"Rather Than Dried-Out Sashimi and Cold Tempura, I Want Local Food": Is Ryokan Dinner Worth It? Japanese Guests Are Split

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 132 of 137 comments

• For me eating out ends up costing more, and I can drink and lie down right away, so I mostly eat at the inn. Getting to try lots of things, local dishes included, in small amounts is a plus too.

  自分の場合は外で食う方が高くつくし、酒飲んですぐ横になれるから宿飯メインだなぁ 郷土料理とか色んなものを少量ずつ食えるのも良い所

  — @echizen736Most liked118 likes

• I want to eat breakfast at the ryokan.

  朝は旅館で食べたい

  — @gronfighter83 likes

• My values just don't match people who cheap out on travel. Saving money in everyday life and spending it on places like this is the fun part.

  旅行でケチる人とは価値観合わないなぁ。普段は節約してこういう所でお金を使うのが楽しいのに。

  — @つるちゃんねる-f9n53 likes

• For dinner, rather than dried-out sashimi and cold tempura, I want to eat local food. Breakfast is different though, I want breakfast at the ryokan. Convenience-store food on a trip is just dull.

  夕食は乾いた刺身や、冷たい天麩羅を食べるより、地元飯を食べたいな。 ただ朝食だけは別で、朝食は旅館で食べたいな。 旅先までコンビニ飯は味気ない

  — @パンダウサギ-r4w45 likes

• Breakfast is good to have, but with dinner included you can't enjoy the local cheap eats. You even have to watch it so you don't eat too much at lunch.

  朝食はあったほうがいいけど夕食付だと地元のB級グルメとか楽しめないんだよなぁ。昼めしとかも食べ過ぎないように気を使うし。

  — @ka8328847 likes

• Ryokan course meals are fine when you're young, but as you get older it's just too much food. I wish they had something like a lighter course, and leaving food feels bad too.

  旅館のコース料理って若いうちはいいけど年取ると量が多すぎるんだよ　 控え目コースみたいなのがあるといいんだけど、残すのも悪いし

  — @maksight50339 likes

• That's fine if there are convenience stores or restaurants nearby, but at an inn somewhere hard to get to, sometimes you have no choice but to take both meals.

  コンビニや飲食店が近隣にあるならいいんだけどね、交通費不便な所の宿だと2食つけるしかない場合がある。

  — @darkdreamful943562 likes

• When I search booking sites for a one-person stay, it's almost all plans with no meals.

  予約サイトで１人泊のを探すと食事無しばかりなんだけど

  — @ishikarikumako41 likes

• Going room-only and eating separately is fine, but skip the convenience store.

  素泊まりで飯を別にするのはいいんだけどさ、コンビニはやめとけよ。

  — @英太郎-o1s27 likes

• Some ryokan are running with barely enough staff because of the labor shortage, so given the ingredient costs and the work of serving meals, I think some inns are actually grateful for room-only guests. Ingredient prices keep going up these days, so meals included doesn't mean more profit. Unless they can charge over 10,000 yen just for the food, if it's only a few thousand yen, room-only with everyone sorting out their own meals is a win-win.

  働き手不足でギリギリの人数で回してる旅館もあるのだから、料理提供の食材費と手間を考えたら素泊まりが有り難い旅館もあると思う。材料費が値上がってる昨今、料理付き=儲けが多いではないでしょう。料理だけで一万円以上取れるならまだしも、数千円くらいなら素泊まりで食事は各自調達がお互いWin-Win。

  — @ハーブティー-x7m4 likes

• The onsen towns that boomed in the bubble era declined because the big hotels took care of all the eating and souvenirs, and no money reached the local shops. Trying to prosper together with the area is a very good thing. I hope more cheap room-only inns appear too.

  バブルで栄えた温泉地は大型ホテルで食事お土産全部済んでしまい地元の商店なんかにお金が落ちなくて観光地自体が衰退しました。地域と共に栄えようとするのは大変良い事です。安く泊まれる素泊まり宿ももっと増えると良いと思う。

  — @traveller12 likes

• Everyone enjoys travel differently. I put the food first on trips, but my wife puts the sightseeing first. We've been married over 10 years and that's the one thing we don't agree on.

  旅の楽しみ方は人それぞれですね。 私は旅先での食事を重視するけど、妻は観光を重視してる。 結婚して10年以上経つけど唯一そこだけが気が合わない所

  — @モブ22 likes

• A lot of ryokan have small-portion courses these days. Even if it's not in the plans, some will accommodate you if you just ask them directly by phone.

  最近ではスモールポーションコースを用意してる旅館さんも多いですよ。 プランになくても電話で直接聞けば融通利かせてくれるところもあります。

  — @vimpatior8672 likes

• If I'm going to a proper ryokan, I go to enjoy the place itself, so I'd include the meals. If the trip is mainly about being out and about, I stay somewhere cheaper and eat around the neighborhood and snack as I go. Looking for food at the local supermarket is fun too!

  ちゃんとした旅館行くなら、そこを楽しむために行くから食事も入れるかな。 外行動メインなら、安めの宿で周辺のご飯や買い食いしてるかな。地元スーパーでご飯探すのも楽しい！

  — @らっこのここ2 likes

• I get prioritizing value, but in that case I think you could just stay at a business hotel and go to the onsen. Onsen towns have places you can bathe as a day visitor. Convenience stores vary too, and for breakfast they might be fine. In tourist areas they even sell slightly premium local bento like ekiben. I also get wanting to go to a famous local restaurant for dinner. If the ryokan's food appeals to you, great, but restaurants have good places too. A ryokan's selling point is the stay more than the food. A restaurant's selling point is the food. The appeal is different. It's not just about price. Cheap or expensive, money has a limit, so you have to make it work within that.

  コスパ重視なのは分かるけどそれなら旅館に泊まらずにビジネスホテルに宿泊して温泉に行けばいいように思うね。温泉街なら日帰り入浴出来るところありますよ。コンビニも色々で朝食程度なら良いかもですね。コンビニ弁当も観光地に行けばご当地のちょっとプレミアムな駅弁みたいなのが売られてますよ。夕食は地元の名店とか行きたくなるのも分かります。旅館の食事に魅力感じてたら良いけど、飲食店は飲食店でおいしいところとかあるからね。旅館は食事よりも宿泊が売りです。飲食店は食事が売りですから魅力度が異なります。値段だけじゃないです。高い安いもあるけど金は限度があるからその範囲内でやりくりしないといけないからね。

  — @hideo197692 likes

Should I book a ryokan with dinner or room only?

Check what is around the inn before you decide. Room-only works when there are convenience stores or restaurants nearby, but at a ryokan somewhere hard to reach you may have no choice but to take both meals (62 likes). Where there is a town to eat in, a common Japanese compromise is to keep breakfast and eat dinner out.

Is ryokan dinner too much food?

It can be, especially for older guests: one commenter says ryokan course meals are fine when you are young but become too much with age, and leaving food feels bad (39 likes). Another says many ryokan now offer small-portion courses, and some will accommodate you if you phone them directly even when the plan is not listed (2 likes).

Is it rude to stay at a ryokan without meals?

No, the disagreement among Japanese guests is about values, not manners. Some say they don't get along with people who cheap out on trips (53 likes), but another points out that with staff shortages and rising ingredient costs, some inns are actually grateful for room-only guests (4 likes).

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