A Ryokan in Japan for 51,000 ₽: What We Paid For and Was It Worth Getting a Private Onsen.
51,000 ₽ for a single night in a Japanese ryokan sounds insane.
Especially when you realize you could’ve booked several nights in a standard hotel for that kind of money 😅
But would I do it again? Yes. But I’d skip such an expensive room next time.
Here’s why.
🏯 What we actually booked
We stayed at Yunoshimakan in Gero.
I really wanted to spend at least one night away from the big city in an authentic Japanese ryokan: tatami mats, yukatas, an onsen, a traditional dinner, and just a completely different vibe after Tokyo.
We paid around 51,000 ₽ for two people for one night.
The price included:
a large traditional-style room;
two private onsens;
a kaiseki dinner;
a Japanese breakfast.
And, of course, access to the ryokan's large public onsens.
🚄 How to get to Gero
For us, Gero was the perfect pit stop between Tokyo and Osaka.
Our route:
Tokyo → Nagoya by Shinkansen → Gero by local train.
Here’s a pro tip I’d definitely keep in mind now: double-check the schedule for that second train. It’s not the subway that runs every five minutes—there can be a pretty long wait between convenient departure times.
A shuttle from the ryokan was already waiting to pick us up at Gero station.
So, it’s best to factor in some buffer time for the trip, especially if you’re traveling with luggage.
🛏️ So, what was the 51,000 ₽ for?
The room itself was massive.
Tatami mats, sliding shoji doors, tons of space, and a lush green view—it’s a totally different world compared to standard city hotels.
But the most expensive part of our booking was the private onsens.
One was located right in our room, and the other was a small open-air bath surrounded by rocks and nature.
And here’s the biggest takeaway I wish I had known before booking:
👉 a private onsen is cool, but for your first time, it’s completely unnecessary.
That’s because the ryokan itself had gorgeous, sprawling public onsens, separated by gender.
♨️ I was NOT ready for the water temperature 😂
We visited in the summer, and it was scorching hot outside.
I touched the water and my first thought was:
"How do people even get in there?!"
It felt like literal boiling water.
So, I saved my main onsen dip for late at night.
Around 11:00 PM, I headed to the women’s public bath—and by some miracle, I was completely alone.
Which turned out to be perfect for a first-timer 😅
At first, I had to inch my way in, literally centimeter by centimeter. You do get used to it, but every 5–10 minutes, I still needed to get out and cool off a bit.
Fun fact: as long as you sit perfectly still, it’s fine. But the second you move, the water suddenly feels even hotter 😂
🍱 Kaiseki is an experience of its own
We chose our dinner time at check-in.
We were escorted to a private dining room just for the two of us.
There was a menu on the table, and the dishes were brought out course by course, complete with instructions on how to eat them properly.
I absolutely loved this.
It wasn't just a "hotel dinner," but a full-blown multi-course ritual.
Breakfast was served in a communal dining area, but each table was still served their dishes sequentially.
The only catch? Breakfast was super early.
And we had gone to sleep at around 3:00 AM 😅
So our serene Japanese morning was rudely interrupted by an alarm clock.
🌿 But the room isn't the main highlight at all
The real magic started in the evening.
Sitting in an open-air onsen.
Surrounded by the forest, rocks, and pure silence.
Nowhere to be, nothing to rush for.
After a few days in Tokyo, where we were constantly on the go, it felt almost mandatory:
just stop.
And that exact feeling is exactly why I’d go back.
💰 Was it worth 51,000 ₽?
The ryokan experience itself? Absolutely, yes.
But if I were to book it again now, I’d do things differently.
I’d book a more basic room, stick to the public onsens, and maybe reserve a private/family bath separately if I really wanted to.
So, to sum up:
✅ first ryokan experience — yes
✅ kaiseki — yes
✅ at least one onsen — an absolute must
❌ overpaying for a luxury room just for a private onsen — skip it
And I’d also change one more thing: I'd stay for at least two nights instead of just one.
Because a one-night stay wraps up right around the time you finally stop rushing.
If you had 51,000 ₽, would you drop it on a single night at a ryokan like this, or spend it on a few nights in a solid Tokyo hotel? 👇