where to stay in takayama: hotel or ryokan

Hi, we have been having difficulty in deciding where to stay in takayama. We made reservations at oyado koto no yume and spa hotel alpina hida takayama for 3 nights.
oyado was a little pricier that is why we decided to book alpina as well.
Should we do one night oyado 2 nights alpina? We stayed once at a ryokan in kyoto before but not with meals. Is it worth it to try at least one ryokan stay in takayama or do all 3 nights? Is it a must to try a ryokan in takayama? My sis did not want to split the days. Other input would really help. Thank you.

thank you.

Hi. I've stayed at Takayama a few times. A night at a ryokan is always good, but I find that more than 2 nights is a problem because there is so much food that you feel sick just thinking about it. There are some exceptions to that, but really one or two nights is plenty.

We've stayed at Tanabe Ryokan (very nice). We also really liked Hotel Associa which is more a spa resort. If onsens are your thing, stay there.

I could stay at a ryokan for days in a row.
Perhaps I am a big eater so the food does not seem dauting. Many Japanese stay in a ryokan in a resort area for a holiday; the food is eaten daily.

(This said, I go to a ryokan for the experience and to relax. But I don't need to relax everyday of a trip, some days I want to be active and sleep in a hostel meeting other tourist.)

Going for an onsen before a meal helps to improve blood circulation -* digestion -* more food.

For a non-ryokan stay, I recommend Best Western Takayama. Their spa/bath room has normal baths, electric current baths, aromatic baths, jet baths, and vapour baths. Good for the interesting experience.

Personally, I wouldn't bother staying in a ryokan when I'm in a town where I want to go out at night. Or, at least, I'd stay on a bed-and-breakfast only deal (no dinner).

For me, the charm of staying in a ryokan is hugely increased when you're in a rural area. It's all about peace, quiet, surrendering yourself to a slow pace of life, savouring the food, having lots of baths, chilling in your room, etc.

One of the things about Takayama is that there are some good restaurants and bars that can give you a good night out.

There are plenty of lovely, rural, ryokans in the Oku-Hida region (i.e. close to Takayama but an hour or so out of the town). If I wanted a special ryokan stay, I'd consider spending one night in one of them.

You can leave Takayama on, say, a 2pm bus, have a lovely ride up into the mountains, get to a ryokan shortly after checking-in time, devote yourself entirely to the pleasures there, and take a bus back at about 10am-11am the next morning, leaving you with more time to finish off anything else you want to do in Takayama.

Changing location isn't really a problem, as you can leave your bags in a locker (or at the last hotel you stayed in) and travel to Oku-Hida with a small bag (change of underwear, camera, and a book to read. You don't really need anything else.)

Takayama is a quite a modern city. For economical reason only, I do not recommend to waste the money on the ryokan here. Plan your ryokan stay in the onsen areas on the east side of Takayama (Japanese Alps), like Okuhida Onsen, etc.