Ryokan

My love and admiration for Japan is already well known after dozens of posts and comments about it. So I'll try not repeat myself. 

Our last trip in Japan was in the countryside, which in my opinion is even more interesting than the big cities because of the landscapes and the lifestyle. 

Wearing a yukata

Ryokans are traditional Japanese accommodations. Staff is known for their kindness. Guests travel from far to indulge and relax in the comfort of true Japanese hospitality.

Some ryokans provide a yukata for guests to wear during their stay.  Guests sleep on a futon on the tatami floor and there is a common area for bathing, onsen (spring waters).

Most ryokans offer breakfast and dinner. 

Ryokan's entrance

In Tokyo or in other big city, hardly you'll find one of those.
In a spur of the moment we booked a room in a ryokan with a private onsen. We had two good excuses, we were celebrating my birthday and 9 years in love.

Futon

When we arrived we were greeted by a lady wearing traditional clothes. And a nakai - san was assigned to take care of us during our stay. She showed us our room, prepared some tea and later served our dinner. 

Communications were very limited since she didn't speak any English and she didn't get that we didn't speak Japanese either which was annoying.

Ryokan

We had to take off our shoes before we stepped in the room. The room was very simple but tastefully decorated. 

The private onsen was pricey but it is worth it. If we had stayed in a room without it we had to go to a separated gender onsen or try to get one of the private ones for 1h which is not easy. None of the options looked good.

Private onsen

Our onsen was outdoors and it was surrounded by trees and other vegetation. It was very quiet and relaxing. The scenario offered nothing more than serenity.

Allegedly the volcanic nature of Japan provides great hot springs quality. People come to rejuvenate their bodies in the healing waters... After a couple of minutes I felt much younger (just kidding).

Enjoying the hot springs

Another important aspect about ryokans is the nourishing meals. It's an exquisite Japanese food experience.
We were very excited about it. Luckily we are early eaters and we booked dinner for 6 pm.

Sakizuke  appetizer

As I said before our nakai - san didn't speak English and she was not good with gestural language. The menu was beautifully handwritten... In Japanese.

Hassun

The meal included several dishes and we barely could made it until the end. We needed some extra time to breath between each new dish that was being delivered at our table.

Frutamono (warm soup)

Tomato with bean and  flowers

The ripened tomato with bean and flowers was completely unexpected. It was really good. Unfortunately I don't know much about it. 

Horse sashimi

Everything was terrific but my very favorite was the horse sashimi. The meat was delicious, flavorful. A guy in a yakitori place told us how to eat it. You have to mix a bit of everything, the onion with the ginger and finally a slice of meat.

Grilled trout

We had similar grilled fish in our previous meal in the mountains. It was very good.

Steak 

Grass - fed beef looks like very popular around the Aso mountain area.

Steamed egg custard

Fig Dessert

After this very scrumptious meal, we returned to our onsen.
This is a very peaceful place where the onsen and some traditional Japanese board games are the only entertainment available.

Ryokan

In the next morning, breakfast was waiting for us. The breakfast was there but our nakai - san was nowhere to be found. Another failure in the Japanese politeness and formality. This lady was unforgettable but not for the level of hospitality or kindness. Nakai - san 0 - crazy foreign guests 3. 

Breakfast

Later we found out that breakfast is also a meal that includes several different dishes. And requires time to eat. The traditional lifestyle is timeless.

Grilled fish with radish

I could easily get used to eat grilled fish and radish for breakfast. It's so delicious and healthy.

Steamed rice

They also served some steamed rice, soup and tamagoyaki.

Tamagoyaki

Overall it was a lifetime experience. Although I wouldn't recommend Ryokan Sanga. The purpose of the ryokan is the hospitality. Service here was far from authentic, it wasn't attentive or unforgettable. 

For the same amount you can find something that really fits your expectations about Japanese culture.