98 Best Hotels in Japan

This no-frills business hotel has a great location next to the east exit of Sapporo Station. It has the same compact rooms and reasonable services as any of the other approximately 300 hotels in the Toyoko Inn chain. If you sign up for a Toyoko Inn members card, you'll be able to check in an hour earlier, get discounts, and be able to book rooms up to six months in advance. The free breakfast is served in the lobby from 6:30 to 9.

Inexpensive but functional accommodations, a complimentary Japanese breakfast—onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed), miso soup, and coffee—and free Internet access in the lobby are among the pluses of a stay at this member of one of the country's largest hotel chains. To get here, take the streetcar to Karashima-cho. If this location is full, there are three Toyoko Inns in Kumamoto.

This reasonably priced hotel is one of Kurashiki's most popular, as it offers basic, reliably comfortable rooms at a great value. It's only minutes away from the train station's South Exit. Sign up for their member's card to get discounted rooms, and other advantages. 

Close to the laid-back cafés of Minami, the Toyoko Inn is a comfortable business hotel with rates that won't empty your wallet. All the amenities a budget traveler needs are here, including computers with free internet access in the foyer. The rates include a light breakfast of rice balls, miso soup, and coffee. The hotel is a 10-minute walk from the Shin-sai-bashi subway station.

Comfortable facilities and easy city access make for a pleasing stay at this budget chain hotel. Rooms are clean if not inspiring, and the hotel has Internet access and a coin laundry. Walking out of the train station, follow the big road that branches off diagonally to the left. There's another branch five minutes farther away from the station, if this one is full.

At this hotel, modest, cost-conscious Western- and Japanese-style accommodations come with or without a private bath. Simple, cheap breakfasts and dinners are served in the dining room, but you needn't opt for these if you'd rather eat out. To get here, take the bus bound for Chuzenji from either railway station and get off at the Sogo Kaikan-mae bus stop. The inn is two minutes from the bus stop and within walking distance of Toshogu.

This small ryokan in the steamy village of Yudanaka has a hinoki (cypress) bathtub that's continually fed by the hot springs. The rooms are rustic and cozy and (for a small extra fee) come with either a Western or Japanese breakfast. You can try Japanese archery (kyudo) if the owner has free time. The optional dinners feature delicious mountain vegetables and local seafood. It's a seven-minute walk from Yudanaka Station, across the Yomase River and on the left.

In a century-old geisha house in the Eastern Pleasure Quarter, Yogetsu is a small, stylish minshuku. The owner is a welcoming hostess and keeps a neat shared bath. The guest rooms are small and sparsely furnished, but rustic exposed beams add character. Only the second-floor rooms are air-conditioned. A traditional Japanese-style breakfast is included, but the owner is happy to adapt to Western tastes.