337 Best Hotels in Japan

Situated amongst the trees beside a river, Myoken Ishiharaso is the perfect rural escape. Most of the rooms are new and modern and overlook the river, so you can always hear the rushing waters. There is a rotemburo (outdoor hot spring) for mixed bathing that sits on the edge of the river and another private outdoor hot-spring pool that you can book in advance—both are wonderful. After bathing, enjoy an incredible multicourse Japanese dinner that along with breakfast is included in the room rate. The ingredients in both meals are fresh, seasonal, and cooked to the highest standards. Vegetarian and vegan options are available. This hotel can get very expensive during Japanese holidays.

Opened in 2024, the new Marriott offers luxurious rooms and hotel artwork celebrating Nagasaki's "wakaran" heritage, a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Dutch influences next to Nagasaki train station. There is an excellent main restaurant, two specialty restaurants (teppanyaki and sushi), room service, and an executive lounge. Even if you're not staying at the hotel, it is worthwhile stopping by for afternoon tea and elegant desserts, or cocktails and a meal in an elegant setting with a night view of Mt. Inasa.

The imperial family and visiting baseball teams are among those served by the city's oldest hotel, which is also a haunt for celebrities in search of a little privacy. It's centrally located and provides the extra class and character you'd expect for the price. The lobby's white-brick walls are balanced by soft carpets and dark-wood furnishings. The guest rooms are spacious and overlook the city center. The Nagoya Kanko is five minutes by taxi from Nagoya Station or a short walk from Fushimi Station.

Built in 1909, this hotel is a beautiful synthesis of Japanese and Western architecture. The high ceilings, wide hallways, and sumptuous beds are fit for, well, an emperor. The filigree-patterned light shades and silver-painted room heaters are all original. The lounge shows bits of the hotel's history, including the piano played by Albert Einstein during his visit. Although most rooms have a good view of the gardens or the temples, those in the new wing are not as grand as the traditional rooms in the old wing. Dinner is a special event in the old-fashioned Edwardian-style dining room, where excellent French food is served.

One of the city's newest luxury hotels looks out over the city from Osaka's tallest building and has some of the best nighttime views of any hotel in the region. Situated on the 38th to 57th floors of the new Abeno Harukas Building, the floor-to-ceiling windows give every room a bright, airy feeling that complements the subdued but trendy decor. The Premium Corner rooms offer views from two angles as well as a view from the bath. Located above Tennoji Station, the hotel is a short train ride from many tourist attractions and a short taxi from the nightlife areas of Namba and Shin-sai-bashi.

This hotel's handsome, refined look sets the stage for a luxury experience that starts in the lobby—a long expanse of white marble lit with oversize drum chandeliers and sunlight pouring in from floor-to-ceiling windows—and continues in spacious guest rooms that are tastefully done in neutral tones with pops of chartreuse. Some Deluxe Rooms have balconies with views of the Marunouchi skyline and nearby greenery. The 19th-floor Club Lounge serves breakfast and evening cocktails to Club Floor guests. The Grand Kitchen offers an array of cuisines with subtle Japanese touches, and the Royal Bar is stocked with a large selection of whiskey brands and cigars. Amenities also include a 24-hour gym, Japan's first Evian Spa, and a pool. Tokyo's most popular jogging course—a  5-km (3.1-mile) loop around the palace—is just outside the door. The hotel also rents bicycles.

Along the scenic Kamo River with views of the Eastern Mountains, the Ritz-Carlton provides world-class luxury in a Japanese milieu, with subtle lighting, artistic ornamentation, and a renovated century-old estate used for dining. The rooms are spacious and well appointed in the upscale chain's grand tradition. Some suites even have private gardens. The restaurants include ones serving Western and Japanese cuisine.

More intimate than the city's other luxury hotels, the Ritz-Carlton combines a homey atmosphere and European elegance. King-size beds with goose-down pillows and dark-wood furnishings grace the guest rooms, and the bathrooms have plush robes and fluffy towels. All rooms have a flat-screen TV with plug-in panels where you can attach your electronic gadgets. A rarity in Japan, the rates include use of the pool, hot tub, and fitness room.

Installed in the top floors of the 53-story Midtown Tower, the Ritz-Carlton provides some of Tokyo's most luxurious accommodations squarely in the middle of the city. High-end indulgences like Frette linens and down pillows are standard in the guest rooms, but it's the simple pleasure of gazing at the Tokyo skyline from a perfectly positioned chair that gives the strongest impression of luxury. The spacious marble bathrooms are equipped with double sinks, at least 17-inch plasma TVs, and deep tubs. Guests staying on the Club Level (two top floors) are presented with complimentary snacks and beverages. The spa on the 46th floor has a 20-meter pool, nine treatment rooms, and a hot tub overlooking the city. The Heritage by Kei Kobayashi French restaurant and the Hinokizaki seafood restaurant provide views of Mt. Fuji (on a clear day) and Tokyo Tower.

If you're going to splurge for a luxury ryokan, this is the place. Housed in a cluster of traditional houses (the oldest was built nearly 300 years ago), Ryokan Kurashiki elegantly blends the feel and service of traditional Japanese inns with the modern comforts of high-end hotels. Each of the ryokan's suites is housed in its own building, complete with Western-style beds and tatami-mat rooms tastefully decorated with art and antiques.

With stunning views of the Sakurajima volcano and excellent service, the Sheraton Kagoshima (new in 2023) is the best luxury option for international visitors to the city.  The hotel has a fitness center, spa, and a great sodium chloride hot-spring bath. There is also a foot bath, which men and women can enjoy together. The 19th-floor Flying Hog Grill and the Vivarium cocktail bar offer guests the chance to wine and dine while watching Sakurajima smoke and rumble on the horizon. Splurging for a room with club lounge access will also let you enjoy your breakfast pastries with similarly impressive views. 

Shinsen is the best ryokan in Takachiho and one of Kyushu's finest (it's also quite expensive), since more than half the rooms have an open-air bath. The elaborate Japanese kaiseki dinner and breakfast included in the price are well worth the expense. If you have any dietary requests, just let them know in advance and they can be catered to. The entire staff are devoted to welcoming their guests. From Shinsen it is a short walk to Takachiho Shrine.

European-style furnishings and mellow contemporary art make the standard rooms at this high-end hotel some of the best in the city. As an added bonus, and unlike many other hotels in Japan, staying guests can make use of the pool and gym for free, and there are also discounts at the hotel's excellent restaurants. Be sure to enjoy a drink in Tavola 36, the hotel's top-floor sky lounge. If you are coming from the airport, use the courtesy phone to request a bellhop to collect your bags as soon as you get off the train. Take the third-floor exit at Nankai Namba Station.

It's as if a traditional ryokan has been transported from rural Japan and delicately placed into this otherwise unremarkable hotel tower, where, after you snake through the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, you come to the Takanawa Hanakohro, with its Japanese-style suites and a staff that greets you with the utmost omotenashi, or mindful, unobtrusive hospitality. A stay here includes full access to all the lounges at neighboring Prince properties, as well as exclusive access to the Oh-Sai lounge, where you can have breakfast or an evening cocktail and participate in a matcha-making demonstration. Amid the four Prince hotels is a well-manicured garden that has a pond and is a quaint place for a short stroll.

Founded by the Okazaki family more than 300 years ago and now run by the 11th generation, this hotel is justly celebrated for its hospitality, sumptuous but subdued decor, impeccable service, and splendid gardens. Dignitaries, presidents, and royalty have all been guests here. Every room is unique, furnished with superb antiques from the family collection and equipped with a fragrant cedar bath. Other amenities include a library and an elegant gift shop. The kaiseki ryori meals are prepared with skill and style.

Staying at this group of eight farmhouses in the mountains of eastern Iya is the perfect way to experience traditional life here. The Chiiori Trust renovated them, retaining their rustic aesthetic with thatched roofs, thick wood floorboards, and sliding shoji doors. Present-day comforts like soaker tubs and wireless Internet access have been tastefully incorporated. Fusho House has a stunning view of the mountainside village across the valley. Make your meals yourself, or for an extra fee you can have dinner delivered or ask the Chiiori Trust to bring in a local cook.

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 midcentury yet traditional inn is within walking distance of the downtown shopping area and has authentic sukiya-zukuri style (teahouse architecture): the rooms have views of the landscaped garden. Each tastefully decorated room has a cypress-wood bath. As at most ryokan, the room rate includes two excellent meals. Guests are served kaiseki ryori, including the specialty tempura, in their rooms. Custom meals are available for vegetarians and vegans.

When not submerged in the mineral waters at this relaxing lodging that dates from 1925, you can warm yourself by the glowing coals in the irori (sunken hearth) in the lobby and enjoy the delicious included meals. The rates include breakfast and dinner; the kaiseki course dinner is usually served in your room (vegetarian options are available). The inn is among the shops and galleries near the thermally heated Lake Kinrin, which gives off steam much of the year. Service is excellent, with kind and thoughtful staff. 

With a central location and stylish, bright, and relatively spacious guest rooms, this hotel is a reliable choice for business travelers and families alike. The Michelin two-star French restaurant Pierre Gagnaire has excellent views, and the Atrium Lounge has live piano performances that create quite the atmosphere.

The 7Days and its slightly plusher next-door annex 7Days Plus ( 2–13–6 Harimaya-cho  088/884–7111) are budget business hotels done right. Smart, clean, and with all the basic amenities (including free Wi-Fi), rooms are an excellent value. Each hotel has connecting double rooms that are ideal for a family of four. Slightly removed from the nightlife center, the hotels are in the backstreets northeast of Harimaya Bridge.

Creature comforts await you at this downtown hotel, which seems a world away from the rugged outback seaport city of Abashiri. Western-style rooms done up in shades of yellows and blues, spacious Japanese rooms, and combination rooms overlook a main road out front or a parking lot out back. Fish from the local icy waters are a specialty of the Grand Glacier restaurant, which serves Japanese, Chinese, and French fare. English speakers are on staff.

A level-up on the typical business hotel, the Agnes has a more sophisticated feel than similarly priced options in town. One reason for that are the French pastries served downstairs, all baked on premises with high-quality ingredients and seasonal fruit. Add to that English-speaking staff and rooms that are compact but comfortable, with a white-and-brown color scheme. Across the street is a sister property, the Agnes Plus, which has a public bath open to guests of either Agnes. Walking out of the train station, take the second of two narrow streets that branch out to the right.

On of the most luxurious lodging options in Hokkaido, Hinanoza has just 25 suites, and while not all of them have views out over the lake, they are all beautifully designed with natural tones, mixing Japanese and western design. All rooms have their own rotemburo (private bath). The price includes dinner, breakfast, and most drinks. The hotel is also able to cater for dietary needs if contacted in advance.

Akita Castle Hotel has bright and airy rooms overlooking the moats of Senshu Park, with those on the fifth and sixth floors offering the better views, as do the window seats at the Japanese restaurant for breakfast. The building is a reflection of a different era, when things were big and showy, but as a place to stay, it is still a great location. For a big splurge, request the Imperial Suite, where the imperial family stays when in town.

If this is not the largest hotel in town, it feels like it, sitting beside the Seibu Department Store right in the thick of all the shops that line the arcade extending out from the station, with many eateries located nearby. The hotel itself has several different dining options, some with nice views. You are also directly connected to the department store via the lobby. A three-minute walk east will take you to JR Akita Station, and a seven-minute walk takes you to the edge of the entertainment district.

This reliable and popular hotel puts you close to the Peace Park and the nightlife of Nagarekawa. The Unkai restaurant, on the fifth floor, has tasty Japanese food and looks over a garden of dwarf trees surrounding a pond filled with colorful carp. In the morning, enjoy a full buffet breakfast in the hotel's ground-floor restaurant with plenty of Western and Japanese dishes to choose from. The club-level rooms were renovated in 2023.

Some of the rooms at this Western-style chain property have great views of Nijo Castle, which sits directly across the street, but though reasonably well appointed, they and the public areas are strictly standard issue and hardly atmospheric. In summer the breeze wafting through the popular rooftop beer garden is as exhilarating as are the nighttime city views.