Thanks for this video! Will be visiting this exact location soon and really appreciate the details you provided...helpful video like all your others! Happy travels-
Thank you so much for watching! We hope you take our advice and arrive a bit earlier than we did so you can maximize your time there. It was such a cool experience. Here's a link to our other Japan series videos from our 42 days there! -Judy Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
We understand how easy it is to skip it. I changed my mind a dozen times within the cancellation period because it was a big splurge when it already was an expensive trip for us. But we're really glad to have had the experience. Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words. We were fairly intimidated by how traditional everything was and didn't want to offend by getting things wrong! Merry Christmas to you and Stan! -Judy
Excellent video, very informative. I think the splurge was totally worth it and I hope one day Chris and I are able to do it. I did see a lot of fish so I may have to skip the fancy dinner, although I love the way everything is served and the whole process.
It was a lot of fish, Natasha! They had a public dining room and I think you can order off the menu there, but Japan in general isn't the best place to accommodate allergies or food preferences. Soy and fish sauce is in a lot of dishes. We like the umami, but it's been a learned process for me in recent years. I hadn't been the biggest fan of sushi, although Kevin and our daughter love it. So I was very proud of myself for embracing it all-except the sardine (?) with the eyes! 🤣🤦♀️ I did taste it, but I did NOT eat the head! The in-room onsen was amazing and I am a huge fan of watching every sunrise I can, so those things alone were were the price! Thanks so much for watching, and we wish you both a merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year, wherever you may be! -Judy
Seems that you really love Japan ! So many videos :) Did you try a ramen chain called ICHIRAN? I think they have the best ramen :) Also, have you or will you be touring Mt Fuji ? One of my most memorable experiences was taking a very long cable car ride that span across Mt Fuji and a very large lake (forgot the name). Hope to do it again someday ! Also, I had a wonderful experience at NARA (?) deer park. Not to be missed :)
Hi Mike, Yes, we have a lot of content from Japan! We were there for 42 days and we were busy the entire time. We did try Ichiran and we really enjoyed it. We include it here in the video we did from Kyoto (th-cam.com/video/JKZ3hFp-39Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dUn6g0KAXKx8R1Vn&t=888). We did not tour Mt Fuji, unfortunately. We were told that due to fog, there's no guarantee that you're going to have the amazing views you'd want, but we do wish we had made time for it. Our daughter joined us for a week, so we backtracked over some places and did things that we might not otherwise have done. I wouldn't call that wasted time, but we did have some different experiences than if it would have just been the two of us. We adored Nara, and have included it in our Kyoto Temples video (th-cam.com/video/8NFxjzkOHBU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=yJjobmpwPAHgbOFP&t=391). We only heard about it from a Buddhist priest who told us about the huge Buddha statue there and are so glad we could see it for ourselves. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, too! We have one more episode from Hiroshima to share and then onto Vietnam! Thank you so much for watching. Wishing you and your family a healthy and joyful Christmas and a happy New Year! -Judy
Hi Angela, We hope you absolutely love it! We called to let them know we had arrived at the station and they arranged a free shuttle that brought us from the train station directly to the onsen. The whole process took 15 minutes tops and then we could enjoy our stay. You might consider arriving earlier in the day in order to drop off your bags with them and wandering the property before you're able to check in. Let us know what you think of the experience when you return! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you so much. I appreciate you answering me. I enjoy your videos. I will let you know. I’m traveling with my newly high school graduate son. It’s our special trip before I let him completely fly from the nest.
My half sister took her son to Japan for his graduation trip, too. They had a fabulous time together, and I hope you and your son enjoy this celebratory trip! Thank you so much for watching. We really appreciate it. -Judy
Really great question; thanks for watching! It was called, "Japanese-Style Room with Open-Air Bath." I had the same question myself when I was looking for a place. I wanted to have this experience, but I wasn't sure what it was called, either! Here's a link to our hotel: link.findingginamarie.com/biwakoryokan We hope you have a great time in Japan. Here's a link to our series from our entire 40+ days there. -Judy Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
I was a little surprised that we had our own private room, BUT it wasn't our room. I might have enjoyed it being not quite so private because we were mostly whispering the entire time. It felt a little stuffy of an experience, but we never would have tried this wide assortment of foods, which for the most part all were very delicious. Thanks for watching! -Judy
Great question! Yes, it fit both of us very comfortably! Here's a link to the rest of our Japan series if you are interested! -Judy Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
hmmm ... it seems to me ... ryokan are becoming foreign tourist bait ... my girlfriend wanted to visit her ancestor castle town of Hikone so we had to stay at Kamenoi .... It was actually ok ...
That's actually not true. They are very popular with locals because of the hot springs and also the upscale food. In fact, it's very difficult to book them around Christmas because that's a super popular time for the locals to use them! Thanks for watching! We have an entire series from Japan if you want a walk down memory lane for some of the places you might have visited. -Judy Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
@@FindingGinaMarie ww! ... and yet here you are in ryokan ! (^_^) ... anyway, when the dad's bring their children into the public bath I become nervous ... for Christmas, the traditional thing is Beethoven's 9th Symphony ! (^_^) ... my most cherished performance last December was at Suntory Hall ...
There are too many predators in this world for me to feel comfortable bringing a child into a public bath, unfortunately. LOL re Beethoven, which I am hearing is basically a Christmas carol in Japan! But as far as ryokans being touristy, I'm not fully seeing your point. We're always being told to go where the locals go, and when we do that makes it touristy? I'd prefer to say that ryokans are popular for tourists and locals alike, because that's the more true point. -Judy
Very fascinating and you guys are pro making these videos.
Thank you so much, Anna. This was a bit of a hard one because we were so intimidated by the experience! But we are so glad we did it! -Judy
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope you have a wonderful New Year’s experience!
Thank you so much! Please take care of yourself and enjoy time with your loved ones. And thank you for watching! -Judy
Thanks for this video! Will be visiting this exact location soon and really appreciate the details you provided...helpful video like all your others! Happy travels-
Thank you so much for watching! We hope you take our advice and arrive a bit earlier than we did so you can maximize your time there. It was such a cool experience. Here's a link to our other Japan series videos from our 42 days there! -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
I wanted to do this but it didn’t work out. I have to do this next time! Great video! Your research is very thorough on all of these videos.
We understand how easy it is to skip it. I changed my mind a dozen times within the cancellation period because it was a big splurge when it already was an expensive trip for us. But we're really glad to have had the experience. Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words. We were fairly intimidated by how traditional everything was and didn't want to offend by getting things wrong! Merry Christmas to you and Stan! -Judy
Excellent video, very informative. I think the splurge was totally worth it and I hope one day Chris and I are able to do it. I did see a lot of fish so I may have to skip the fancy dinner, although I love the way everything is served and the whole process.
It was a lot of fish, Natasha! They had a public dining room and I think you can order off the menu there, but Japan in general isn't the best place to accommodate allergies or food preferences. Soy and fish sauce is in a lot of dishes. We like the umami, but it's been a learned process for me in recent years. I hadn't been the biggest fan of sushi, although Kevin and our daughter love it. So I was very proud of myself for embracing it all-except the sardine (?) with the eyes! 🤣🤦♀️ I did taste it, but I did NOT eat the head!
The in-room onsen was amazing and I am a huge fan of watching every sunrise I can, so those things alone were were the price! Thanks so much for watching, and we wish you both a merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year, wherever you may be! -Judy
Seems that you really love Japan ! So many videos :)
Did you try a ramen chain called ICHIRAN? I think they have the best ramen :)
Also, have you or will you be touring Mt Fuji ?
One of my most memorable experiences was taking a very long cable car ride that span across Mt Fuji and a very large lake (forgot the name). Hope to do it again someday !
Also, I had a wonderful experience at NARA (?) deer park. Not to be missed :)
Hi Mike, Yes, we have a lot of content from Japan! We were there for 42 days and we were busy the entire time. We did try Ichiran and we really enjoyed it. We include it here in the video we did from Kyoto (th-cam.com/video/JKZ3hFp-39Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dUn6g0KAXKx8R1Vn&t=888).
We did not tour Mt Fuji, unfortunately. We were told that due to fog, there's no guarantee that you're going to have the amazing views you'd want, but we do wish we had made time for it. Our daughter joined us for a week, so we backtracked over some places and did things that we might not otherwise have done. I wouldn't call that wasted time, but we did have some different experiences than if it would have just been the two of us.
We adored Nara, and have included it in our Kyoto Temples video (th-cam.com/video/8NFxjzkOHBU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=yJjobmpwPAHgbOFP&t=391). We only heard about it from a Buddhist priest who told us about the huge Buddha statue there and are so glad we could see it for ourselves. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, too!
We have one more episode from Hiroshima to share and then onto Vietnam! Thank you so much for watching. Wishing you and your family a healthy and joyful Christmas and a happy New Year! -Judy
How do you get from the train to the Ryokan? We booked this per your recommendation.
Hi Angela, We hope you absolutely love it! We called to let them know we had arrived at the station and they arranged a free shuttle that brought us from the train station directly to the onsen. The whole process took 15 minutes tops and then we could enjoy our stay. You might consider arriving earlier in the day in order to drop off your bags with them and wandering the property before you're able to check in. Let us know what you think of the experience when you return! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you so much. I appreciate you answering me. I enjoy your videos. I will let you know. I’m traveling with my newly high school graduate son. It’s our special trip before I let him completely fly from the nest.
My half sister took her son to Japan for his graduation trip, too. They had a fabulous time together, and I hope you and your son enjoy this celebratory trip! Thank you so much for watching. We really appreciate it. -Judy
Hi, what is the room you booked called?
Really great question; thanks for watching! It was called, "Japanese-Style Room with Open-Air Bath." I had the same question myself when I was looking for a place. I wanted to have this experience, but I wasn't sure what it was called, either! Here's a link to our hotel: link.findingginamarie.com/biwakoryokan We hope you have a great time in Japan. Here's a link to our series from our entire 40+ days there. -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
Not all of them serve your meal in your room either, which kind of disappointed me, but I can understand why they do this.
I was a little surprised that we had our own private room, BUT it wasn't our room. I might have enjoyed it being not quite so private because we were mostly whispering the entire time. It felt a little stuffy of an experience, but we never would have tried this wide assortment of foods, which for the most part all were very delicious. Thanks for watching! -Judy
I am curious if the private bath in your room was big enough for the two of you to enjoy together?
Great question! Yes, it fit both of us very comfortably! Here's a link to the rest of our Japan series if you are interested! -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
hmmm ... it seems to me ... ryokan are becoming foreign tourist bait ... my girlfriend wanted to visit her ancestor castle town of Hikone so we had to stay at Kamenoi .... It was actually ok ...
That's actually not true. They are very popular with locals because of the hot springs and also the upscale food. In fact, it's very difficult to book them around Christmas because that's a super popular time for the locals to use them! Thanks for watching! We have an entire series from Japan if you want a walk down memory lane for some of the places you might have visited. -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
@@FindingGinaMarie ww! ... and yet here you are in ryokan ! (^_^) ... anyway, when the dad's bring their children into the public bath I become nervous ... for Christmas, the traditional thing is Beethoven's 9th Symphony ! (^_^) ... my most cherished performance last December was at Suntory Hall ...
There are too many predators in this world for me to feel comfortable bringing a child into a public bath, unfortunately. LOL re Beethoven, which I am hearing is basically a Christmas carol in Japan! But as far as ryokans being touristy, I'm not fully seeing your point. We're always being told to go where the locals go, and when we do that makes it touristy? I'd prefer to say that ryokans are popular for tourists and locals alike, because that's the more true point. -Judy