We were staying overnight in Kyoto at a Ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese guest house. These are typically more expensive than hostels and sometimes even hotels. They try to replicate Japanese hospitality and take good care of you, trying to recreate a homey atmosphere. It was an amazing experience and I felt so pampered. As soon as we got back from our rainy day of sight seeing, we had a warm communal bath. This was one of the huge bath tubs with steaming hot water and it felt really soothing. I imagined people soaking in the bath for hours, but after twenty minutes it got so hot that I had to get out. After our bath, we could wear the yukatas (traditional Japanese clothes) that were provided to us by the ryokan. It is common for people to wear these yukatas around the ryokan and eventually go to bed in them. They were very comfortable and wearing it in the ryokan felt like wearing pajamas at home.
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| Yukatas were provided for us at the ryokan. We could wear them anywhere inside the ryokan. |
We had a lavish dinner with several small dishes for us to try. This is traditionally called kyo kaiseki and is Kyoto's specialty. Breakfast was similar and comprised of several small traditional dishes.
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| Dinner at the Ryokan: traditional kyo kaiseki |
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