There was one thing in particular on my Sendai itinerary that people oohed & aahed about when I mentioned it – sleeping at the very traditional Hotel Sakan, a Japanese ryokan.
“Oh my God, I’ve always wanted to stay there!”
“You’re going to just love the traditional rooms.”
“Don’t forget to bath in all of the onsen.”
These were just a few of the comments I heard, which got me pretty excited to take the hour and a half ride from Tokyo on Japan’s Shinkansen (the bullet train) to the city of Sendai.
What is a Ryokan?
A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn where the floors are typically tatami mats and the rooms are separated with sliding shōji doors.Hotel Sakan is a small ryokan that began about 1,000 years ago by Kanzaburo Satoh. The family has carried on the Sakan tradition for 34 generations…and counting.
booking.com
It was not what I expected from an old ryokan, it was so much more luxurious.
The Room
When I opened the door to my room at the Hotel Sakan, I may have let out a squeal. For one night I would be enjoying this traditional ryokan, and its onsen that was over 1,000 years old!
A short table sat in the middle of the main room which was perfect for my morning cup of green tea. I would have never left my room if they didn’t have delicious dining and four onsen on premise, giving me a chance to relax in communal baths that are supplied by natural hot springs.
Dinner
Before soaking in the onsen, there was an evening meal scheduled. Dinner was not served at their on-premise restaurant, but rather in a private room set for just the three of us.
Course after course was delivered to the table until almost every inch was filled with a rainbow of deliciousness.
Definitely worth leaving my room for.
The Onsen
An onsen is a public bath house that is fed by a Japanese hot spring, and Hotel Sakan has one of the best.
Not knowing proper etiquette, I asked our host for the rules before entering the onsen, because I knew there was a high probability that nothing would be written in English (I was right!). Even so it was still a little confusing, so my plan was to just follow what everyone else was doing. Unfortunately, when I arrived there was only one other woman there and she wasn’t doing much. So I just creepily waited, pretending to need to use the sink to wash my hands and getting tiny cups of water to drink.
As others arrived, I was the ultimate copy cat.
I did as they did – got undressed, completely naked, and put all my belongings into a basket, laying my towel on top.
TAKE A SHOWER
I follow a woman into the bath facilities and saw a set of showers all in a row. Except they weren’t like Western tall ones, they were short with a tiny stool to sit on. There were about 10 stalls aligned along the wall and bare ladies sat facing that wall using a hose to spray down their bodies. I sat on my teeny stool and turned on the water to wash my entire body with the array of products they provided.
When I thought I was done and ready to leave, none of the other ladies had left their stall yet. They must have been getting extra clean! So I rewashed again and again until the first lady exited the shower. This may have been the cleanest I had ever been in my life.
THE POOLS
In this particular bath there were three pools. two indoors and one small open air. The women soaked in one for a short time, then moved on to the next. Of course, I did the same.
After the initial shock of being naked wore off, the baths were warm and peaceful – a time to reflect on the incredible Japanese Adventures that were experienced in the past week.
After my fingers were pruned, I gathered my things and headed back to my room. I laid down on the tatami mat floor and wondered how the Japanese could do without a memory foam mattress! I think I need to show the hotel receptionist reviews of the best memory foam mattresses on the market and see if that can be passed to Management or Interior Design, haha.
booking.com
Hotel Sakan | 28 Yakushi Yumoto Akiumachi Taihaku-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture | Booking & Pricing | MAP
Traveling Soon? Use my Favorite Resources for Booking Your Trip!
Book Your Flight
Skyscanner is my favorite flight search engine, because it checks dozens of airlines so you can easily find the best fare deals. You can also select ‘cheapest month’ to find the lowest fares for your destination (I use this all the time!).
Book Your Accommodations
I use both Booking.com and Expedia for hotels, because each offers a couple different hotel choices and I like to compare the reviews on each one. If you have a group or are looking for more of a home atmosphere, head over to VRBO or AirBNB that has houses, apartments and even just a room for rent in every price range.
Book Your Rental Car
If love the freedom to explore like I do, driving from place to place is the best option! I always book with Discover Cars for the best prices and top brand options.
Book Some Fun Tours!
Viator and Get Your Guide are my go-to search engines for cool bucket list experiences! Each one can have different tours, so check both—why limit yourself, right?
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel can be unpredictable. Whether it’s a last-minute cancellation, an injury, or (ugh) theft, things happen. That’s why I recommend never leaving the country without travel insurance. Here are my faves: Safety Wing and World Nomads.
Get Packing & Travel Essentials Ready
Check out the Bucket List Journey Amazon Store to find all my favorite travel essentials. Everything from Packing cubes, to travel adapters and toiletry containers to walking shoes.
*Lastly, check travel.state.gov for visa requirements and safety information.
Related
Japanese Culture, Traditions and Customs: 15 Lifestyle Facts to Know
Sendai Bucket List: 16 Things to Do
Tokyo Bucket List: 22 Things to Do
Captivating Chaos: Tokyo’s Robot Restaurant Show
Watch Wrestling Practice at a Sumo Stable in Japan
Visit Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market
Shinjuku Nightlife: A Guide to Tokyo’s Best Golden Gai Bars
Play with Felines at a Cat Cafe in Tokyo
Eat at a Themed Restaurant in Tokyo
This looks like an awesome experience (and I’ve just added Sendai to my bucket list for when I next visit Japan). Fabulous images also.
I remember getting naked in public for the first time at an onsen in Tokyo. As a reserved Brit, this felt slightly weird at first but I was surprised how normal it became after a short time!
That sounds a bit weird yeah, but I’m glad that you felt at ease in no time. Thanks for sharing your experience
We stayed at a ryokan just outside Kyoto and had the same lovely experience as you do, especially the kaiseki-ryori dinner! I was just too chicken to dip in the onsen because the water was too hot to my liking.
Happy to hear that you had a great experience too!
Thanks for the pictures! And hey, my wife is excited about the Ryokan experience. She said she’d probably do what you did – be an ultimate copy cat LOL. We’re travelling business class using our accumulated points via Japan airlines, how cool is that?