Ryokan stay - Koto No Yume, Takayama

A Ryokan stay is an essential part of any trip to Japan. To have a taste of this traditional Japanese lodging, we opted for Ryokan Koto No Yume in Takayama.

Here's the entrance:

We were offered slippers, then invited to sit and enjoy some tea and Kinako candy (made with soybean and sugar).

We were given a choice of yukata (casual summer kimonos)...

and a selection of fragrant oils for our room.

Here's our room:

The view onto the courtyard:

When we came back in the evening, the coffee table had been replaced  by futon (traditional Japanese bedding)...

with some sweet words on a pillow:

The next morning we had a delicious Japanese breakfast.

Here's the menu:

Here's our table as it was laid out:

Soon after, tea and rice were brought...

along with some delicious magnolia-leaf grilled miso:

Japan day 6: Takayama

Bye bye Tokyo! Destination Takayama in the Hida region. After a Shinkansen to Nagoya, we had a scenic train ride to Takayama, passing by villages, rivers and rice paddies.

Takayama is a picturesque mountain town with a beautifully preserved old town.

 

We also saw a photo shoot with a traditionally dressed lady. Was she about to get married? Or was it for an ad ?

 

For all its charm, Takayama is quite a sleepy town. We made the mistake of leaving our ryokan for dinner at 19:45. Most restaurants had their kitchens closing. Among those still opened, we found a few with menus in Japanese only with no English speaking staff, and others offering only Hida beef dishes. In the end, we purchased food from a convenience store and ate in our room; our most pathetic meal in Japan:)