Hotel hospitality to travellers have been a feature of the earliest civilizations. In Greco-Roman culture and ancient Persia, hospitals for recuperation and rest were built at thermal baths. Japan's Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, founded in 705, was officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest hotel in the world. During the Middle Ages, various religious orders at monasteries and abbeys would offer accommodation for travellers on the road. The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe, possibly dating back to the rule of Ancient Rome. These would provide for the needs of travellers, including food and
Yamanaka Onsen military hospital area for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Yamanaka Onsen This hot spring has one hotel and 20 "ryokan." Yamanaka Onsen has a very ancient history, and there are several myths about its foundation. One story attributes it to the wandering Buddhist monk Gyōki in the Nara period. Another story states that the Kamakura period samurai Hasebe Nobutsura discovered the springs while following an injured white heron and seeing it bath in the hot waters. It was patronised in the Muromachi period by the "Ikkō-ikki" leader Rennyo and was visited in the Edo period by the poet Matsuo Bashō. During