旅館
ryokan[ɾʲo̞kã̠ɴ]
The Japanese word for a traditional Japanese hotel is 旅館 (ryokan).
A 旅館 refers to a traditional Japanese-style inn.
Meaning: a traditional Japanese hotel (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
ryokan
Did you know?
- In many 旅館, your room's layout will change significantly during your stay. Staff will enter while you are out to transform your sitting area into a sleeping area by laying out 布団 (futon) mats.
- Some luxury 旅館 employ a practice called おもてなし (omotenashi), where staff anticipate a guest's needs before the guest even realizes them, such as having a specific tea ready the moment a guest thinks of it.
- The role of the 女将 (okami), the female proprietor of a 旅館, is a highly prestigious position involving the mastery of hospitality, finance and local diplomacy.
Examples in context
- トムは老舗旅館の跡取り息子だよ。Tom is the heir to the Japanese ryokan.This sentence is useful for identifying someone as an heir to a 旅館.Tatoeba #10140842 by small_snow, translation #10248815 by terrywallwork
- りょかんを予約したいのですが…I would like to make a reservation at a ryokan…
- りょかんの朝食は何時から何時までですか？What are the breakfast hours at the ryokan?
- 明日の夜に京都でりょかんに泊まるよ！I'm going to stay in a ryokan in Kyoto tomorrow night!
- すごい！京都のりょかんは面白いですね。Wow! Ryokans in Kyoto are interesting, aren't they?
- 親切な外国人さんがりょかんを作りました。A kind foreigner built the ryokan.
- 京都で素敵な旅館に泊まりました。Kyoto de suteki na ryokan ni tomarimashita.I stayed at a lovely ryokan in Kyoto.
- この旅館はとても古いですが、綺麗です。Kono ryokan wa totemo furui desu ga, kirei desu.This ryokan is very old, but it is beautiful.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing their travel plans for a weekend trip.
- 結衣 Yui今度の旅行、旅館に泊まらない？Kondo no ryoko, ryokan ni tomaranai?Shall we stay at a ryokan for our next trip?
- 蓮 Renいいね、温泉がある旅館がいいな。Ii ne, onsen ga aru ryokan ga ii na.That sounds good, I'd like a ryokan with a hot spring.
- 結衣 Yui蓮、おすすめの旅館を知ってる？Ren, osusume no ryokan o shitteru?Ren, do you know any recommended ryokan?
- 蓮 Ren調べておくよ。Shirabete oku yo.I will look into it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ryokan” translations and entries 旅館, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
