337 Best Hotels in Japan

Downtown's biggest international hotel, the ANA has some great city views and a good range of facilities, including a fitness center, several restaurants, and a top-floor bar. While not stunning, the rooms are all smart and clean, and doubles especially are good value for the rates. It's located next to Mitsukoshi department store on Ichiban-cho. Book a room with a view of the castle.

Right next to the train station the ANA Crowne Plaza Okayama is a modern, well-appointed hotel that has great views of the city, particularly from the premium rooms on the upper floors and its 20th-floor Sky Bar & Lounge. The 20th floor also has the Japanese restaurant Kuriya-sen and a teppanyaki restaurant, Osafune. 

One of Osaka's most venerable deluxe hotels, the Crowne Plaza overlooks Naka-no-shima Park. The 24-story building is a handsome white-tile structure with some unusual architectural features like great fluted columns in the lobby and an enclosed courtyard dotted with trees. The main bar is a throwback to a 1950s English gentlemen's club. Guest rooms feature shades of chocolate, tan, and cream, while the cups are traditional Japanese ceramics.

Unusually large beds and a central location—it's a block east of the ferry dock—make APA Hotel a good no-frills choice. This is a budget-priced hotel but offers a range of spacious Western-style rooms. If you need more space, there are family rooms for up to three people and deluxe rooms that can easily sleep five.

This pleasant, modern hotel is immediately adjacent to the JR Hirosaki Station and has a convenience store on the ground level. The breakfast, served on the second floor of the building, is a very involved buffet that is quite delicious. The variety available might make you want to hang around and eat, and it's definitely worth the extra charge if you like breakfasts.

A three-minute walk west from Senso-ji, this fairly recent hipster-ish addition to Asakusa's hotel scene has rooms (on its third to tenth floors) that are spacious and modern, with wooden flooring, wide windows, and stark concrete accents. The second-floor theater and first-floor restaurant–bar—both operated by the same company as the hotel—attract a creative crowd. 

Although the box-shaped Asakusa View is the largest Western-style hotel in the traditional Asakusa area, it isn't divorced from traditional culture—communal hinoki (Japanese-cypress) baths on the sixth floor overlook a Japanese garden. Rooms are basic, decorated in neutral tones, but single rooms can be small, starting at about 70 square feet. The suite rooms, on the 25th floor, have a view of the Senso-ji pagoda, the temple grounds, and the Tokyo Sky Tree tower. The hotel is a three-minute walk from the retro amusement park Hanayashiki.

Exquisite furnishings, indoor and outdoor hot-springs baths, and spacious, predominately Japanese-style rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows are among this hotel's draws. Prices are high, but they include a multicourse dinner, served in your room, and breakfast the next morning. The inn is a 10-minute walk west up a steep hill from Atami Station, but the hotel operates a station shuttle bus for guests.

This former department store in the heart of the downtown shopping area was remade into an elegant hotel. The lobby's creamy upholstery and yellow walls are echoed in the rooms, which are nicely furnished and have larger than usual bathrooms. A shared Japanese bath lets you get to know your fellow guests. There's a small teppanyaki restaurant and an 11th-floor piano bar with city views. 

In a small port town on Ikuchi Island, where the Shimanami Kaido enters the outskirts of Onomichi, this luxury ryokan has repurposed a 140-year-old merchant’s estate to create an inviting spot to end your bike tour. Blending modern amenities into the traditional setting, rooms combine elements such as tatami, cedar and granite flooring, cypress baths tubs, and shoji paper screens to create a very sleek, airy feel. Dinner (an optional extra) is served on antique tableware and features locally sourced produce turned into multicourse Japanese meals. The ryokan can also arrange activities such as Zen meditation at a local temple, cycling tours, and boat fishing. It  sometimes offers 20% seasonal discounts.

The Nagoya branch of this business hotel chain combines an excellent central location in Sakae (on Hisaya-odori) with good value rates. As with all decent business hotels, design-wise each room is simple and modern but very well kept, plus you get free Wi-Fi, and the free coffee in the lobby helps save a few hundred yen a day.

If you need a vacation from your vacation, then step off of Shinjuku's streets and into this Balinese-themed fantasy island, one of Tokyo's many "love hotels" that happens to offer both nice overnight accommodations and a quintessential Japanese experience (in general, people come to a love hotel for fun rather as a place to stay). Your room might have a karaoke machine, a projection system for movies, a massage chair, or even a sauna. There is pricing for day use or an overnight stay, so if you're looking for somewhere to spend a rainy afternoon, that's also an option. Typically love hotels are for couples (some refuse same-sex couples), but this place also welcomes small parties and events, so also offers food. Everyone must be over 18. 

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.

Much classier than other members of this hotel chain, the Washington has guest rooms with views of the city or the sci-fi half-dome of Canal City. Hundreds of shops and eateries are steps away. The hotel has both wired Internet connection and Wi-Fi.

Direct connection to the metro lines makes this a great place to stay, as do the tastefully decorated rooms and lobby designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma. The fitness center and many of the large, modern rooms have excellent city views; some suites even overlook the nearby Hie Shrine. The hotel's three restaurants are all good bets, though the highly rated breakfast is on the pricey side.

This affordable hotel is within a few minutes’ walk of JR Nara and Kintetsu-Nara stations. Rooms may be basic, but they are more stylish and spacious than most hotels within a similar price range. Beds are super comfortable, and the area is quiet at night, despite the central location. The morning breakfast buffet will set you up for a day of sightseeing.

Occupying the 19th to 37th floors of a tower that is, itself, on a slope above Shibuya's chaos, this hotel has an expansive, welcoming lobby, as well as spacious, tastefully designed rooms with neutral color schemes and fantastic views of Tokyo Tower or Mt. Fuji (when weather cooperates). Some rooms include windows in the bathroom to allow for bath-time city gazing. Rooms on the Executive floors have access to the 35th floor lounge for cocktails or afternoon tea.

A splurge but absolutely worth it, this high-class ryokan behind the Dogo Onsen bathhouse delivers the royal treatment. The guest rooms are extremely spacious and offer views of the hot spring and the city, vistas you can also enjoy from your private balcony while soaking in a wooden tub in water drawn from the springs. The Japanese-style rooms have wooden floors and tatami sections, but instead of futons there are Western-style mattresses. The optional meals, inspired by French haute cuisine, are in private rooms in the restaurant downstairs.

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.

While short-term guests can appreciate the amenities, the Citadines Shinjuku is also a bright bit of value for long-term travelers—a place where primary colors and attentive staffers greet you in the lobby, and guest rooms are cheerfully decorated and practically outfitted. If you spring for breakfast, you can fortify yourself with a wonderful continental-style spread before taking a stroll in the nearby Shinjuku Gyoen, a sprawling, landscaped garden. The nightlife scene here is also a draw. Note that it's easier to take a short taxi ride from Shinjuku Station than attempt to find the property from the nearest subway station.

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. 

Located in downtown Narita City, a very short walk from both train stations and close to Narita Omotesando, the shopping street leading to the beautiful Naritsan temple grounds, this minimalist property is the perfect base for some last-minute souvenir hunting and sightseeing. Other perks include a self-service laundry facility and a rate that includes a basic continental breakfast.

Elevators shoot up 28 floors in the slick, green-hued Tokyo Shiodome Building to a lobby of dark oak paneling and bronze lattices at the luxurious Conrad, which artfully mixes ultramodern and traditional Japanese aesthetics. Rooms have high ceilings and bathrooms with dual sinks, rain-shower heads, and separate tubs (complete with rubber duckies). For the best views, opt for a room facing the bay rather than one overlooking the city. Indeed, the Twin Bay View Rooms (a roomy 516 square feet) have the latest in modern hotel design (granite bathroom counters, ergonomic desk chairs) and Japanese aesthetics (a charcoal drawing of cherry blossoms above the headboard). Dining options include the award-winning China Blue and Kazahana, which serves superb Japanese cuisine and overlooks the Hama Rikyu Garden. Be sure to come with plenty of Hilton points (or your best plastic)—room prices are as sky-high as the lobby entrance.

Situated on the first four floors of the sleek Kyobashi Trust Tower, the Courtyard by Marriott is a convenient option for business travelers. The rooms are outfitted in tasteful beiges and browns, but they tend to be small (starting at 170 square feet); a Corner or Queen room is recommended for a little more space. Staff members are skilled in English and provide very attentive service. Though the Lavarock restaurant on the first floor offers a nice bistro menu, drinking and dining opportunities abound in the neighboring area, which includes Ginza. Unlike most hotels in Tokyo, the Courtyard has a smoke-free policy covering the entire building.

One of Osaka's most stylishly modern and hip hotels, Cross is perfectly located for exploring the south side of Osaka. The bold, red glass–fronted exterior and spacious, design-focused rooms have the feeling of being at a boutique hotel—albeit one with over 200 rooms. The amenity-filled, spacious bathrooms—a rarity in Osaka—are another highlight.

This Western-style luxury hotel is so spacious and modern that it almost feels out of place in gruff Kochi. This is the place to experience the city's hospitality and escape the hustle and bustle of the streets. There's a lovely café on the ground floor with desserts on display that will tempt you each time you walk past, and slightly expensive but high-end restaurants on the second. The rooms are pleasant and nicely proportioned, and the staff are extremely helpful.

A reliable and well-maintained member of a business-hotel chain next to the Marugame-machi shopping arcade, the Roynet has helpful staff and great access to Takamatsu's main drinking and dining areas. The rooms are small, but the slightly larger "Hollywood twin" ones come with reclining massage chairs. All rooms have free Wi-Fi, and there's a handy coin laundry on-site, plus a 24-hour convenience store in the same building.

This lodge connected to Dewa-Sanzan Jinja by a long stairway allows you to enjoy the shrine and scenery at the summit after most tourists have gone home by staying in communal, Japanese-style rooms with shared baths. Early birds may join priests at the main shrine for morning prayers—a great way to start the day. The cedar-lined approach is more than majestic, but inside, this shukubo, or monk's lodging, is spartan. The large tatami-mat rooms can be separated by fusuma (sliding paper doors) to create smaller rooms. Two vegetarian meals are served daily. The signature dish, tasty sesame tofu, is thicker, richer, and creamier than regular tofu. Since the lodge does have an irregular schedule to accommodate events, be sure to check. Reservations are best made by phone, and when you (or someone who speaks Japanese) call, you can check the dates and also request vegan meals. If you are taking the bus, get off at the final stop, and it is a 10-minute walk a bit down from the summit.

As this hotel is perched above the water and a secluded beach, all of its Japanese-style guest rooms overlook the sea. Service is first-class, despite the hotel's popularity with tour groups, and the room rate includes a seafood kaiseki dinner, served in your room, as well as a buffet breakfast. For relaxation and pampering, head to the day spa, outdoor hot spring, or swimming pool.