiking. The ryokan in Hakone was very luxurious, but Hakone itself, while very easy to get to from Tokyo, was a total zoo due to it being a national holiday, and I would probably advise avoiding holidays if you are going to visit that area.
dydecker's book recommendation was useful for getting a feel for the ryokan culture, but so many of the recommended places were listed as "no english spoken" that we were mostly put off.
Oh, and a final random piece of advice: Japan has an amazing delivery network that will deliver things like suitcases from one city to another for relatively cheap (around ~$30 for two very large suitcases). We discovered this in Kyoto and shipped our suitcases from Kyoto to Tokyo, thus avoiding having to shelp them through Hakone. I probably would have shipped them from Tokyo to Kyoto too, had I know about the availability of such a thing. It's not terrible to have big bags with you on the trains, but moderately stressful and cheap to avoid.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:33 PM on November 1, 2010
dydecker's book recommendation was useful for getting a feel for the ryokan culture, but so many of the recommended places were listed as "no english spoken" that we were mostly put off.
Oh, and a final random piece of advice: Japan has an amazing delivery network that will deliver things like suitcases from one city to another for relatively cheap (around ~$30 for two very large suitcases). We discovered this in Kyoto and shipped our suitcases from Kyoto to Tokyo, thus avoiding having to shelp them through Hakone. I probably would have shipped them from Tokyo to Kyoto too, had I know about the availability of such a thing. It's not terrible to have big bags with you on the trains, but moderately stressful and cheap to avoid.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:33 PM on November 1, 2010
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posted by dydecker at 8:16 PM on August 15, 2010