337 Best Hotels in Japan

The quietest ryokan on the city side of Nara Park, the Nanto has airy tatami rooms with a simplicity fit for a Zen retreat. Interior rock gardens are placed throughout the mazelike collection of rooms, which makes finding the communal bath an adventure. There are large rooms that are perfect for families; most rooms have toilets, some have tubs. A Japanese breakfast is included. Ryokan Nanto is halfway between Kintetsu Nara Station and JR Nara Station.

At the former villa of the Iwasaki family, founders of the Mitsubishi conglomerate, this hotel has rooms furnished with museum-quality antiques. The best rooms have traditional baths made of fragrant cypress wood and overlook exquisite little private gardens. Breakfast and dinner are served in your room and are included in the rate. The Sanyoso is a five-minute taxi ride from Izu-Nagaoka Station.

Of the many inexpensive, small ryokan in Nara-machi, this family-run establishment is the best pick for its spotless rooms and attentive service. The quiet neighborhood contributes to the inn's relaxed atmosphere. Simple accommodations overlook a large central garden. For those interested in local history, sit down for a chat with Mr. Shigeki whose family has owned the building for three generations. This place is very popular, so it's best to book far in advance.

A bit of a miniature miracle, the Ryokan Seryo is in the semirural village of Ohara, near the Sanzen-in Temple. The rooms are spacious with views of beautiful gardens and access to natural hot-spring baths in the rooms. Breakfast and the kaiseki dinner includes mountain vegetables and seasonal specialties like wild boar stew in winter, and is served on a veranda overlooking the koi pond. Two new rooms have outdoor baths with memorable mountain views. The hotel is a 70-minute bus ride from Kyoto Station or from buses leaving from the Kokusai Kaikan subway station, 20 minutes away.

Just a three-minute walk from Miyanoura ferry terminal you'll find this hidden little gem where the hostess, Yukiko-san, carefully attends to her guests and makes great food. The old villa-turned-ryokan is a wooden structure, and the rooms are traditional Japanese with tatami mats and sliding doors. The per-person price includes both breakfast and dinner.

Across the Nagara River from Gifu Castle, Ryokan Sugiyama is a tasteful blend of traditional and modern, offering large rooms with tatami floors and elegant shoji doors—ask for one overlooking the river. The staff are polite in a mannered way, and the food (meals and no-meals plans are available) features the ubiquitous ayu alongside traditional ryokan fare. There's a nice hot-spring bath on the roof. The place is run by the same family whose cormorant fishing masters ply the river every night in ukai season, and some of the staff speak English. It's a 15-minute taxi ride from Gifu Station or a 10-minute walk north of the castle.

The same family has maintained a tradition of heartwarming hospitality at this charming riverside ryokan since 1893, but it's a strictly cash-only operation. Rooms vary in size and lack private bathrooms but are air-conditioned, and the location is perfect for watching the famous Matsue sunset. The food is superb and of an astounding variety—virtually all the local seafood and vegetable specialties, both raw and cooked, are served. English is spoken, and your kind hosts may even demonstrate sushi-making and a tea ceremony.

Friendly service and delicious meals, which are included in the basic rates, make for a relaxed stay in this quiet mix of old and new. The newer wing has suites with private baths, whereas rooms in the old wing share a communal bath. A green tea porridge breakfast is served in the dining room overlooking the interior garden. Prices include a kaiseki dinner and breakfast, and there are reduced prices for stays of three nights or more. Tsubakiso is down a quiet side street in central Nara, about a 10-minute walk from either of the main train stations.

Treat yourself to a stay—or perhaps just a fantastic dinner—at this charming ryokan built in 1774. The rooms are intimate and secluded, and the suite overlooking the 400-year-old garden is especially captivating. You can't go wrong with the fabulous, filling, traditional dinners that incorporate the best local delicacies, from fish to fruit. The same friendly and hospitable folks run the Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel, so some English is spoken and foreigners are welcome and pampered. The hotel is across the bridge from the Ohara Art Museum.

The Ryotei Hanayura hot-spring hotel has floor-to-ceiling lobby windows that look out on a small canyon and river and hot springs that bubble gently among rocks and trees. Spend a little more and enjoy your own one-person cypress wood tub on your balcony, followed by a traditional dinner delivered to the door. This relatively small, modern hotel is overlooked by tour groups; it's connected to a larger hotel, so you can use its bar and souvenir shop. Reserve seats on a free shuttle bus from Sapporo.

Perched atop coastal cliffs, this luxurious family-friendly hotel has its own onsen, and most rooms have stunning ocean views. At night, Yakushima's dark skies mean the view up is filled with stars. It is well worth booking the evening buffet, not only because food options are limited on Yakushima, but also because the delicious food is quite varied, including fresh sushi. There is a common area with table tennis and a small library with books on local wildlife, plus a small bar with complimentary drinks available before dinner. 

This unique and special place mixes the best of Western and Japanese accommodations, with rooms mostly in freestanding houses in a wooded setting, making autumn one of the best times to visit. Most ryokan serve only Japanese food, but Murata has an Italian restaurant and a full bar where you can sit fireside and enjoy after-dinner drinks. If you get bored with taking baths, there is a small but elegant art museum whose well-curated exhibitions change twice yearly. The food is made of the finest ingredients, and all dishes are delicately flavored and exquisitely presented. The menu changes every month and includes options for vegetarians. 

With classic European style, white-gloved bellhops, and conveniences like in-room refrigerators tastefully hidden away in wooden cabinets, Sapporo's grand dame has welcomed guests since 1934. In the heart of downtown, the three buildings (Main, Annex, and East) almost fill a city block. Rooms in the older main building feel like a gentlemen's club, with striped wallpaper and small armchairs, while those in the east wing exhibit a more modern flair. In the Memorial Library, check out photographs of VIP guests and mementos of their stays, such as Margaret Thatcher's thank-you letter and the 1955 lunch menu for the visiting New York Yankees.

You'll get a full dose of shitamachi (lower city) friendliness at the family run Sawanoya, where you'll feel like you're part of an old Tokyo neighborhood and where people might help you plan excursions, say, or book hotels for the next leg of your journey. It is popular with budget travelers, so reserve online well in advance. Japanese bathtubs are near small windows that overlook a small garden. Coffee and tea are complimentary, but most rooms have no TVs.

Its chic interiors have enabled this boutique hotel near the Imperial Palace to gain a foothold in this competitive market with individually designed suites, each the unique creation of a different renowned local or international interior designer. The styles range from traditional, with sliding doors painted with gold leaf, to ultramodern, with everything in ethereal whites. In a popular one, diaphanous white curtains halo the walls and bed. If your suite isn't to your taste, if at all possible the staff will move you to one that is. The rooftop bar has fine city views, and you can dine under the stars in the courtyard.

Occupying the top 11 floors of the 37-storey Marunouchi Trust Tower, near Tokyo Station, the Shangri-La offers superb city views, as well as a lavish interior, including 2,000 works of art hung throughout; 50 glistening chandeliers handmade in the Czech Republic; and large (more than 500 square feet) standard guest rooms that are awash in burgundy-and-brown textiles and equipped with high-end entertainment systems. Upper-floor Horizon Club rooms feature a dedicated concierge and views of the bay and Imperial Palace; suites include additional living and guest rooms. For dining, the Japanese restaurant Nadaman serves teppanyaki, kaiseki, and sushi, while Piacere has creative Italian dishes. Treatments in the Chi spa employ traditional Chinese and Tibetan healing methods. 

An excellent base for exploring Osaka, the Miyako is also handy when you plan on taking day trips to Kyoto and Nara—the Kintetsu Ue-hon-machi Station next door offers quick access to both cities. Osaka Castle and Tenno-ji Temple are each a 15-minute walk away. The Miyako is comfortable and stylish with a staff who are attentive without being obsequious. As an added bonus, a new shopping center and theater are connected to the hotel.

Location is key to this otherwise unremarkable hotel in the towering Mark City complex—not only does the Narita Express depart from nearby Shibuya Station regularly but the Shinjuku neighborhood is just a five-minute train ride north, and there are plenty of shops and affordable restaurants outside the door. Guest rooms are plain but comfortable. For families the extra space in the larger rooms is worth the higher prices. North-facing rooms on the 10th floor and above (including the ladies-only floor on level 20) have views of the Shinjuku skyline. Two restaurants on the top floor also offer excellent views.

A half-hour bus ride from JR Morioka Station takes you to this quiet hot-spring town and its upscale (and expensive), traditional ryokan, which serves two meals a day in your tatami room. If you're coming here, you're coming to get away, relax, and not have to think. The walls around the premises obstruct what seem like they could be picturesque mountain views, but rooms peer out on a Japanese garden where goldfish swim in a pond. Some rooms have a private outdoor bath and some rooms, unlike many ryokan, have beds.

Originally opened in the 1950s and then reopened in 2016 after a major renovation ahead of hosting the Ise-Shima G7 summit, the Shima Kanko is Ise-Shima’s premier Western-style luxury hotel, with a very refined look and feel throughout its two zones: the spacious Classic and the Bay Suites. The facilities include several highly rated French and Japanese restaurants, a tea-ceremony room, a spa, summer-only pool, and a gym where President Obama took his morning run during the summit.

At this V-shaped resort hotel that faces the Pacific, the decor is more functional than it is aesthetically pleasing, but the white sand of Shirahama Beach is just steps away, and there are oceans views from all rooms and the public onsen baths, which open early enough for you to catch the sunrise while soaking.

Perched just above the bay, the Shimoda Tokyu has impressive views of the Pacific from one side (where rooms cost more) and mountains from the other. Unlike at most Japanese resort hotels, the lobby here is full of character and warmth, with an airy layout and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay. Prices are significantly higher in midsummer.

Part of a no-nonsense chain of business hotels, the Shin-Osaka Washington Hotel Plaza is the smartest of its kind. The rooms are not large, but are comfortable and nicely designed. Among the highlights is the China Table Chinese restaurant, equally well known for its food and city views. The hotel is convenient to JR Shin-Osaka Station, where you can catch the bullet train.

Just a three-minute walk from JR Shinagawa Station, the multi-tower Prince Hotel is in a sprawling entertainment complex with, among other things, an 80-lane bowling alley, an 11-screen movie theater, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis and golf centers, and an aquarium, but crowds definitely detract from the experience of staying here. Guest rooms, simply designed and featuring pops of earth- or jewel-tone color, are on the small side overall; indeed, singles can be truly tiny, with space for a bed and little else. Families should book a larger twin room to better accommodate the kids. The Top of Shinagawa Lounge has spectacular views of Tokyo Bay.

Shingu isn't blessed with great accommodation, but this business hotel with fair-size Western- and Japanese-style rooms is a reasonable option if you're staying overnight. Among the facilities is a small izakaya that serves a range of seafood (including regional whale dishes, like many izakaya in Shingu) and filling ramen. It's a five-minute walk from the train station.

Plush interiors, hot-spring baths, pool, play area for kids, excellent dining options—as far as Japanese resort hotels go, it doesn't get much better than this. Located at the very top of Utoro's hotel zone, Daiichi offers sensational hot-spring sunset views. Mountain-facing windows look over small vegetable fields, where bear and deer can be spotted chowing down at dusk. Hotel guests do the same at over-the-top buffets. English speakers are on duty in the evening at the tour desk. The west wing was renovated in 2022.

On the site of the rebellious Saigo Takamori's last stand against the emperor in 1877, this hotel sits high enough to provide enviable views but not so far away to be too inconvenient. It's famous for its hot-spring baths and fantastic views of both Kagoshima and Sakurajima volcano, though rooms with these views are much more expensive. It's a 10-minute taxi ride from JR Kagoshima Chuo Station, or you can use the free shuttle-bus service.

If you are looking for a vacation from your vacation, this simple countryside inn offers proximity to nature, relaxing baths, and the chance to get your hands dirty—not to mention accommodations for guests in wheelchairs, which is not the norm for most small inns. Meals are included here, typically served in your room, and include any number of local ingredients. Demonstrations of soba-making, cloth-dyeing, and other events happen depending on the season, so ask what is going on when you make your reservations. If you wake up early,  join the staff in the vegetable patch and pick the ingredients for breakfast, also included. The location is quite remote, but the staff will take you to the station or to Chuson-ji Temple. They will even take you to Hiraizumi Station, wait for you to put your luggage in a locker, and then drop you off at the temple, so you can enjoy your time there.  Ask in advance for a pickup if you're arriving by train.

With its central location and modern design, the Solest Takachiho is a great option for those who want to spend a night exploring the town. The rooms are a fusion of Japanese and Scandinavian design elements, and, unlike a traditional ryokan, you have 24-hour room service. 

A coffee table and easy chair are squeezed into each compact Western-style room here, which is all you need if you're en route to other Alps destinations. The guest rooms are accented with wood paneling from Nagano forests, and all rooms have free Wi-Fi. The escalator across the street from JR Nagano Station leads to the reception area and tea lounge. There's another branch on the opposite side of the station, but this one is more convenient for catching the bus or walking up the road to Zenko-ji Temple.