A friend transiting Tokyo for 2 days in mid-September asked for suggestions to unwind and I immediately suggested getting out of Tokyo to an onsen. She'll be coming from organizing an international conference in India and going home to a husband, two babies, a dog and a hectic life in Hawaii. For her 48-hour respite all she wants is to soak, take in nice scenery and get a massage.

Can anyone recommend a traditional ryokan for a single near Tokyo? Budget is up to 30,000 yen per night. She'll be fine without a private furo in the room, but for her one onsen experience a beautiful shared bath for women in the ryokan would be nice.

Any input would be appreciated.

With that short a trip I don't know that I'd want the hassle of heading out of town, even though I know Hakone is the onsen capital.

I'm wondering whether a luxury option in Tokyo would actually be more relaxing?

Hoshinoya have just opened in Tokyo, and they have an onsen on 17th floor. Having loved their modernised yet traditional approach at Karuizawa I'm really keen to visit the Tokyo one, to see how it translates into a sky scraper!

You can take a look here for a "Traditional Ryokan" in the region:
http://japaneseguesthouses.com/ryoka.../?region=Kanto

Hakone or Nikko would work as well as Tokyo on a 2-night visit, imo.

Long time no see Mari

Senhime Monogatari is a beautiful modern ryokan just below the Shoguns mausoleum and along the Otani river. Linda and I loved this place and the food is a work of art. Our pictures are on the website eating dinner..fabulous place and very comfortable.

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/ryoka...ime+Monogatari

If you want a more countryside place then this may be it. 90 minutes out of Tokyo is this gem we enjoyed.

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/ryoka...yokan=Osenkaku

Aloha!

Thank you all. All your recs look beautiful. Peter, nice pic of you and Linda!

I sent over a quick list of suggestions, will let you know what my friend decides.

Tsurunoyu onsen in the Akita prefecture on my radar. Anyone been there done it. Inputs please.

inquest look in this report April 5 - 7

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...japan-2007.cfm

Aloha!

Thx HT.Great report,useful info.Wonder how I missed it. Tsuruno-yu, sometime early March. The other onsen I'm planning in Niigata Perfecture is Kiyotsukyou Yumoto Onsen.

http://www.kiyotsukan.com/

Its in Japanese.