ismael chang ghalimi

Spirited Away

For the past two days we have been staying at the Kanaguya ryokan in Yudanaka, which is located an hour away from Nagano in the Japanese Alps. A ryokan is the Japanese equivalent of a bed & breakfast, in a more luxurious way.

Because Kanaguya is also an onsen—Japanese public bath (sento) with natural hot spring water, it gives you the ultimate ryokan experience: we got a large room with tatami floors and a private shrine, rested in a couple of the onsen’s five private baths and enjoyed kaiseki dinners that are as entertaining as delectable when trying to identify the nature of the food being served. Raw horse meat and chicken broth served in a tea pot were firsts for both May and I, even though May passed on the horse meat.

But the best part of the stay was the ryokan’s building itself, with its pagoda-style architecture, eight floors and labyrinthine corridors. All of a sudden, it feels like we have been Spirited Away into the magical world of Hayao Miyazaki. Many thanks to Reynald A. for having made the reservation for us and to Sarayan and Totoro for having introduced me to the wonders of Studio Ghibli.

Hi,

I made a reservation in Kanaguya for December 2006. I am pretty nervous about it, because of the fact that they don’t seem to speak English. My Japanese friend has made the reservation for us. Do you mind telling me what your experience was like? Were you able to communicate at all? Also, the main/only purpose for this trip is to see the snow monkey. Was the route to the park easy to get to?

Any information is appreciated!

Amy,

You should not have any problem communicating with the ryokan’s personel, and they are extremely friendly. As far as going to see the monkeys, the best would be to order a cab to take you from the hotel to the park, then to walk back to the hotel. The ride back to the hotel is downhill and should not take more than 30 minutes. Just make sure to spot landmarks on your way to the park. An alternative option is to wait for a cab to take you back to the hotel, but you’ll have no guarantee of when one will show up. Overall, your biggest challenge will be orientation inside the ryokan. It’s a really big one, with funky staircases. Have fun!