So I went to Japan and got to stay in a ryokan for a night and definitely did NOT* spend time flailing about how the ryokan in Shadow at the Water's Edge is so accurate
ANYWAY, TIME FOR PICTURES
Apologies for the bad quality/bad framing on some of these. I completely forgot about taking photos until right when we were leaving to catch our train
Our room with tatami mat floors, set up with table for dinner:
LOOK, LOOK IT'S EVEN THE SAME OVERHEAD LIGHT
The table in our room was actually less traditional than the one depicted in SAW. It was raised high enough to accommodate western-style chairs (which I appreciate as someone with knee problems who can't sit cross-legged for long periods of time)
I didn't get a picture with the room changed over for sleep, but the bedding looked identical. And it really does just suddenly appear once it's late enough. The staff come into your room and change it over from dining mode to sleeping mode.
The round inset handles!!
Our ryokan didn't have a bridge, but it's the same stone pillar!
I obviously didn't take any pictures inside the public onsen since it's a bathing area, but it looked a lot like the game! There were even the different colored curtains to designate men's and women's. Thankfully, this ryokan didn't have a secret closed-off haunted onsen, so both were functioning at the same time. Once a day the staff would swap which bath is the women's and which bath is the men's because the two had different water sources and different materials, and they wanted to give everyone an opportunity to experience both.
The room I stayed in had a small private onsen with most of the same features as the public onsen. There's an area to the side where you wash beforehand with a short stool, bucket, and shower head.
The bath itself is covered by a roof structure and has walls around for privacy, but is still very much an outdoor space within the gardens.
And, last but not least, Lobby fish?!?
