wine with dinner

We are staying at a few ryokan that will be providing dinner and wondered if one generally gets offered wine with the meal or is it acceptable to BYO. also, is wine very expensive to buy as compared to Australian prices for example. Many thanks.

You may get a shot of plum wine with your meals. I haven't seen anyone BYO in Japan, but I haven't been everywhere. Wine prices vary. There's a good variety of wine in Japan; you can get good cheap wine by the glass or an excellent of wine if you have deep pockets.

We recently stayed at the Iwaso ryokan in Miyajima, and we respectfully asked if bringing our own sake was acceptable and they did not seem to mind at all. We are wine drinkers usually, but switched to sake for our Japan trip and very much enjoyed it - nothing like the sake we have tried in the USA, most of which I am certain is made from turpentine!

We just returned from a marvelous, 5-day visit to Tokyo. However, Mary, I would love to know where one can get "good, cheap wine"? We found that a glass of wine cost anywhere from $11 USD to $15 USD - and that was a house wine. I don't call that cheap. So . . for future use, since we intend to return, where are you finding these inexpensive wines and in what kind of restaurant? Thanks for your input.

Hi,
Saizaria, a pasta restaurant, has what I would call cheap, good wine. There are also some wine shops that carry good, reasonable wine. I don't remember the name of the shop though, sorry.

There are some ryokans that offer wine with meals, though I am not a fan of Japanese wine and have learned not to order it. Most simply have beer or sake. I think beer & sake suit Japanese food better anyway.
My husband and I always take wine to ryokans, but usually have a glass before we have our meal or after it is over, unless we are served the meal in our room. We've never asked about bringing it to dinner if it is served elsewhere.