One of the missions I set for myself when I went to Japan was to spend one night in a traditional "ryokan". I wanted to wear a yukata, eat traditional food, sleep on a futon, and soak in an onsen, all in the original style. I had one condition: I wanted a truly original ryokan, not a modern hotel that just decorated its rooms to imitate a "ryokan" or Japanese style.




Finally, I arrived at "Ryokan Nanten-en" in Amami City. It's less than an hour by train from Namba Station in Osaka.


A 100-year-old ryokan that has been designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.

The condition of the ryokan here is still very original. Most of the buildings are made of wood, which is original but not old or dilapidated. They take great care to keep the ryokan clean and in good condition.

The room rates vary depending on the season. The starting price for a room is 4,000 baht, excluding dinner and breakfast. There are rooms for 2 people, as well as rooms for 3-4 people.

As this ryokan is located in a secluded area on the outskirts of town, there are no restaurants or entertainment facilities nearby. Therefore, it is necessary to plan your meals in advance. It is recommended that you at least include dinner in your booking. You can check out in the morning and have breakfast in town.

Our gang opted for the full course dinner and breakfast. We wanted to experience the original atmosphere to the fullest.


The total cost for the three of us, including two meals, was around 10,000 baht. That's about 3,000 baht per person.

We were there for 10 days, and compared to the other, cheaper rooms we stayed in, I have to say that I would gladly pay for this one night again.

Room reservations can be made through general hotel booking websites.



Travel


The ryokan is located behind Amami Station. If you arrive at the station, you won't get lost.

Amami is a small suburban train station with a rural atmosphere. For those who want to experience this style, I assure you that it is great.


Let's take a look at the atmosphere of Amami Station first.



There are vending machines at the station. If you want to have a late-night party, I recommend pressing it.

The hotel does not offer 24-hour service. There is a mini-bar in the room, but the selection is not very diverse.


Upon exiting the station, you will see a sign pointing towards the ryokan. It's just a short walk, as it's located right next to the train station.



Go straight towards the side of the station.



Then you will find our Ryokan.



The accommodation building is a ryokan with only 2 floors and a limited number of rooms. During my visit, all rooms were fully booked.



If you stay on the ground floor, you can open the door and enjoy the garden on the side.



When I went, the plum blossoms were in full bloom, but the cherry blossoms had not yet begun to bloom. It's a pity I went a little early.



The entrance door to the lobby is very original.



A small and compact check-in counter with souvenir items for sale. Postcards and stamps are available for purchase, and there is also a service to send postcards for you.



Common living room



Japanese tea room




And here is the front of the room. The building is made entirely of wood. The walkway is covered with a red carpet throughout the building.

The room doesn't have a room number. It will be the name of one of our birds, I can't remember which one, haha. Our room is the first one on the right.




Let's take a look inside the room. As you open the door, you'll see a large table.

The housekeeper will arrange for tea and snacks to be served as a welcome.



This must be the ryokan manager. His English is so good that I'm embarrassed. He's also very hospitable.

Our guide will explain the facilities and how to behave.



The view from the room opens to a Japanese garden right in front, allowing you to enjoy the scenery. There are even Japanese sandals available for you to wear while strolling through the garden.



All rooms at this property use shared bathrooms, but there will be a separate sink and toilet in the room.



The private bathroom in the room is quite spacious.



That's all for the minibar. I recommend ordering a variety of drinks and snacks from Amami Train Station instead.


Our ryokan's restaurant offers drinks and food to order, but it has opening and closing hours. If I'm not mistaken, it closes at 10 p.m.



The room will also have a Kit Set for each guest. You can also take the towels home with you.





Let's move on to the dinner ceremony.

After changing into clothes that match the atmosphere, the housekeeper will start serving food. When booking a hotel, it is recommended that if you check in after 6 pm, dinner will not be served.


We arrived around 7pm. At first, we were very worried about the punctuality of the Japanese people. We thought we would have to skip dinner. But when we arrived, there was no problem at all. The staff was very service-minded. It was a really warm ryokan.



Welcome Drink tea set. Since all the rooms here are named after birds, all the food sets are birds. It's very thematic.



This is the food set. Actually, they serve it one by one, but I wanted to take a picture of it all together, so I kept it until it was all there. Hehe.




The meal set will include grilled fish.


The white squid sashimi is very sweet and delicious.



A variety of vegetables, delicious.





Grilled flour with grilled konjac



And the soup looks beautiful.



The first course ended with delicious desserts.




Not yet finished, there is another course.

The auntie is very diligent in serving. If she makes us wait for a long time, she will apologize profusely. She is really lovely.



The second set includes tempura, rice, and miso soup.



Topped with fresh fruit, it's incredibly delicious.





I'm full, it's time to sleep.

The housekeeper arranged to move the furniture, making space in the middle of the room for the fluffy futon.


This bed is really comfortable.



This mattress is the warmest we've ever slept on because it has a heater at the foot end. Haha!



The dining table has been moved to another corner of the room.



Fully equipped with TV and various devices



There are tea sets and hot water kettles for everyone to clink glasses with late at night.





Breakfast time

I noticed that most of the guests didn't have breakfast here. Most of them have already checked out.

Breakfast time here is 8 am. In the morning when we went, the temperature was around 2-4 degrees. It was amazing.


Breakfast is not served in the room. It will be set up in the dining room, which has a garden atmosphere.




Even though it's breakfast, it's still very meticulous.




It's time to check out and continue exploring the city. Before leaving, the service is still available until the last minute.


The shoes that the staff took away last night, when I was about to leave, they were already placed here waiting for their owner. So cute!


The last picture is borrowed from the Agoda website. In reality, the surroundings of the ryokan are very beautiful, but when I went there, I didn't do anything like this.


It was already dark when we arrived, and it was very cold when we woke up in the morning. My hands were so stiff that I couldn't take any pictures. Even though I didn't get any pictures like this, overall, I was very impressed.




For those who are planning to travel to Japan, I would like to suggest that you include a night's stay at a ryokan like this in your itinerary.


There are many ryokans like this. Since you're already there, why not spend a night to experience something original? It will give you the feeling of really being in Japan.

This is the hotel's website.

http://www.e-oyu.com/en/nantentop.html#

Note: The hotel has WiFi. You can use Osaka Free Wifi. The signal is good.



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