Traditional ryokan in onsen resort town wants to make sure both guests sleep tight.

When choosing travel accommodations in Japan, in terms of physical comfort it’s pretty hard to beat the soft mattresses and cushiony sofas of a Western-style luxury hotel. However, a night in a ryokan (Japanese-style inn) is never a bad choice, because of their elegant decor and excellent traditional service.

For example, under classical Japanese interior design, during the day ryokan guests’ futon sleeping mats are folded up and stored in the closet to provide more floor space. Then, at some time in the evening, generally while travelers are out eating dinner, the ryokan staff will carefully lay out the mats and arrange the blankets, so that you can crawl into bed whenever you want after returning to your room.

That’s exactly the series of events that unfolded for Japanese Twitter user @solnahistelesis on a recent trip to the hot spring town of Yufuin, in Oita Prefecture. After a soak in the outdoor bath and a delicious dinner, @solnahistelesis returned to his room to find that the maid had prepared the futon for both him and his traveling companion…despite the fact that his traveling companion is a doll.

▼ One of @solnahistelesis’ dolls

Placed right next to @solnahistelesis’ human-sized pillow was a miniature headrest for his plastic bedmate, with the comforter spread over the futon they’d be jointly nestled in.

The ryokan doesn’t have its own supply of doll pillows, as the pillow in the photo is one that @solnahistelesis brought with him. However, before going to dinner he’d set the pillow down in the corner of the room (near where the hand towel is seen in the photo below), purposely putting it in an out-of-the-way spot so that it wouldn’t impede the maid’s movement.

But rather than seeing the doll pillow like an obstacle, the hotel staff instead saw it as a vital element in ensuring a good night’s sleep for its guests, treating it with the same respect it would a human traveler’s.

@solnahistelesis’s double-use of the laughing/crying emoji in his tweet shows how he was amused and moved by the gesture, and other Twitter users reacted with:

“Wonderful.”
“Amazing. So thoughtful.”
“Now you can sleep together!”
“Such a warmhearted gesture. This is the sort of thing a guest would remember forever.”

If you’d like to experience such refined levels hospitality, the name of the ryokan @solnahistelesis stayed at is Gettoan, and it looks like an exquisitely beautiful place to spend the night.

▼ Its dinner presentation isn’t half-bad either.

Just make sure that your doll doesn’t get kidnapped during your trip.

Hotel information
Gettoan / 月燈庵
Address: Oita-ken, Yufuin-shi, Yufuin-cho, Kawakami 295-2
大分県由布市湯布院町川上２９５−２
Website

Source: Twitter/@solnahistelesis
Images: Gettoan
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