Staying in a Ryokan: Slippers, Yukata and Dinner

In short

• Take your shoes off at the entrance and wear the inn’s slippers from there.
• No slippers on tatami. The toilet has slippers of its own: swap back at the door.
• Wrap the yukata left side over right, men and women alike.
• Dinner is at a set time, chosen at check-in. Nobody expects a tip.

Shoes, slippers and tatami

The entrance is called the genkan, and staff often put your shoes away for you there.

1. Take your shoes off at the genkan and step into the slippers.

2. At the edge of the tatami, take the slippers off: tatami is for socks or bare feet only.

3. In the toilet, swap into the toilet slippers waiting inside — and back again at the door.

Common mistake: Walking back down the corridor in the toilet slippers. Everyone does it once; the staff will smile.

Carry your suitcase across the tatami rather than rolling it: wheels mark the mats.

How to wear a yukata

The yukata in your room is yours to wear around the inn, to the bath and to dinner. Wrap it left side over right, whether you’re a man or a woman, and tie the sash at the waist.

Important: Right over left is how the dead are dressed for a funeral. It’s the one yukata mistake people notice.

Dinner, breakfast and paying

Meals are at set times, which you choose at check-in. The kitchen prepares a dinner for each guest, so arriving late matters: if you’re delayed, call the inn.

• Dinner is often kaiseki, many small courses, in your room or a dining room.
• Breakfast is early; ask its time when you arrive.
• There’s no tip: everything is in the price.

The futon and the night

While you’re at dinner, staff lay out the futon on the tatami, and in the morning they clear it. You don’t need to fold anything.

How locals do it: Walls are thin, some are paper screens. Keep it quiet late at night and early in the morning.

In a minshuku or a small guesthouse there are fewer staff: read the house rules for quiet hours and when the door is locked.