Japanese Inn (Ryokan) 旅館

My first experiences in Japan have all been extremely good. I came to Japan through my college and the IES Abroad program to Nagoya, Japan. When I arrived at the Airport in Nagoya I was greeted by the IES Nagoya program director Satoshi Tsukamoto
(I think Satoshi is his first name but this is Japan and they like to switch things around on me sometimes so I never really know, he'll be hereafter referred to simply as Satoshi or as Satoshi-sensei). I was then able to send my luggage ahead of myself to be delivered to my host family on the 9th so that I would not have haul them all the way to the orientation which was to take place at a traditional Japanese Inn or Ryokan and last about four days.

The first night myself and most of the other IES Nanzan University students arrived that night in Naygoya at around 5pm so the first night was actually spent in Daichi Fuji hotel near the Nagoya station. It was the following morning when we actually headed out to Inuyama-shi(dog mountain city) to stay at Geihanrou Ryokan. I believe there were approximately 14 of us in all. After arriving we split up into groups and found ourselves in these awesomely Japanese rooms you see in the photos.
Most people generally know that Japanese people always take their shoes off when they enter the house, however not everyone knows that after they take of their shoes they sometimes actually put on slippers and wear those around certain parts of the house. Furthermore, there is a special pair of slippers specifically for the toilet room(This is different from the bathroom), and if you are caught wearing these outside of the toilet room you will be thoroughly laughed at. The slippers given to you at the Ryokan are mostly just for walking around the hotel and not actually worn inside the room but, of course, I have feet the size of Bigfoot and there was no way I could actually wear those that they provided anyhow. I just wore my shoes when walking around the hotel.

Anyhow, after getting settled into our rooms and relaxing for a bit by watching a little Japanese television it was about dinner time. For dinner we were served in a large room with tatami flooring (the straw mats you see on the floor in the photos). The dinner at the Ryokan is by far the most interesting meal I've had so far. You are seated on a cushion in a "chair" that you can't really lean back on very much because it's only your body weight keeping it in place. In front of you is placed a slightly raised tray with an assortment of very pretty food of which you're not always exactly sure what is edible. During my stay we ate this way three times and I have to say that if you can't eat seafood you're going to have a very hard time eating actual Japanese food. One of the most interesting things I was fed was some odd kind of tofu that tasted of peanut butter. It was actually very good. But, I can definitely say I didn't go hunger because as you're eating they continue to bring you more food which never seems to end. There is also always at least one hot dish cooked on a small burner which I usually save for last because it's usually the best.

After dinner it's then time for the bath. I wasn't all that turned on by the bath at first. The idea of bathing with a bunch of people I didn't know definitely didn't really appeal to me but I eventually learned to really like it. It's the perfect thing before bed. I don't know what it does to you but I was always really tired afterwards. The Japanese actually wash themselves and rise off completely before getting into the bath. The hot water is really just to relax, and in a country where they don't really heat their houses it is nice indeed. Whether your in your private bath or in public you usually have a little stall where you have a faucet, a shower head, a small stool to sit on, and a bowl to fill with water and dump over your head to rinse off. While it's somewhat cold at first (if it is winter) it's not that bad. However, all the exchange students like to joke about how the first thing they see when they wake up in the morning is their breath.