Most hotels brag if they've been open for 100 years. Now imagine one that welcomed its first guests around the year 705, about three centuries before the Vikings reached North America. That hotel isn't a ruin. It's still taking reservations.
The world's oldest hotel is Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, a hot spring inn in Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture. It was founded in 705, and in 2011 Guinness World Records recognized it as the oldest hotel in the world. Until 2017, it was run by 52 generations of the same family, including adopted heirs.
A Hot Spring at the Foot of the Mountains
Keiunkan sits at the foot of the Akaishi Mountains. Its founder was Fujiwara no Mahito, son of an aide to Japan's Emperor Tenji. From the very beginning, all of its hot water has come straight from the local Hakuho Springs.
The springs became popular with bathers from across Japan. Over the centuries, famous guests included the warlords Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Japan's current emperor, Naruhito.
Even the name is a history lesson. Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan roughly means the Keiun-era Nishiyama Hot Spring, a nod to the period of Japanese history in which it began. The word onsen simply means hot spring.
Old Business, New Rooms
Here's the funny part: the oldest hotel in the world has fairly new buildings. Guinness noted that the hotel facilities on the site are only a few decades old.
That's because the inn has kept changing with the times. Simple pools in caves gave way to wooden bath huts, which were rebuilt and improved again and again. The biggest makeover came in 1997, when it became a full ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn with private rooms, futons, and meals. In 2005, every room got its own free-flowing hot spring bath.
Today Keiunkan has 37 rooms with tatami mats and classic art, a restaurant serving traditional multi-course kaiseki meals, and even a moon-viewing platform. Its machinery pumps about 1,000 liters of naturally heated water every minute. And yes, there's Wi-Fi.
The End of a 1,300-Year Family Line
For more than 1,300 years, the same family passed the business down. But in 2017, no family member was willing to take it over. The hotel's general manager, Kenjiro Kawano, became the new president, and ownership moved to a new company.
Keiunkan is a classic example of what the Japanese call shinise, a long-established business. It may now be the oldest independent company still operating anywhere.
A Friendly Rivalry
Keiunkan isn't the only ancient inn in Japan. Hōshi Ryokan, in Ishikawa Prefecture, was founded in 718. For years, it was thought to be the oldest hotel in the world, until Keiunkan's earlier date claimed the title.
Hōshi still holds an impressive record of its own, though. As of 2017, it had been run by the Hoshi family for 46 generations, making it the world's oldest continually family-run business.
Japan is home to another record-holder too. Kongō Gumi, a construction company that built and repaired temples and shrines, was reportedly founded in 578, making it the world's oldest documented company. It became part of a larger construction group in 2006.
So if you ever want to soak where samurai once soaked, Keiunkan's doors are still wide open. After 1,300 years, they've had plenty of practice making guests feel at home.
