@hcs I’m at the end of a three week trip and we have done quite a few ryokans and and onsen. It really is just these last two days that i noticed with one family gone back to Nara and the other doing stuff I don’t care about, so I’m left to my own devices.
I guess as a solo traveller I’ll also avoid the evening crowd. I just hadn’t noticed because I rarely travel alone unless for business in which case the evenings are usually social occasions.