Overview

Stay at Ryokan Asunaro in central Takayama, around five minutes on foot from JR Takayama Station and the Nohi Bus Center. The location gives you easy access to Takayama’s historic streets, morning markets, sake breweries, restaurants, and cultural sites.

The building began as a traditional country house in the mountains of Niigata. According to local history, defeated samurai once found shelter there during the 16th-century Sengoku period. The house was moved to Takayama in 1991 and carefully restored as Ryokan Asunaro.

Traditional post-and-beam construction holds the building together without nails. Around 200-year-old Japanese elm beams rise above the central lounge, while polished wood, tatami, latticework, and a sunken irori hearth preserve the atmosphere of an old mountain home.

Accommodation

Choose from six room categories, all with tatami flooring and Japanese design. Most rooms use futon bedding, while the Family Room combines tatami with two Western beds.

The Japanese Modern Room measures approximately 33 square metres and accommodates two or three people. Two rooms are available, each with a private bathroom and toilet.

The Superior Room has two connected tatami spaces. The main room measures approximately 20 square metres, while the smaller room measures around ten square metres and contains a sunken irori hearth. A small sitting area, private bathroom, and toilet complete the layout. This room accommodates up to four people.

The 40-square-metre Family Room is the largest category. It has two 120-centimetre-wide beds, tatami space for additional futons, two washbasins, and a private bathroom and toilet. Up to six people can stay together.

Deluxe Rooms combine a 12-tatami main room with a separate irori area. Four rooms have a sunken hearth, while one has an irori table. Each accommodates between two and four people and includes a private bathroom and toilet.

Standard Rooms come in eight- and ten-tatami layouts. The ten-tatami rooms measure approximately 17 square metres and accommodate up to four people. The smaller eight-tatami room measures approximately 13 square metres and accommodates one or two people. Each includes a sitting area, bathroom, and toilet.

The Standard Room with Shower measures approximately 17 square metres and accommodates two or three people. It has a tatami sleeping area, a small sitting space, a private shower, and a toilet rather than a bathtub.

Every room is non-smoking and includes free Wi-Fi, heating and air conditioning, a television, refrigerator, humidifier, safe, electric kettle, Japanese tea set, hair dryer, towels, yukata, slippers, bottled water, and toiletries.

The ryokan stands in a commercial part of central Takayama, so the rooms do not provide scenic mountain views. You can enjoy the Japanese garden from the lobby instead.

Dining

Dinner is a regional kaiseki meal prepared with seasonal ingredients and flavours associated with Takayama and the Hida region.

The main course features award-winning Hida wagyu beef cooked as sukiyaki. The richly marbled beef is served with vegetables and a savoury broth, allowing you to cook each piece at the table.

Other dishes change with the season and may include local vegetables, mountain plants, fish, simmered food, rice, soup, pickles, and dessert. The menu follows one monthly set course rather than a selection of separate dinner plans.

Dinner begins at either 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. You select your preferred time when booking, although the requested sitting may not always be available.

Dinner is available for one night during a multi-night stay. This allows you to experience the ryokan’s kaiseki while also exploring Takayama’s restaurants on another evening.

Breakfast and dinner are served in the communal dining room. In-room dining and private dining rooms are not available.

The first breakfast is normally Japanese. Hida-grown Koshihikari rice is served with hōba miso, mountain vegetables, pickles, and other regional dishes. Hōba miso is cooked on a dried magnolia leaf, releasing a rich aroma that pairs well with warm rice.

From the second morning, you can choose a Japanese or Western breakfast. A Western breakfast can also be prepared on your first morning when requested well before arrival.

Breakfast begins at 7:00 a.m., 7:30 a.m., or 8:00 a.m. Dietary restrictions require notice at least two days before arrival. Gluten-free meals cannot be prepared, while vegetarian and vegan adjustments are limited to the Western breakfast.

Onsen and Wellness

Ryokan Asunaro has separate indoor natural hot spring baths for men and women. The baths use official Hida Takayama Onsen water and do not switch sides during your stay.

The clear water contains sodium chloride and bicarbonate, along with a small amount of sulfur. Traditional bathing indications include fatigue, body aches, arthritis, and circulation concerns.

Each bathing area has a granite stone pool, washing stations, and a changing room finished with fragrant Japanese elm. The baths are compact and designed for a quiet indoor soak after sightseeing.

You can use the onsen from 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and again from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

The bathing areas provide shampoo, conditioner, body wash, drinking water, cotton items, combs, and hair dryers. The women’s changing room also has cleansing products, toner, and moisturiser, while the men’s side provides razors, aftershave, hair tonic, and styling oil.

There is no open-air bath, sauna, reservable family bath, or private onsen. Private bathrooms inside the rooms use regular heated water.

Guests with Tattoos

You can use the communal natural hot spring baths when you have tattoos. Ryokan Asunaro welcomes tattoos without requiring you to cover them.

The same bathing etiquette applies to everyone. Wash before entering the pool, keep towels out of the water, and use the men’s or women’s bath assigned to you.

Facilities

The central lounge forms the heart of the ryokan. High ceilings expose the old Japanese elm beams, while the sunken irori hearth recalls the layout of a traditional country house.

Freshly brewed coffee is available beside the hearth from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. You can sit here before breakfast, after sightseeing, or while waiting to check in.

Women can choose a colourful yukata to wear inside the ryokan. A standard yukata is provided for men.

Complimentary bicycles are available when you are aged 12 or older. Numbers are limited, so you need to request one at reception. Free umbrellas are also provided on rainy days.

An ice machine and microwave allow you to prepare drinks or warm food brought back to your room. Outside food and drinks can be consumed inside your accommodation but not in the dining room.

The coin laundry opens from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Washing machines include detergent, and gas dryers are available beside them.

The complete indoor property is non-smoking. A designated smoking area for cigarettes and electronic cigarettes is positioned beside the entrance.

The building is not completely step-free. An indoor wheelchair can be used, but some parts of the traditional structure remain difficult to access.

Activities

Borrow a bicycle and explore central Takayama at your own pace. The compact town centre makes it easy to move between traditional streets, temples, riverside paths, shops, and cafés.

Walk through the Sanmachi Traditional Buildings Preservation Area, where old merchant houses now contain Hida beef restaurants, sweet shops, craft stores, and local sake breweries.

Visit the Miyagawa Morning Market or the market beside Takayama Jinya for vegetables, fruit, pickles, snacks, flowers, and handmade products.

Takayama Jinya preserves the former government buildings used to manage the Hida region during the Edo period. You can explore its tatami rooms, offices, kitchens, courtyards, and historic rice storehouse.

Hida Kokubunji Temple stands near the station and is known for its three-storey pagoda and old ginkgo tree. For a longer outing, visit Hida Folk Village to see traditional farmhouses moved from mountain communities across the region.

Reception can arrange taxis, help forward your luggage to your next destination, and prepare a birthday cake when ordered at least three days before arrival.

Additional Features

Check-in is available from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and check-out takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

The main entrance locks at 11:00 p.m., so you need to return before the curfew.

JR Takayama Station and the Nohi Bus Center are around five minutes away on foot. The ryokan does not operate a shuttle bus.

Free outdoor parking is available for 15 vehicles, with one space provided for each room. You need to notify the ryokan before arriving by car. Additional vehicles must use a nearby paid car park.

You can leave your luggage and car before check-in or after check-out while exploring Takayama. Shorter storage conditions may apply during peak holiday periods or on dates when the ryokan closes.

Ryokan Asunaro accepts stays with children aged 12 or older. Pets cannot enter the property.