The Growing International Appeal of the Ryokan

29.10.2024 - 06:05 / skift.com / Colin Nagy

The traditional Japanese ryokan is a beautifully structured and choreographed experience. Hospitality and ritual are the emphasis. The family-run inns are often set within beautiful nature, ideally with access to restorative hot springs, known as onsens. The emphasis is on relaxation, Kaiseki meals based on local and seasonal ingredients, and hyper-personalized service. 

For guests who aren’t Japanese, it is a thoughtful experience with a deeper level of cultural integration. It is akin to putting on a beautifully cut suit that has been made for you. The core service is a decidedly Japanese concept, which is a very subtle and unflashy anticipation of both stated and unsaid needs. 

These ryokans are typically homespun, intimate affairs, but the idea has been gathering cultural momentum and investment capital. 

Hyatt recently announced a new hot-spring brand, Atona, which will launch in Japan in early 2026, targeting global travelers across three initial properties in Yufu, Yakushina, and Hakone. Though the concept is still in its planning stages, the strategy seems to point to bringing modernity to the classical approach for a Western clientele. 

The brand can look to the Arcana Hotel in the Izu Peninsula, which blends the nature-centric ryokan with more Western and Scandinavian design codes. It trades the traditional tatami mats for modern features courtesy of Osaka-based furniture designers Graf. Nature is central to the experience, set within forests with a river bubbling in the background. 

And one of the most storied Japanese hospitality brands, Hoshino Resorts, has both developed and scaled a modern facing onsen brand, Kai, as well as announced further international expansion. Kai is described as a “Japanese auberge” and the properties are strategically placed around the best hot springs in Japan. 

Again, the design codes here are sleek and modern, adding Western comforts to the traditional experience. And the brand has found favor with a younger traveler given its more friendly price points. 

Many of the best known traditional ryokans, like the Tawaraya, can be at the higher end of the pricing scale and Hoshino found an interesting market niche and a brand that it has been able to scale. 

Hoshino recently announced an opening in the United States, a longtime goal of CEO Yoshiharu Hoshino. 

In my previous coverage of the Hoshino Resorts, I’ve noted how what they do has global appeal, and while Sharon Springs in upstate New York doesn’t jump out as a predictable location, it is the quality of the mineral waters and the town’s history of healing and rejuvenation that seems to be the spiritual fit. The company did its homework on the important underlying elements and, importantly, has a U.S.-based