Oku Hida Ryokan
So, as I mentioned a few days ago, we went up to Takayama for a weekend to celebrate our 5th anniversary. With the help of a friend, we made a reservation at Soene, a ryokan that is part of the Fukuchi Onsen area.
This was definitely a flash place, perfect for a special occasion like our 5th wedding anniversary. With prices over $200 per person per night, it isn’t somewhere you go when you are just looking for a place to rest your head. It is more of an experience.
From the get go we felt totally pampered and relaxed. As we were walking down from the bus stop a man from the inn stepped outside and greeted us and directed us to the entrance. He gave a brief chuckle when he asked if he could carry our luggage, since we only had our two small day bags. (If we have learned anything this year, we have definitely learned how to travel light)
While Aaron was checking in I was directed to the reception area and told to have a seat on one of the four animal skin rugs they had. I sat down and waited for them to finish their business.
Once he finished checking us in he joined me in the reception area and we were served tea and a snack while the man that met us outside explained the facilities to us (his english was AWESOME).
Once he finished explaining the facilities he took us to our room. Our room was the most gorgeous room I have seen in Japan. It has beautiful timbers (the building was over 100 years old), had a nice sitting area, the most technologically advanced toilet I had ever seen (complete with a massage function for the bidet and butt-sprayer) and had a few windows that overlooked the river. When we opened the windows we were able to hear the rushing water. It was perfect.
Also, there was a little anniversary greeting waiting for us in our room.
He showed us our yukata, which we were to wear while we were on premises and once he left we got changed into them.
Once we were in our yukata and settled in, we began exploring the facilities. Half the fun of staying at this ryokan is that they have three different onsen (and free access to onsen at other facilities) and they serve an elaborate traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast. But….you’ll have to wait to hear more about that another day.