A Small Hotel...

Sunday at Gion Yoshiima Ryokan
This was one of our best days and we laughed through most of it. After settling in our room and getting comfortable in our robes we relaxed and read for a while. Now each hotel has its own robe made from a special fabric design and leather slippers. Inside we wore only our socks and special bathroom slippers kept inside that room. A small booklet explained all the customs for the Ryokan even how to tie the sash on our robe. I opted to wear the little jacket over the robe for warmth. Before dinner we were given a time to go to the bath. Even though we had a small wooden tub in our room, the downstairs bath was larger and could accomodate both of us. So we were led downstairs and again soaped up and showered before entering the tub. Let's say it was cozy, but the warm water felt good and the wooden tub had a lovely scent. After bathing we put on our robes and went back upstairs where our room had been set up for dinner. Susan & Barry joined us and we all sat uncomfortably on our legless chairs.

Our nine course dinner was brought in on trays and placed before us. There is no family style here and you end up with a zillion little plates in front of you. We had raw fish, steamed fish, relishes, and each comes with it's own dipping sauces. There were little straw baskets with tempura (fried prawns and veggies), rice, soup and noodles. Fresh fruit was the dessert with more to come at the tea ceremony. Each course was delicately put in front of us and we really had no idea of much of what we tried to eat. The funniest part was that Jeff & Barry didn't quite fit in their robes and spent a great deal of time getting comfortable and adjusting themselves for coverage. You don't wear anything under the robe, but Jeff did wear underwear or this site would be X rated.

After dinner we were summoned to the tea house. We were led to the garden and the inn's owner gave us a summary of what was to come. The funny part was that he had lived in New York for many years and not only knew Trenton, but said that he remembered our Trenton Makes, the World Takes bridge. His son then took over and we entered the garden and walked to the small tea house. But, to our horror, instead of using the door he slipped open a small panel in the side wall and asked us to crawl inside. You can see the panel behind Jeff in the photos above and it is quite small. You step on a rock outside and then crawl in and around to your place where you are supposed to sit on your knees. I was first so I had a bird's eye view of the others and it was a riot. Sure you can laugh at us, but imagine being naked under a robe and crawling on your knees. It's hard to keep the thing closed and getting into a comfortable position and acting serious about the ceremony is more than we could handle. But, after lots of shifting we found ourselves drinking green tea and eating a finger size piece of bean paste fudge which we cut and served ourselves with a toothpick. I'm still chuckling just thinking about it.

Afterwards he allowed us to leave through the shogi screen door because even he couldn't imagine sheparding us back out the side panel. We then visited their small museum and finally made our way back upstairs. We were allowed to go outside (in the robes) and take a walk, but we declined. Our room had been transformed into a bedroom with large mattresses and quilts on the floor. Once we got down there we slept well and got ready to eat again in the morning.

Our attendant came in and stowed away the bed stuff and brought back the table and chairs. We have opted for a Western style breakfast and had juice, eggs and bacon, toast and coffee/tea. Then we dressed and headed downstairs to retrieve our shoes and go back to the hotel. They gave us parting gifts and called a cab. Two of the front desk women stood at attention as we got into the cab and bowed as we drove away. They were probably laughing at us as much as we did.

What a wonderful experience!

Judy