A Japanese Inn Stay

We stayed at this Japanese inn. I was surprised to see a big wooden sign near the entrance with our name listed with the names of the other guests.




These old containers were used to make sake. They were in an outdoor restaurant area outside the entrance of the inn.




A pond seen from the lobby.




This is a washitsu, a room that has tatami or grass mats. This room has nine mats. In Japan, room size is measured in mats. We had a suite of two rooms of tatami, a sitting area near a window, an entrance leading to our toilet's room, and a bath and shower that didn't work.

The inn was an onsen , an inn with a separate hot spring bath for women and for men. Most guests probably go downstairs to use the community showers and then bathe in the hot spring water instead of using the bath and shower in the room.

I have to add that we used to live in a much smaller space than this inn room. For seven years, we lived in an 8 mat room. It was the dining room, living room and bedroom for the four us.




Washitsu usually have a tokonoma or an alcove where decorations are displayed. The scroll is usually seasonal. This one is a summer view of Mt. Fuji.



Our beds were in the closet when we arrived. We moved to another washitsu downstairs to have our dinner. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of our dinner!





When we came back from dinner, our beds were made for us. They were all in the same room leaving the other room as a sitting area. The futon had no pads under them, but they were thick and comfortable.