Cost approximately £75 a night for a double room. Breakfast was an additional ¥1800 per person.
When we visited Nara we stayed for 2 nights at the Hotel Onyado Nono which is a Spa Hotel. This means the hotel has Onsen facilities available to guests.
The Onsen at Onyado Nono was fabulous, beautifully designed with both indoor and outdoor baths as wells as a sauna and a cold pool. I think we managed to use the Onsen at least 4 times over the course of the 2 days, including on the morning we were leaving a visit at 07:00 and I have to say despite the early hour, an Onsen is definitely one of the best ways start your day.
There are a few rules you need to be aware of when using an Onsen for the first time.
Rule 1 – you must always wash yourself in the wash area thoroughly before getting in the bath or sauna. The Onsen always provides body wash, shampoo and conditioner as well as disposable razors and shaving cream. At a hotel Onsen they will provide you with a wash cloth, which is a little bit smaller than a hand towel but larger than a flannel, you should use this wash cloth in the wash area only and must never take it in the baths. You will see Japanese people carrying their wash cloths around with them as they go from bath to bath, sometimes they will put it on their head, but they never put it in the bath.
Rule 2 – You are not allowed to wear any clothes, including swim wear, in the Onsen. To break this rule is a major faux-pas, because clothes are considered dirty or soiled and not to be worn in the bath. You may feel a little self conscious at first but you’ll soon get used to it and it is acceptable to use your wash cloth to cover yourself when walking around the Onsen or when lounging.
Rule 3 – Absolutely no tattoos are allowed, if you have small tattoos you may get away with covering them up. But if you have large tattoos you will not be permitted entry.
The Onyado Nono provided us with Onsen baskets in our room, in these were our wash cloths. The hotel also provide a Jinbei for all guests to wear, these are similar to Kimonos but have trousers. Most guests will wear the Jinbei whenever they are in the hotel.
The hotel rooms were traditional Japanese style with a lot of wood and a low level bed.
Japanese hotels always provide you with toothbrushes, razors, combs and shower caps. One of the great things about visiting a Japanese hotel is that you don’t have to pack these things.
There were tatami style mats as flooring throughout the hotel and the décor was traditional Japanese.
The buffet breakfast was amazing, offering traditional Japanese style with Miso soup, grilled fish, rice, tofu, pickles and salad. While also offering Western cooked breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, toast and coffee. We really enjoyed the breakfasts at Onyado Nono.
The hotel had an ingenious way of parking cars using an elevator system.
We really enjoyed our stay at Onyado Nono, it was stylish, comfortable with a lovely Onsen and delicious breakfasts.