20 Best Hotels in Japan

Come for luxury, impeccable service, and stunning views across the hotel's pools and gardens to Maesato Beach and the azure waters beyond. If you're looking for a quiet island getaway with plenty of pampered R&R, you'll be well taken care of. Start the day with sunrise yoga, then treatments at the Spa Agarosa. The adjoining nine-hole par-27 golf course is a good option in winter when mainland Japan is covered in snow.  The Bay Wing and the Club Wing were both opened in 2020. The Club Intercontinental takes luxury and exclusivity to a new level with spacious suites and delightful afternoon tea and evening cocktails. 

This luxurious, all-inclusive ski-in ski-out resort caters to international guests with fine dining and exceptional service, besides being in one of the best ski areas in Japan. Kiroro Peak (unlike Kiroro Grand) is for adult and teenage guests only, and until the evening entertainment it has a relaxed, mellow vibe with giant windows looking out to the ski runs. The all-inclusive packages include meals, après-ski nibbles, an open bar, ski passes, and excellent ski/snowboard lessons with English-speaking instructors. The top ski/snowboard groups will get you exploring the deep powder and trees that Kiroro is famous for. In summer, enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and yoga in verdant natural splendor. Club Med offers value packages that include international flights and transfers, making a one-week ski holiday in Japan about the same price for U.S. visitors as a similar package in Aspen or Vail, Colorado. 

With wonderful views of Mt. Yotei and the slopes of Mt. Niseko Annupuri, this hotel has a ski-in ski-out location beside the Niseko gondola—it's a nine-minute ride to powder heaven. In summer there's golf, horseback riding, and other activities. From the deep, plushy sofas surrounding a hanging gas fireplace in the lobby to the comfortably furnished rooms and the on-site hot-spring baths and spa, this hotel is a class act. The distance from the bustle of central Hirafu helps with the tranquil atmosphere.

One of Okinawa's finest resorts, the Miyakojima Tokyu Resort delivers everything you could want from a tropical vacation. Rooms are spacious and beautiful, and most have superb views over the Yonaha Maehama Beach. In high season, don't miss the performances of Okinawan dance and music in the evenings. Consider visiting during late May or June, when prices are half of what they are in August.

This elegant spa resort is the last thing you'd expect to find in the rough-and-tumble fishing town of Muroto Cape; spacious guest rooms all have ocean views, both from the windows and from the in-room tubs. The restaurant specializes in "Kuroshio Italian" cuisine, using fresh Kochi vegetables and fish brought in from the Pacific Ocean. The spa offers a range of treatments using seawater drawn from around the cape. The staff speak some English and provides flawless service. This is definitely a splurge, and there's not much to see or do around the resort, but if you're looking for complete relaxation, you can't do better than here. If you book three days in advance, someone on staff can pick you up at Kochi Airport.

Visible for miles around—it looks like a giant cruise ship perched on the rim of the Toya Volcano—the Windsor is Hokkaido's best hotel for location and service. This is where world leaders infamously dined on a luxurious eight-course meal after discussing the global food crisis during the 2008 G8 Summit. The blue rooms have views of the lake and Toyako Onsen town's volcanic activity, while the rust-color rooms look out to the sea. It's a vast hotel, but the bars and restaurants are personal in scale. The hotel's onsen will allow you to soak your troubles away as you gaze out over the gardens. The staff speak English, French, and Japanese.

This luxury resort on the beautiful Cape Busena has been pampering guests for decades with its comfortable guest rooms and wide range of activities, from early morning yoga to private sunset yacht cruises. It was chosen as the site of the 26th G8 summit in 2000, and you can spot the occasional picture of Clinton, Putin, Blair, and other leaders relaxing in their colorful Okinawan kairyushi shirts. There are eight restaurants, of which Rumble Fish, with its unique seafood market design, and prime location at the tip of the peninsula, is the most renowned. The indoor swimming pool is open year-round, while the two outdoor pools are open in season.

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the lake or the grounds, and pastel colors decorate the simple rooms at this outpost of the Nikko Kanaya on the road from Chuzenji Onsen to Shobu-ga-hama. The open-air hot-spring baths offer relaxation with views of nature.

The family-friendly, all-inclusive resort pampers international guests of all ages and has particularly good children's programming. While your children are entertained in Kids Club, you can explore the slopes, or enjoy romantic fine-dining at lunch. Service is excellent, and the nightly entertainment has staff and guests up on stage singing and dancing. 

Once a ryokan, this resort hotel in owada-Hachimantai National Park combines the options of a ryokan with the extras of a resort, offering activities that you can take advantage of to see and experience the area in addition to the beautiful mountain views and on-site onsen. You can go everywhere in the place in your pajama-like loungewear. The lobby is dominated by a soaring chimney decorated by Taro Okamoto, and enormous plate-glass windows overlook a beautiful natural setting. A variety of rooms is available. And the buffet includes apple-related fare since that's what Aomori is known for. While there is a free bus from Hachinohe, Aomori, and Shin-Aomori JR stations, be sure to make a reservation when you book, and confirm the departure time so you don't miss it. In addition to outdoor activities, they also run things like open-air bus tours. There are plenty of things to do, so don't be late and miss the welcome drinks.

Waterbirds drift by the windows of the big but friendly hotel on the shore of Lake Abashiri, a few miles from town. It has the usual noise of Japanese resort hotels—game corners, tour groups, and karaoke rooms. But beyond the doors you can enjoy the peace of a lakeside walk, enjoy a soak in the hot spring, and finally retire to your room and relax over a multicourse crab dinner. The combination rooms have raised beds and tatami sitting areas. The hotel has everything you can imagine, even a barbershop for dogs.

Perched on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Japan, this resort in Aikawa offers ocean views, an open-air hot-spring pool, and comfortable Japanese- or Western-style rooms. What you're really here for, though, is the food: meals consist of fresh sashimi, grilled sazae (a local shellfish), wagyu beef, and vegetable tempura from Sado farms. It's all washed down with some Niigata sake, of course. The hotel is a 50-minute bus ride from Ryotsu; ask in advance about the hotel's shuttle bus.

Along the Hirose River, this large ryokan has rooms that peer out over the stream and mountains, offering a 20-meter pool, table tennis, and a children's play area, as well as its original rotenburo. Some of it is a bit over the top, but that is the mood. Nevertheless, the reason to stay here is for the onsen. Although the rotenburo generally offers mixed-sex bathing, some hours are reserved for women only. Five different springs fill the four rocky baths, and you can see the warm water bubbling up from the bottom of the river while you’re soaking. Request a room with beds if you’re not interested in sleeping on futons. Some rooms even have private baths with views.

This classic hotel is a little worn around the edges after a century of operation, but it still has the best location in town—across the street from Toshogu—and the main building is a delightful, rambling Victorian structure that has hosted royalty and other important personages from around the world. Rooms vary a great deal, as do their prices: the more expensive rooms are spacious and comfortable, with wonderful high ceilings; in the annex the sound of the Daiya-gawa murmuring below the Sacred Bridge lulls you to sleep.

This ski-in ski-out resort is popular with Japanese families and also for school trips, tour groups, and competition skiers. Recent updates to the hotel have focused on luxury wellness suites with their own saunas and, in the case of the premium suite, an oxygen capsule. The cheapest rooms—particularly the bathrooms—are in need of renovation. Young children will like the full-size indoor carousel, arcade games, and the animatronic singing bears. The "Oktoberfest" Hokkaido buffet showcases the best of the island's cuisine with all-you-can-eat snow crab. 

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.

Popular with tour groups, this is not a place where you will find a lot of alpine serenity, but if you are looking for a good, full-service option at a reasonable price point, you'll find it here. Perched on a bluff halfway up one side of the gorge, this hotel has the best views in the park. The hotel has sumptuous baths to take in all the nature. Rooms at the back overlook the parking lot, so those facing the gorge merit the higher prices. There is a free shuttle bus from JR Sapporo Station, four hours away. Dinner and breakfast are usually included in the room price.

Some rooms at this hillside hot-springs resort outside Kyoto proper have their own rotemburo (outdoor hot tub) overlooking a private garden, but gender-separated communal baths are available to all guests, and meals are included with your room. Though the building's facade is nondescript, the Japanese-style lobby's garden path–like approach and sliding paper door suggest Old Kyoto. Seasonal ingredients form the basis of kaiseki meals that can include crab, sukiyaki, and, in winter, wild boar. The scenic way to get here is aboard the Sagano Torokko train that leaves from Saga Torokko Station in Arashiyama.

Contemplate the Hell Valley while soaking in one of the 35 different baths at Takimotokan Hokkaido. This Japanese-style hotel is often busy with tour groups from Japan and overseas. The main draw is sitting in the sumptuous waters, where swimsuits are allowed in some of the outside baths. There's also a daily shuttle bus from Sapporo. Nonguests can bathe for ¥2,250.

Located in the valley between the two main ski areas, the Westin Rusutsu Resort has spacious bi-level suites with views out to slopes and the fairways. Dining is in the modern, sparse, light-filled atrium lounge. Access to the main resort area, where ski lifts and slopes can be found, is by a rather slow monorail, which can be inconvenient if you are intending to have meals or start ski lessons there.  In summer, golfers can enjoy the four 18-hole golf courses.