Jaybird in Japan: Tatami

During our weekend in Nara, we stayed at a traditional ryokan (inn)--the Ryokan Mitsubae, which I highly recommend. We've always sought out this kind of lodging while in Japan, but had written it off for this summer because we were apprehensive about staying with the baby. Paper doors, thin walls, and expensive tatami floors just don't sound like a good idea with an 8 month old.

However, after reading a few reviews of this place in Nara, we began to feel more confident about staying with little J. Via e-mail the owners noted that while they didn't have any baby beds, other visitors had stayed with babies previously. We took this as an affirmative response to our question "akachan wa, ii desu ka?" (we ask this a lot). Not having a crib was fine with us--we don't use one anyway, and ryokans offer futons on the floor rather than beds, which worked quite well.

We had a great time. The owner told us about her own kids and held the baby, and little J hardly made a peep the whole night (our adult neighbors made more noise than we did). One of us played with the baby while the other used the ofuro (public bath). We only brought two books, which was a mistake (we had to read them over and over again--J is an avid reader in the evening), but we did bring his bear, which he thought was funny (it's always a surprise when the bear turns up in odd places).

We're looking forward to returning to the Mitsubae, and Nara, later this summer.

Slippers await weary travelers.