Handing over your shoes immediately after entering a ryokan to don traditional slippers feels like a symbolic act - as if stepping back into history demands appropriate footwear.
Ryokan - Japanese inns - were introduced in the 17th century as rest houses for feudal lords travelling to pay respects to the shogun. And despite Japan's dramatic transformation during the past 150 years, the traditional ryokan experience has remained frozen in time, epitomising the essence of traditional Japanese architecture, cuisine and culture.
But the number of ryokan has dwindled steadily during the past two decades - the effect of a stagnant economy and increasing competition from reasonably priced hotels offering attractive new facilities such as spas. Industry insiders say that about 150 inns are forced to close every year, and half the estimated 55,500 ryokan still in operation could be lost by 2020 as more Japanese turn to western-style accommodation.
Tokyo housewife Noriko Kimoto's holidaying habits reflect the trend. 'We'll always visit ryokan. It's in our blood,' she says. 'But instead of two or three visits a year, we now go once in spring-time as a special occasion. I prefer to take my children to a hotel with a swimming pool. We also like how relaxed the western hotels are and being able to choose when and where we eat.'
Such lifestyle changes are critical for the traditional inns, which rely primarily on domestic clientele, as foreign tourists tend to stay away because of their high rates, formal etiquette and language difficulties. Some ryokan operators realise that revamps are in order if they're to survive, but they must tread a tricky path. The appeal of ryokan lies in their traditional service and old-world etiquette. Yet these qualities have increasingly to compete with international norms of flexible room service and varied menus, services and facilities.
'This is the key problem,' says Yoshiharu Hoshino, a ryokan turnaround specialist. 'Ryokan haven't changed, but guests have. Still, we need to think very carefully about how to introduce new elements. We don't want to change everything, but we must make them more competitive for Japanese
