2 Days in a Japanese Ryokan with Mari-Alina Timoshchuk

“The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth” — Chief Seattle

Jun 29, 2025

This is a post regarding a magical portion of our trip to Japan where we stayed at a ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese inn often located near an onsen.

Mari-Alina Timoshchuk at the entrance to a Japanese traditional inn — Mari-Alina Timoshchuk at the Ryokan Entrance

History of Japanese Onsen:

Natural hot springs (onsen) are numerous and highly popular across Japan. Every region of the country has its share of hot springs and resort towns, which come with them.

Exactly when humans first began bathing in onsen in Japan is unknown, but historical records show it has a history of at least about 1,300 years. Many of the earliest records of onsen bathing documnt Japanese emperors or members of the imperial family staying at onsen for long periods of time. At the time, onsen were thought to be sacred and to have healing properties. It is now believed those who traveled to onsen in these early records were seeking cures to disease or other ailments by bathing in the onsen water. This ancient practice of bathing in onsen to cure illnesses, often for long periods such as a week, is referred to as toji.

Until around the Edo period, onsen had close religious ties to Buddhism with temples often being built naer onsen sources. During the Edo period, however, onsen began to gain popularity among the general population thanks in part to depictions of hot springs. It is also during this period that the use of onsen shifted from primarily being for religious and healing reasons to being used for cleanliness and socializing.

In modern times, traveling to hot spring resort towns is a popular form of domestic tourism in Japan. During the bubble economy of 1980, there was an “onsen boom.” Although the number of overnight guests at hot spring resorts has decreased slightly since the boom, however travel to such ryokan and onsen towns remain a relaxing getaway.

Trip:

We traveled from Osaka to Hakone, which is a town in the Kanagawa Prefecture with a small population of about 10,000 people. Hakone is a notable spa town and a popular tourist destination within view of Mount Fuji. Most of the town is within the borders of the volcanically active Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, centered on Lake Ashi. It’s easily accessible from Osaka via bus which in and of itself was a magical trip through the mountains and forest of the region.

As soon as we were entered we were warmly greated and given yukatas, which are casual cotton kimono-style robes. I picked Ukrainian colors of course.

Mari-Alina Timoshchuk at a Japanese traditional inn with a forest in the background — Japanese Ryokan days with Mari-Alina Timoshchuk

Mari-Alina Timoshchuk in a Japanese ryoken with pajamas — The coziest pj wear — with Mari-Alina Timoshchuk

The room was extremely comfortable with traditional Japanese beds and a private bath on the balcony with a view of the surrounding forest and mountains. I loved enjoying a bath there in the morning while reading.

We were given a tour of the onsen spas which had both public onsn and private ones that could be reserved in the forest around the ryokan. I especially liked the 24 hour rotating snack bar which had different refreshments like dumplings, mochi based snacks, and my favorite fresh Japanese milk.

The 24 hour snacks — I especially liked the mochi on the sticks

Evening Meals:

Another great part of the onsen xperience is that all the meals are taken care of. We had traditional Japanese breakfasts and multiple course evening meals. Some of the options were meat versus seafood hotpot, Japanese barbeque, sashimi, and of course all you can drink wine, local beer, or sake.

I loved the presentation f all these dishes.

I loved how every dish and every component to the dish had so much attention to detail. The service was so personable and warm.

Mari-Alina Timoshchuk at a Japanese table enjoying dinner — So much fun enjoying the meals — with Mari-Alina Timoshchuk

And of course no meal is complete without dessert! Usually something light which was nice after all the other food.

After the meal we enjoyed going to one of the private spas in the forest. It was so peaceful enjoying the gentle noises of the forest in the moonlight. The water was incredibly warm and while are vactaion style is usually a non-stop, 30k step marathon just sitting in peace was a wonderful change. I can see why locals enjoy taing these onsen vacations.

Breakfast:

I’ve never had a traditional Japanese breakfast before but it was absolutely wonderful and delicious. It typically has multiple small side dishes, salad, tea, soup, rice, and a grilled fish. Everyday at the ryoken we could choose a different breakfast option.

Mornings:

I liked to spend my mornings taking a soak on the private balcony while reading. There was also a large outdoor garden area where you could enjoy snacks and enjoy the forests of Hakone. I felt like the entire ryokan was a celebration of the surrounding nature.

Evening Meal 2:

Who doesn’t love food photos? This was our second evening meal at the ryokan which consisted of two different kinds of hot pots. I loved enjoying the company of the other travelers. There was a lot of Japanese tourists but also those from surrounding countries like Korea and China.

And of course no meal will be completed without dessert

Mari-Alina Timoshchuk at a Japanese table in a traditional Japanese inn — The most amazing meal views with Mari-Alina Timoshchuk

During the day we enjoying Hakone which I’ll cover in more detail in a future post. Overall, the ryoken experience was magical and I can’t wait to come back to visit soon.