Honmachi Juku

The breakfasts are wonderful, and the house is peaceful, partly because it’s next to a temple that owned the house decades ago. For a little pause while someone else is using the bathroom, I’d suggest ordering a glass of Sake and sitting at the bar counter. I love the traditional shared-house feel here. These old Japanese wooden homes have stucco walls for humidity control and thin wooden or paper doors, so bring ear plugs or noise canceling earphone if you’re not used to that. It’s also customary to wash the bathtub yourself if it doesn’t feel clean.

The staff made me feel so welcome. I booked one night, then wound up staying four. Such a superb place, and I’d happily recommend it. I’ll be back in 2026.

The air was really stuffy, with no fan or ventilation. The AC doesn’t have a fan setting either, and kept shutting itself off. There’s no WiFi, and telling guests to use the crappy free public WiFi doesn’t count. The towel was tiny and light, and coffee cost an extra 100 yen. A very low quality ryokan.

It’s a completely renovated 180 year old house, and the rooms were all clean and full of charm. A wonderful ryokan. I’d highly recommend staying here if you want to experience a traditional Japanese house.