Hiiragiya Ryokan (Kyoto; tel. 075/221-1136): If ever there was an example of the quintessential ryokan, Hiiragiya is it. Located in the heart of old Kyoto, it's the ultimate in tatami luxury: a dignified enclave of polished woods and rooms with antique furnishings overlooking private gardens. Six generations of the same family have provided impeccable service and hospitality here since 1861.

Tawaraya (Kyoto; tel. 075/211-5566): This venerable inn has been owned and operated by the same family since it opened in the first decade of the 1700s; it's now in its 11th generation of innkeepers. Located in old Kyoto, its guest list reads like a Who's Who of visitors to Japan, including Leonard Bernstein, the king of Sweden, Alfred Hitchcock, and Saul Bellow.

Ryokan Kurashiki (Kurashiki; tel. 086/422-0730): Located right beside the willow-lined canal of Kurashiki's famous historic district, this ryokan occupies an old mansion and three 250-year-old antiques-filled warehouses. It's a great place to explore as you wander the corridors and peek into nooks and crannies, admiring all the antiques.

Mitakiso (Hiroshima; tel. 082/237-1402): The tatami rooms of this traditional inn are spread among an exquisite landscape garden of stunted pines, ponds, Japanese maples, stone lanterns, and meandering streams.

Iwaso Ryokan (Miyajima; tel. 0829/44-2233): The setting here is as romantic as any you'll find in Japan. If you can afford it, stay in one of the ryokan's 80-year-old cottages, where you'll have a view of maples and a gurgling brook on one of Japan's most scenic and famous islands. If staying here doesn't make you feel like a samurai or a geisha, nothing will.

Kannawaen (Beppu; tel. 0977/66-2111): This century-old ryokan spreads through lush and carefully tended gardens. Its tatami rooms with shoji screens look out onto hot springs, bamboo, streams, bonsai, stone lanterns, and flowers. It's the perfect place to escape the crowds and relax in the traditional bathhouse or the open-air hot springs.