Nakamuraya Ryokan

Great location. Helpful, attentive staff.

A bit on the expensive side. Appalling that in such a nice ryokan smoking is permitted in common spaces.

The location was good, right near the botanical garden and a short walk to the train station and Odori Park. Very clean room. The thin futons were surprisingly comfortable. Nice thick comforters. Hot water thermos in the room (but only green tea, so you need to bring your own tea bags if you don't like green tea).

A fair warning to Western travelers: be prepared to spend the whole day on the floor. A foot-high table and two legless chairs on the floor - that's all you have in the standard room. The thin sleeping mattresses (futons) are brought into the room in the evening, for the night, then taken away for the day, so you cannot take a nap if you are jet-lagged. There is barely any room near the door to put two carry-on-size suitcases. The bathroom is TINY. I'm a petite woman and don't have any mobility problems, but I was tired of seating on the floor. AC was blasting cold air and there is no English instruction, so it took us a lot of time to figure out how to turn it off, but then it becomes too humid. Two nights there was more than enough ryokan experience for us.

Location is right on.

Room is too small for five.

This place is close to Sapporo station, although it's still a 15m walk with suitcases. The place has a really nice atmosphere and they do a great job of explaining everything, including decent explanations on how to use the Japanese-style public bath. Add the wonderfully helpful and friendly staff and this is a great introduction to a ryokan for any traveller. The fact that there is a bath here in the middle of the city is a plus anyway! Unfortunately we didn't try the food here - we just felt like going out to dinner and breakfast instead. We only stayed for one night but this would have made a really comfortable place for a couple of days.

The only complaint I have is that the place is rather outdated - seats in the room need a new coat of paint, the tatami and wallpaper show considerable wear and tear, and most devices and electronics seem to come from the 80s or 90s. It didn't bother us so much though - the place is clean enough and it does add a bit of atmosphere somehow.