Product Description

Since Oliver Statler's best-selling chronicle of the classic Japanese inn immortalized the "inn experience," seeking out a traditional resort has become one of the cherished goals of those visiting Japan. Like England's engaging B&Bs, the refined taverns of Japan constitute one of the world's great traditions of inn-keeping. The tan tatami rooms, the soft light filtering through shoji screens, the epicurean banquets, the impeccable service-all of these are elements that make a visit to one of Japan's classic inns a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Yet, unbelievable as it may seem, until now there has never been a guide devoted to these world-class purveyors of Japanese hospitality. The reason is simple: to visit and appraise the best from among thousands of contenders would require endless research and a seemingly bottomless pocketbook. But columnist, translator, and travel writer Margaret Price has managed to combine business with pleasure to bring us, after years of effort, the first such guidebook.
From the $1,000-a-night fantasy weekend retreats where visiting celebrities from Chaplin to Clapton have stayed, to the $40-a-night hidden gems run by a kimono-clad innkeeper, Ms. Price has culled the best from a vast field with a discerning eye. What each inn provides is atmosphere, exotic cuisine, and tasteful decorations(tm) n other words, a special inn experience as enchanting and memorable as anything Japan has to offer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #772906 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author

Born in Melbourne, Australia, MARGARET PRICE moved to Japan in 1982 after graduating with honors from the University of Queensland's Department of Japanese Language. In Tokyo, she joined the Mainichi Daily News, where she worked as an editor at the city desk, wrote a column called "Inns and Outs," and launched Ichi no Ichi, a quarterly publication dedicated to Japanese-arts and travel. Price is also the coauthor of several publications in Japanese on traditional culture. A comic memoir of her adventures in Japan was published in Japanese under the title Kagurazaka Nikki.

Customer Reviews

An interesting "guide" book.
As one who visits Japan on a very strict budget, I found it enthralling to find out what it would be like to stay at some of these expensive inns. So much so, I have started saving just to experience one night of extravagance. Margaret Price describes beautifully the inns food,ambience and surrounding attractions as well as suggesting places to shop, things to buy and day itineraries. As well as this there are a small number of low cost ryokan recommended. There is a very useful glossary with handy phrases for bookings etc., as many of the places have no English. Language details are pointed out in the description. The maps are quite good considering the size of the area covered on the map

It is a pity that so many of the inns are well away from rail stations as for the casual traveller car transport is not a real option because of the language barrier with road signs. I think that better directions by bus from stations would improve the usefulness of the book.

Overall, an enjoyable read if you like to find out what it is like on the other side of the road. An interesting alternative to a normal guide book.

Inns are expensive but worth it!
I recently splurged on staying at two of the Inns in this book and I was impressed by two things: 1. How accurately the author described the particular Inns and 2. How well the book prepared me for the overall experience.
One warning: all of the inns detailed in the book are expensive by US standards, (as it appears most traditional Inns are). Especially considering we found that it was possible to find tourist hotels for less than US$100 a night. We combined four inexpensive hotel nights in Kyoto with two nights of staying in the more expensive Inns. Because Inns include two generous meals it balenced out the $300 a night cost. Staying in the Inns made us feel we experienced the "real" Japan. It is the part of our trip we remember the most foundly.
Our Itinerary: We spent four nights at the Kyoto Miyako Westin Hotel, then took a 3 hour train trip to Gero Onsen to stay at Yunoshima-kan and then the next day went up to Takayama to stay one night at Nagase Inn, both are detailed in the book. Nagase now takes fax reservations in English and the tourist office at Gero Onsen (gero-spa@hida.co.jp) said they can help americans secure reservations at an Inn like Yunoshima-kan where they do not speak English.
I share this info because making reservations is the hardest part of planning a trip to a small traditional Inn. Once you get there it's worth it.

Beautiful book
This is a beautiful book to own if you like looking at pictures of traditional architecture and dreaming about nights in Japanese Inns. I've loaned it to a few friends and they all want to go to Japan now! I bought this book shortly before a trip to Japan and called a few of the listed places. None of the places had room on such short notice: none of them volunteered to speak English, either, so it might be an adventure if your Japanese isn't good.