 |
| 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) |
趕回住所吃飯，泡個熱水澡聽起來好像只有受挫的旅行者才會這樣做，然而在一家傳統的日式客棧里，這些行為如同觀光途中的見聞一樣有趣。
美國馬薩諸塞州波士頓市日本社團的會長彼得·格理利說："想要尋找日式生活中懷舊、老式、傳統的一面，去這樣的日式客棧最好不過了。"
早在17世紀，日本就涌現出大量日式客棧，建造這些日式客棧是為當時那些沿著東海道公路到東京旅行的封建王族們提供住處而修建的。如今，那些來感受日本傳統生活方式的游客們，在遍及該國的日式客棧中不難發現各種不張揚的高貴和典雅。
典型的入住場景是這樣的：客人一進門，客棧的工作人員就會上去打招呼，然后客人脫下旅行鞋，換上拖鞋。接著，服務員會把客人帶到房間，客人脫掉拖鞋后才能走在“榻榻米”（一種稻草墊）上。
游客們慢吞吞地跟在身穿和服的服務員身后，走在Fukuzumiro客棧走廊咯吱作響的木地板上，恍若時光倒流。1890年，一名前日本武士在此修建了這家客棧。
33歲的提姆·帕特森是一名住在東京的銀行家，他住過好幾家日式客棧。這位新西蘭人離開客棧時不僅覺得心情愉悅而且還深受文化的熏陶。
最近，他在Fukuzumiro客棧投宿后說："我覺得這里是文化與歷史的完美結合。我們不只是參觀，而是在此居住、逗留。"
透過客棧頗具鄉村風格的走廊上的玻璃拉門，依稀可以聽到外面的涓涓流水聲，看到鋪著石頭、郁郁蔥蔥的寧靜的庭院。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-05-04 09:15
