Is it normal for a ryokan to be infested with stinkbugs/”kamemushi” at this time of year?

We’re staying at a ryokan near Takayama and our room has a bunch of them. I’ve already caught like 10 of them.

[The ryokan left out a sheet](https://i.postimg.cc/vBn9r7MV/PXL-20231110-064845342-MP.jpg) saying there isn’t much they can do about it and a roll of tape to catch them without triggering their stink (I think I already failed because our room smells like burning plastic now).

We don’t mind being in the same room as bugs, but they’re literally falling off the ceiling above us onto the futons. One of them fell onto my wife’s pillow. This was supposed to be a relaxing end to our vacation and I’m hunting bugs to mitigate my wife’s anxiety about bugs crawling on her face in her sleep. We’re staying one more night after this.

Is this just expected at this time of year in this region? This is our first time in Japan in the autumn.

17 comments
  1. > ryokan

    > 10 of them

    > Two more have fallen around our beds

    Assuming this is a genuine ryokan and not a budget hostel or something along that price point, at a minimum I would be summoning the staff to come do the catching until my satisfaction.

    “Nature happens” is limited to like…instructions to open/not open your windows, maybe taping 1 straggler kamemushi, or dealing with birds screeching at 4am, not paying for the privilege of spending 1 hour before bedtime going on a treasure hunt for bugs.

    I’d also be taking pictorial evidence and posting several 1-star reviews if they list on western websites.

    Edit: Unclear how the OP spent last night as it is now 6am in Japan, but I would also stay elsewhere for Night 2. Vacation time is too valuable to waste on poor sleep quality.

  2. Never encountered them on any of our trips. One of which was autumn. Zero problems with any insects in any accommodation.

  3. We were in Kinosaki onsen a couple of weeks ago and were warned when checking in that they were an issue this time of year (more so than normal) but we never had any in the room, though one persistent one clung to the outside window. There were also signs at the info centre warning visitors to be cautious.

  4. The note reads as they can do nothing about one or two kamemushi sightings as stopping every bug is impossible. You should really notify them if you’ve seen that many in your room.

  5. Ewww. Not normal. I mean bugs happen (I live in Japan and caught one of those in our house the other week), but I would expect a nice ryokan to not have an issue to the point of having to leave notes out about it.

    I assume this is an older/cheaper/more barebones ryokan?

  6. there are lots this year. I live and work in Kyoto and while they’ve avoided my house they’re all over at work (just a few make it inside, luckily)

    just tell the staff and have them removed.

  7. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this!

    I am less than 2 hours away from Takayama and live in an old Japanese style house in a wooded/mountain area.

    I will say…this year has been horrible for those bugs. When I pull down the car garage door, there are about 100 of those suckers sitting on the outside of the door.

    We had an event here this week and did our best to remove what we could but there are literally thousands just hanging out in the trees, on cars, windows…Some are even able to get inside the newly renovated part of the house. So if you are staying in an older place and have any windows open or if the floors/walls are not completely sealed then yeah…it might be difficult to fix.

    I agree with the other poster letting them know about the quantity in your room. Maybe there is a better room? Your safest bet would probably be to go to a newer hotel or something made of concrete…

  8. I stayed in Unazuki, Toyama a couple of weeks ago and saw a lot of them around my window on the outside. I saw two inside by the window after I woke up in the morning. It’s probably more common, the older the ryokan / window is.

  9. It’s the country side, and not a 5 star hotel. The bugs have been pretty bad this year.

    That said hope they work with you to minimise those litter critters. Can understand.

  10. Oh they’re in takayama now! I had a trip in early Oct and we didn’t see any in Nagano, Toyama and northern Gifu, but when we reached Gero onsen in Southern Gifu it was really bad. Our room has a balcony but we had not set foot on it at all because it was covered in stinkbugs. We were in a park and all of the surfaces were covered in stinkbugs too. Even I don’t mind bugs that much normally was creeped out by stinkbugs this year. Luckily they haven’t invaded where I live (yet?).

    It was so bad this year that the japanese government has issued warning on stinkbugs in some of the prefectures.

    However, they shouldn’t be falling on you **in** your room as long as the windows weren’t open. Definitely call the front desk and ask them to do something.

  11. We are having a warmer than usual autumn, and Kamemushi infestation has been an issue in some areas. You should probably complain to the Ryokan ao they can spray something or put repellents.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like