Ryokan (inn) a family home. Minshuku often serve as the only type of accommodation in towns or villages too small to warrant a dedicated hotel or ryokan. The overall experience is much the same, but the food is simpler, dining may be optional and is often communal, rooms do not usually have a private toilet, and guests may have to lay out their own bedding. Ryokan (inn) A is a type of traditional Japanese inn that has existed since the eighth century A.D. during the Keiun period, in which the oldest hotel in the world, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, was created in 705
Yamanaka Onsen 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 World War II, it was designated as a