The part of the trip you'll remember
Onsen is the part of Japan I never get tired of. This is how I choose where to soak: the towns, the ryokan I’d book again, and the small etiquette stuff that makes a first time easy.
How I pick a ryokan
I pick the bath first, then the food, then the town. Give me volcanic water, a private outdoor bath, and kaiseki brought to the room, and the rest takes care of itself. That post-onsen feeling — like a cold plunge and a sauna at the same time — is the best hospitality I’ve ever had, anywhere.
Etiquette, minus the lecture
Wash before you get in. No swimsuits. Towel stays out of the water. That's 90% of it — nobody's grading you. Tattoos: many baths still say no, which is exactly why private baths (kashikiri) exist and why I flag them in every guide.
Book earlier than you think
The good ryokan on a Saturday go two to three months out, especially around holidays and autumn leaves. Weeknights are the cheat code: same bath, lower price, half the crowd.
Day-trip soaking (higaeri)
Plenty of great baths sell day entry for around ¥1,000–2,000. It's the easiest way to test whether onsen is your thing before you commit to a full ryokan night.
How I score
Every score is mine alone, out of 5 — one number for the whole stay: the bath, the food, the room, and how it all felt together. No sub-scores, no one else's rating mixed in.
- 4.5+ — Exceptional. I'd plan a trip around this ryokan alone.
- 4.0–4.4 — I'd send my own family, and I'd book it again. These get my stamp.
- 3.5–3.9 — Good, with a real caveat.
- 3.0–3.4 — Fine and forgettable.
- Under 3.0 — I wouldn't recommend it.
- 5.0 — Best stay of my life. Almost never given.
Ryokan I've stayed in — and scored
Every score is from my own stay. A stamp can't be bought — 4.0 and up earns it, under that the number runs on its own. Full pages land stay by stay, written up from my notes.
Cover story · Hakone
Matsuzakaya Honten
Ashinoyu, Hakone — one of Japan's oldest ryokan. Saigo Takamori is said to have visited in secret; Emperor Meiji stayed. We had the Premium Tokiwa, with its own private open-air bath.
Jennerrecommends4.3Out of 5 My score: 4.3 / 5 — 4.0 and up gets my stamp. Read the full ryokan page →
