Staying in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kyoto was a very special experience. Let’s say, hoteliers who are willing to learn how to host a guest in their hotel should stay in a high-end ryokan for at least one night. The experience was “special” from the moment my taxi stopped at the door of Kanamean Nishitomiya, until the owners couple waved me goodbye.
It seems that there is a whole different world behind the door. The old lady in kimono who greets you and brings you green tea and a Japanese cake, hot bath and cold beer after it. I don’t drink beer, but I was more than happy to drink sake with a kaiseki dinner. It was a second kaiseki dinner in my life and much more enjoyable than the first one (Two years ago at Kikunoi, which this year got 3 Michelin stars (Kanamean Nishitomiya has 2)…)
When I told some of my Japanese friends I was going to a ryokan, they said that I would like it if I enjoy sleeping on the floor. Of course, the bed was not like at “The Four Seasons”, but it was not bad neither. It is just different. Pillows in ryokans are filled with buckwheat husks, so they are pretty hard too…
The little photo report from Kanamean Nishitomiya, kaiseki dinner coming soon.
