337 Best Hotels in Japan

This hotel chain is a trustworthy option when you're unsure of where to stay, but this branch also puts you in an area that is worth exploring and close to most of the places you'll want to visit in Hirosaki. It's a simple place, with nice touches like a welcome drink bar and goodies available for your after-bath relaxation. The rooms are simple and geared toward business travelers but can work well for a couple; however, keep in mind that the queen bed can almost fill a room. The fifth floor has smoking rooms. Do opt for the breakfast buffet; there are not many other places to get breakfast nearby.

This mid-range business hotel chain's Nagoya outlet features all the usual Dormy touches aimed to please weary business travelers, including communal hot-spring baths, free late-night ramen, complimentary ice bars after bathing, and all-you-can-drink coffee in the lobby. The rooms are on the small side but smart and clean, and all come with Wi-Fi. The hotel is a few blocks east of Fushimi subway station and a short walk to Sakae. Breakfast is available for an additional fee.

With its central location, smart decor, and great amenities, this branch of a national chain seems almost too good to be true in this price range. The terrific rooftop hot tub gets bonus points, and you can have an affordable in-house massage, the perfect way to relax after a day of sightseeing.

Just south of Toyama Station, the DoubleTree is one of the smartest options in Toyama, with simple but contemporary interiors, plus nice extras like communal hot-spring baths, a bar, and a 24-hour fitness center. Rooms range from twins (also for single occupancy) to spacious suites suitable for families. To get the free Wi-Fi, sign up for a free Hilton Honors membership; otherwise it's ¥1,100 a day.

Individual cottages, some with thatched roofs in the greenery of Nara Park, make Edosan one of Nara's most peaceful and unique lodgings. Indulge in a traditional kaiseki dinner served in your cottage while you gaze through a large round window out into the lush landscape. One cottage has a private bath, and there's also a communal bath for other guests.

This friendly temple, close to Okuno-in, is where you can take part in morning prayers and observe the morning fire ceremony. Much like staying at a ryokan, the accommodation is all tatami, varying from modest 11-square-meter (118-square-foot) rooms for solo travelers to smart, family-size options. All room rates include a good vegetarian dinner and breakfast served in-room. From the cable-car terminus, take the bus for Okuno-in and get off at the Karukayado stop. Eko-in is several hundred meters east along the main road.

The Aso-Kuju National Park is famous for horses and cows, and at the El Patio Ranch you can live your cowboy or cowgirl dreams as you walk, trot, or canter around the local area. The rustic rooms are simple but spacious, while the views over the horses and hills are fantastic. The horse-riding courses are also available to nonguests and range from a 20-minute 1-km (½-mile) course at ¥4,400, to a 75-minute, 6-km (3¾-mile) course at ¥20,900. The restaurant menu is very beef-centric with steaks, burgers, beef curry, and BBQ.

Nestled in the foothills of the Eastern Mountains, the Four Seasons is a seven-minute walk from the Kyoto National Museum and some of Kyoto’s popular temples. All rooms offer views of the forested hillsides and Myoho-in Temple. An outside-dining deck overlooks the pond, a part of the 800-year old estate and stroll garden.

The latest Four Seasons Tokyo hotel, unveiled at the end of 2020, delights guests with its hospitality and sweeping views of Tokyo landmarks, as well as the distant Mt. Fuji. The serene, bright welcoming lounge on the 39th floor gives you the first peek at what you can expect. Every space is thoughtfully designed, and the rooms are no exception, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows with incredible views and luxurious amenities. You don’t need to leave for dinner. Just reserve a seat at Pigneto, open-kitchen Italian, or Michelin-starred restaurant Est. Finish the night at Virtù, a bar serving Japan-inspired cocktails. 

Accommodations are comfortable (if a little threadbare) at this lakefront hotel, where a terrace lounge affords fine views of the lake and of Mt. Fuji beyond and amenities include hot-spring baths, tennis courts, pitch-and-putt golf, and rental bicycles. For rooms, there's a choice of Western-style or (more expensive) Japanese-style rooms. The staff speaks English and are helpful in planning excursions.

This small, family-run Japanese inn has simple tatami rooms with the bare essentials. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi, speak English and are a great help in planning trips off the beaten path. The inn is between Odawara Station and Togendai; take a bus (30 minutes) from Hakone-Yumoto Station (Lane 3) and get off at the Senkyoro-mae stop. 

Namari's most famous ryokan (and its most famous onsen) is a dark wood house made of Japanese zelkova trees that is starting to show its age but still seems to have stories to tell, with rustic rooms without private baths in the main building and newer rooms with private baths in a concrete annex. The main reason to stay here is to have the opportunity to steep in the venerable Namari Onsen, which has a high ceiling and a round shape that resembles nothing so much as a giant inkwell. It is not the only hot spring available to you (and the water in the hot springs can be hot to the uninitiated), but the outdoor baths along the river are more milky. Relatively rare in these modern times, the ryokan has mixed-sex bathing with some hours reserved solely for women or men depending on the bath. Although the rooms in the main building have no private toilet, many find them nicer and more atmospheric than those in the newer annex, where the rooms do have private baths; the corner rooms overlooking a waterfall are particularly roomy and tastefully furnished. You can also use their bath for ¥800 per person without staying, and rent a towel for a few hundred yen extra.

Built in 1878 and most-recently renovated in 2020, this hotel combines the best of traditional Western design with the exceptional hospitality of a fine Japanese inn—one that has, over the years, welcomed VIPs like Charlie Chaplin and John Lennon and Yoko Ono. There are both Western and Japanese restaurants, and, in the gardens behind the hotel is an old imperial villa that serves as a dining room. Hot-spring water is pumped right into the guest rooms.

Centrally located and affordably priced, this business hotel is a good alternative when you're looking to save a few yen. The rooms are small and simple but not wanting in any of the standard amenities. The restaurant serves decent Western- and Japanese-style breakfasts for ¥800, as well as a simple ¥380 coffee and toast "morning set." The hotel is a short walk from Fushimi subway station.

Modern luxury permeates Fujiya Ryokan, which you could mistake for some kind of art gallery. Designed by architect Kuma Kengo, the sleek guest rooms are equipped with state-of-art amenities, and there are five hot-spring baths. The five exquisite hot-spring pools made from different natural materials such as granite, bamboo, and Japanese cypress provide total relaxation, and each is available to all guests for private use. Because the inn does not have dining facilities, you'll receive two substantial yet sublime Japanese meals served in your room. Contact them to arrange pickup from the train station or if you are arriving by car at their lot before getting into town. The ryokan area is not accessible by car.

Murals, art objects, and custom-made furniture by local artists enliven every room and even the public hallways of this boutique hotel on an antiques shop–lined street in the heart of Gion. Its sister hotel (Hotel Gion Misen) is within a block on Shinmonzen-dori.

This family-run ryokan on Shuzenji's main street has rooms that look out on the Katsura-gawa, plus gorgeous stone- and wood-lined indoor hot springs. Meals are a European-influenced take on a kaiseki course.

At this understated hotel not far from the West Exit of Shibuya Station, guest rooms are done in neutral tones and have interesting decor features and/or pops of bright color. Some rooms also have glass-enclosed baths with overhead showers. In addition to the on-site steakhouse, dining and drinking options include myriad neighborhood restaurants and bars.

One of the best hotels in town, the sophisticated Grand Hyatt overlooks the Canal City shopping and entertainment complex. Those craving a little extravagance won't be disappointed. Huge stone pillars and blond wood panels set a relaxing mood in the lobby, which descends into a lounge with an arresting view. Beyond an immense wall of glass a fountain splashes, and on the other side of that is the concave hemisphere of Canal City's Urban Theater. The hotel's opulent rooms peer out over the mall's interior or the Naka River and the rest of the city.

Japanese refinement and a contemporary design come together perfectly at the Grand Hyatt, a centrally located hotel where no expense has been spared on materials—from the Frette bed linens to the red-granite pool in the Nagomi spa. Rooms are huge by Tokyo standards, with high ceilings, touch-panel lighting systems, remote-control blackout blinds, and muted earth tones. Bathrooms have a luxurious rain shower and a separate limestone bath. Guests staying in Grand Club rooms receive free use (for a limited time) of meeting rooms, complimentary breakfast, and evening drinks in the lounge. The bar at the Oak Door steak house is very lively in the evenings.

At one of the closest properties to the Tokyo Disney Resort, lots of natural light shines through a vast atrium, and all the recently renovated rooms rooms have sizable windows with views of either Tokyo Disney or Tokyo Bay. Eating options are limited to the all-day dining spot Le Jardin, a Japanese restaurant, and for guests with access, quick bites and drinks in one of two executive lounges.

As soon as you enter the grand, extravagant lobby, you and your luggage will be immediately taken care of, and, although rooms are spacious, the real highlights are the bathrooms with luxurious sinks and bathtubs big enough for two. You'll be spoiled for choice at lunch and dinner by a host of highly rated restaurants. The Grill on 30th is notable for its nighttime view of Tokyo Bay and is also open for breakfast.

Overlooking Otaru Marina, this 18-story hotel sits atop the huge WingBay shopping complex, giving easy access to outlet stores, restaurants, and a movie theater; inside is a reliable, familiar chain hotel with English-speaking staff. Western-style rooms in gold, blue, and brown have large twin or double beds, and most overlook the waterfront. It is a five-minute walk from JR Otaru Chikko Station, two stops from JR Otaru Station. The on-site restaurants include a small sushi restaurant (you are still in Otaru), Marina Bar, which features steaks, wines, and whiskeys, and the Terrace Brasserie with its panoramic views of the water and breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets (and a dessert buffet on weekends). In winter, several of the ski bus companies offer pickup from the hotel, making it a convenient option for skiers and boarders.

The owner of this small ryokan in Honmura, which has three Japanese-style rooms and one guesthouse, spent decades in France and Morocco before returning to Naoshima to turn his family's 17th-century home into an inn. In the main house are exquisitely decorated tatami rooms, though the sliding screen doors aren't as quiet as many travelers would like. For more privacy ask for the annex guesthouse, which has its own kitchen and sleeps up to four people. Meals are available.

Overlooking the Naka River, this upscale Western-style hotel is a short walk from Canal City. All the rooms have generously sized beds, not always the case at business hotels. The riverside location beside the "entertainment district" puts you just a few steps from the alfresco dining at the yatai stalls, but the hostess bars and soaplands are in equal proximity, perhaps too close for comfort for some guests. Easily accessible from Nakasu Kawabata Station, the hotel is five minutes from Hakata Station on the subway's airport line.

This large bustling, modern hotel is a short walk from the station, the morning market, and the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses. Standard rooms done up in pastel shades have bland decor. Many of the rooms and the Shiomi-no-Yu hot-spring onsen have great ocean views. 

Set in the Jogasaki forest, this traditional Japanese inn has modern, comfortable rooms, but still retains classic elements like tatami mats, sliding screen doors, and chabudai (low dining tables) with zabuton (cushion seating). The onsen are made of wood for rustic appeal.

A top choice for a luxury ryokan experience, Hanajyukai overlooks city and sea from a flower-covered mountainside. In typical ryokan fashion, most rooms are fully tatami, but some also incorporate wood flooring, and there are rooms with beds (not futon) tastefully incorporated into the traditional design; book one of the "designers rooms" for that. Or splurge on a "rotemburo-tsuki" room, if you want a private hot-spring bath. Dinners are classic kaiseki with French twists, although no-meal plans are available if you want to cut costs or eat out in Takamatsu. The scenic rooftop spa will melt your travel stress away. The inn is a 10-minute taxi ride from the city center.

A few hundred meters from the Happo-one Resort, this sleek hotel is one of Hakuba's newest, having opened in December 2021. You'll find bright and airy rooms that range from doubles to family rooms and a suite, plus facilities that include a Finnish sauna, hot-spring baths, and ski gear rental shop. There's also a bar for a nightcap.

This small ryokan has welcomed guests since 1804 with a strictly traditional experience: 10 large tatami rooms share a single bath and four clean but old-fashioned pit toilets, and the walls are sliding paper screens. Delicately arranged dinners are served in your room (book meals in advance for an extra cost). The ryokan can be booked in English via  www.japaneseguesthouses.com.