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| Fukuzumiro ryokan in Hakone-machi
offers 19 traditional
rooms in a three-story wood
building. | |
Heading back to the room for dinner and a hot soak
may sound like the act of a defeated tourist, but in a traditional
Japanese inn -- or ryokan -- those activities can be as intriguing as
anything along the sightseeing trail.
"People going looking for a sort of nostalgic, old-fashioned,
traditional view of Japanese life will find it most easily in a ryokan,"
said Peter Grilli, president of Japan Society of Boston, Massachusetts.
Many ryokan sprang up in the 17th century to accommodate feudal lords
traveling along the Tokaido highway to Edo (now Tokyo). Today tourists
looking for a taste of the country's historic lifestyle find varying
levels of understated elegance in ryokan throughout the country.
A typical stay starts with a greeting from the inn's staff and a change
from street shoes into slippers. An attendant escorts guests to their
rooms, where slippers are removed before walking on the rice straw
flooring, called tatami.
Shuffling along behind a kimono-clad attendant on the creaky wood
floors of Fukuzumiro ryokan's hallways is like stepping back in time. The
inn was established in 1890 by a former samurai.
Tim Paterson, 33, a banker living in Tokyo, has stayed at several
ryokan. The New Zealand native leaves feeling relaxed and culturally
enriched.
"I think it's quite good mixing culture with history and not just going
to see it, but living in it, staying in it," he said after a recent stay
at Fukuzumiro.
Sliding glass doors line the inn's rustic hallways, bringing in the
sound of trickling water and the serenity of the stone and tree-filled
courtyards outside.
(Agencies) |
赶回住所吃饭，泡个热水澡听起来好像只有受挫的旅行者才会这样做，然而在一家传统的日式客栈里，这些行为如同观光途中的见闻一样有趣。
美国马萨诸塞州波士顿市日本社团的会长彼得o格理利说："想要寻找日式生活中怀旧、老式、传统的一面，去这样的日式客栈最好不过了。"
早在17世纪，日本就涌现出大量日式客栈，建造这些日式客栈是为当时那些沿着东海道公路到东京旅行的封建王族提供住处的。如今，那些来感受日本传统生活方式的游客们，在遍及该国的日式客栈中不难发现各种不张扬的高贵和典雅。
典型的入住场景是这样的：客人一进门，客栈的工作人员就会上去打招呼，然后客人脱下旅行鞋，换上拖鞋。接着，服务员会把客人带到房间，客人脱掉拖鞋后才能走在叫做"榻榻米"的稻草垫上。
游客们慢吞吞地跟在身穿和服的服务员身后，走在Fukuzumiro客栈走廊咯吱作响的木地板上，恍若时光倒流。1890年，一名前日本武士在此修建了这家客栈。
33岁的提姆o帕特森是一名住在东京的银行家，他住过好几家日式客栈。这位新西兰人离开客栈时不仅觉得心情愉悦而且还深受文化的熏陶。
最近，他在Fukuzumiro客栈投宿后表示："我认为这里是文化与历史的完美结合。我们不只是参观，而是在此居住，逗留。"
透过客栈颇具乡村风格的走廊上的玻璃拉门，依稀可以听到外面的涓涓流水声，看到铺着石头、郁郁葱葱的宁静的庭院。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-04-29 17:09
