For an authentic experience of Japanese life style, you should stay at Ryokan Hotel, they are Japanese inns. It's truly a unique experience, affording you a respectful glimpse of the age-old customs, manners and lifestyle of the Japanese people.

It is the unmistakably distinct atmosphere, service and personality warmly welcoming you inside that is the Ryokan's immeasurable surprise, not to mention the unbelievable dinner extravaganza laid before you in the evening and the invigorating, resourceful breakfast awaiting you the next day.

Without question, the stimulating magnetism of the Ryokan is its piping hot soaking baths guaranteed to drain every ounce of stress and fatigue from your work-worn mind and body. Each Ryokan boasts the advantageous chemical composition of its natural spring water-fed pools for ameliorating a host of ailments that may be troubling you.

Besides the luxuriously refreshing hot springs bathing, dinners at your Ryokan are the singular most compelling attraction: they are a sumptuously prepared and lavishly presented festive combination of the finest of Japanese cuisine, intermixed with savory local delights. The typical menu, brought to you dish upon dish, offers on uncountable variety from Sukiyaki and Tempura to raw and grilled fish. And in some inns, if you prefer, you may request a Western-style substitute if a particular dish is not to your fancy. This wondrous setting is all the more enhanced should your room also face a beautiful, exquisitely tended garden. The entire ambiance invites you to relax as never before, and to dress yourself, as the Japanese do, in the customary Yukata, a kimono-like outer garment, and Geta, wooden clogs, for delightful leisurely strolls outside on lanes that may well have been traveled for many years by wayfaring travelers such as yourself.

There are various types of Ryokan. Some of them are small and old, and some are very large and modern. The common aspect among Ryokan is that they offer only traditional Japanese style rooms. There, you will sleep on tatami mats.  Yes, that means no bed!
You can find many old type of Ryokans in Kyoto, which is described in most tourist guides: old, traditional style buildings where you can experience an overnight stay in a very Japanese atmosphere: a tatami room, Japanese food, and a Japanese bath.
 

The other kind of Ryokan can be found all over Japan, especially in popular hot spring resorts. Some of them are very modern, but still have a traditional Japanese interior.

When you stay at a Ryokan, a woman in kimono will take care of you very well. She will welcome you, serve tea and the meals, and prepare your yukata and your futon. Ryokan could cost from 12,000 up to 35,000 Yen per night.  This will include also two meals.

Although most present-day Ryokan are well-built concrete structures, this external appearance belies their inviting traditional decor awaiting you just inside. As a principal example, your guest room is a multipurpose space, serving as your private socializing and dining place during the day and, after the evening meal has been cleared away and your bedding prepared, as your bedroom at night. You'll thoroughly enjoy the room's size, its simplicity and its aura of tatami straw matting, sliding screens, and spartan furnishings, all unmistakably Japanese.
 

Reserving a Ryokan is done on a per-person-per-night basis with dinner and breakfast included in the cost. So go ahead, browse our presently indexed Ryokan set in a class by themselves due to their high-quality hospitality and service preferred by their well-trained, convivial staff!
 
 

There is also another inn called Minshuku, they are similar to the Ryokan, but they are cheaper. A Minshuku is like a Bed and Breakfast where the guests stay in the owner's house.

For information:  go to Ryokan web page!
What happens in Ryokan?

There are 85 Ryokans in Kyoto, and 37 in Nara