A traditional Japanese inn, or 'ryokan', like the Taikanso - famous for its hot spring baths - is a journey of discovery for the uninitiated foreigner. Hotel staff are unfailingly polite - apparently universally the case with service industries in Japan - but speak very little English. And as an earlier commentator noted, they expect you to know the rules.

My room consisted of a suite of two main rooms plus two bathrooms, but with no sign of a bed. The larger room, a traditional Japanese sitting room, was turned into the sleeping area with a futon arrangement while I was away at dinner. This reminder of student house-sharing days was in fact very comfortable and, combined with crisp, wintery mountain air, ensured a good night's sleep.

Bathroom arrangements consisted of a room with basin, hot spring bath and shower and, separately, a room providing choice of Japanese high-tech loo and a presumably more traditional squatting arrangement.

Startlingly, soon after arrival a Japanese lady in a kimono appeared without warning and ceremoniously offered tea.

The cost of a night includes dinner and breakfast. Dinner was an excellent multi-course affair, optionally served with sake, at which it was suggested we change into the 'yukata', the traditional costume worn at hot springs. The Japanese breakfast was also a multi-course affair and aspects such as chicken in broth and various not very delicious soy products are probably an acquired taste for most foreigners compared to the more familiar aspects of the local cuisine.

The hotel is large and the lay-out is complex, so it's quite easy to get lost.

The modern world has been kept at bay in many ways at the Taikanso - including no internet access in rooms.

Cost of the night's accommodation including dinner and breakfast was $A360.