337 Best Hotels in Japan

For travelers on a budget, the Hearton Hotel Shin-sai-bashi offers a good location and very reasonable rates. Located in Amerika-mura, a short walk from the Shin-sai-bashi subway stop and the Mido-suji and Shin-sai-bashi shopping streets, the Hearton is perfectly situated so you can take advantage of Osaka's shopping and nightlife. The rooms are small but comfortable. The hip Planet 3rd café is next door.

The best international-style hotel in town, the Hida Hotel Plaza exudes an old-style atmosphere. Beautifully carved wood accents the hotel's tastefully decorated restaurants. Many rooms have mountain views. Although the Western rooms are comfortable, you'll want to stay in a spacious deluxe Japanese room so you can enjoy the soft mattresses and fragrant cypress wood bathtubs. From the station, head north; the hotel is on the right. The hotel offers generous midweek discounts.

Impeccable service from a multilingual team at this flagship Hilton hotel, which opened in 2022, is the main draw. U.S. President Joe Biden stayed here for the G7 Hiroshima Summit in 2023. Premium rooms have access to the executive lounge giving stunning city views to those taking the complimentary breakfast or evening cocktails. ZATTA  Bar & Lounge has live music and a fine selection of drinks. The 20-meter pool, gym, and spa by L'Occitane will keep you revitalized. Across the street is a convenient full-service supermarket.

This large business hotel always gets good guest reviews for service and location, and it's a reliable option in Nagoya. The large guest rooms, many of which were refurbished in 2016, feature light-wood furnishings and translucent shoji (window screens). Facilities include an indoor pool and 24-hour fitness center. The staff are multilingual, and the hotel is near Fushimi Station.

Glitz and glitter lure expense-accounters to the Hilton Osaka, in the heart of the business district, a typical Western-style hotel with endless marble and brass. The high-ceiling lobby is dramatic and stylish, and the arcade is home to designer boutiques. The five executive floors have a lounge for complimentary continental breakfasts and evening cocktails, and the decor is 21st-century art deco with a Japanese streak.

At this behemoth hotel, the lobby—where a staircase leads to a mezzanine floor and a bar-lounge—has a surprisingly human scale, and sizable guest rooms have soft, relaxing color schemes and such Japanese touches as the shoji screen, a constant since the hotel's opening in 1963. The hotel is what many people would expect of a property in a business center like Tokyo, but with views of its quieter areas.

Given its proximity to Narita Airport (15 minutes away on a free shuttle), this hotel is a solid choice for a one-night visit. All the rooms are no-smoking; if available, book one of the deluxe rooms, which are slightly larger and are done in neutral colors. Meal options include a Japanese restaurant, a Sichuan eatery, and the Terrace Bar for an evening cocktail. The breakfast buffet is a bit expensive but it offers a mix of Japanese and Western selections. Also, in case you forgot to get snacks for your flight, there is a 7-Eleven on the ground floor.

With a facade that follows the curve of the Tokyo Bay shoreline, the 15-story Hilton Tokyo Odaiba presents itself as an "urban resort" with European style. Dark-wood chairs and golden ornaments adorn the second-floor lobby, where large windows overlook the waterfront. The spacious rooms have a balcony and are decorated in pale yellow and beige textiles; select suites have whirlpool tubs. The Captain's Bar serves a large selection of whiskey and brandy. Access to the city center from here is cumbersome, but a boardwalk connects the hotel to a small park, an amusement area, and shopping destinations.

An elegant ryokan built upon the ruins of an old Mori clan estate, the luxurious Hokumon Yashiki pampers you in a style the ruling elite were surely accustomed to in the good old days. The inn overlooks a garden in the samurai section of town, near the castle grounds. 

Almost a century old, this traditional inn has wood-decorated tatami rooms and narrow, squeaking corridors. The hosts are congenial and considerate, and for a small extra fee will prepare breakfast. Hoshide-kan is near the quaint Kawasaki area, five minutes north of Kintetsu Station or 10 minutes from JR Station. Follow the main street and it's on the right just before the second set of signals. If you want to explore the city on two wheels, the inn rents bicycles for ¥300 a day.

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.

Located down the lively (and partially covered) Shinmachi shopping street is an emphatic hotel, where everything is large, including the lobby, public areas, roomy restaurants, and spacious, if tame, rooms. Because many wedding parties are held here on weekends, the hotel tends to be crowded with lots of families and kids. The top floor of the 17-story hotel houses a French restaurant and a bar, and the view beats even that of the 13th-floor observatory of the ASPAM building.

Established in 1957 and renovated in 2015, these budget accommodations offer both good value for the money and easy access (a 15-minute walk) to the nightlife of Roppongi. Standard rooms billed as semi-doubles here are really singles, but the superior twins are quite spacious for the price. Appointments are a bit spartan—off-white walls, mass-market veneer furniture—but each room has comfortable beds and plenty of basic amenities like a hair dryer, electric kettle, yukata (Japanese robe), and a TV. The restaurant serves a breakfast buffet that includes freshly baked bread.

This is the nicest and most convenient hotel in downtown Hirara, and every room at this contemporary high-rise hotel next to Hirara Wharf boasts ocean views. The rooms are large, and each has a big picture window; corner deluxe rooms enjoy two of them. Suites are large, with L-shaped sectional sofas. There are various dining options at the hotel, but it is also not too far to venture out to the local restaurants.

One step up from a standard Japanese business hotel, the Buena Vista has a glowing marble lobby and facilities that include a coffeehouse, café-bar, and three restaurants. Single rooms snugly accommodate a small double bed, while standard doubles and twins have space for a table and chairs. The hotel is four blocks southeast of Matsumoto Station, and there's a free shuttle bus from the station.

A wonderful location—atop the 35-floor Odakyu Southern Tower, minutes on foot from Shinjuku Station—and several on-site dining options are the main draws at this hotel. The 20th-floor lobby, with its wooden floors, is a relaxing perch from which to take in the beautiful views. Rooms, though basic, are pleasantly outfitted in light-wood furnishings and sizable writing desks suitable for the business traveler. The hotel is directly connected to plenty of shopping and entertainment options.

When you have had enough of feeling that you're in a city, try this sheltered haven of a hotel surrounded by a 17-acre garden nestled onto the former estate of an imperial prince. Guest rooms, some of the city's largest, are done it tasteful, muted tones. Spacious bathrooms have soaking tubs with separate showers. Deluxe rooms overlook the garden or offer pleasant skyline views. Amenities include a spa and a pool that can be adjusted for use in all conditions.

Guest rooms at this hotel in Dogo are compact but have a modern Japanese aesthetic. If you want a larger room, opt for a deluxe twin, which combines a bedroom and small tatami mat room. Breakfast (extra fee) is a step up from the average midrange hotel offerings. It's a buffet of fresh local vegetables delivered daily direct from Ehime farmers, and the fish comes from the Seto Inland Sea.

This low-rise hotel next to the train station has Western-style standard twin rooms with private baths; larger deluxe twins with sofas are worth the extra expense. A simple breakfast is generally included in the rates and served at the attached restaurant on the first floor.

Across from Fukui Castle, Hotel Fujita Fukui has the amenities of a luxury hotel at prices that won't empty your wallet. With a range of rooms—from tiny economy singles all the way to mixed Japanese- and Western-style suites—it caters to all budgets and tastes. Eight restaurants mean you can have a different culinary treat every evening. The staff speak basic English and, in little-visited Fukui, are delighted to have a chance to speak with foreign guests.

Centrally situated between JR Nara Station and Nara Park, what this simple hotel may lacking charm and ambience, it more than makes up for in location and price. The pink wave-shaped lighting in the atrium harks back to the 1980s economic bubble. There are two restaurants, one of which, Hanakagami, serves Japanese cuisine.

With a giant Godzilla head on the eighth-floor lobby terrace and one special guest room with movie posters, a rubber monster suit, and a giant claw emerging from a headboard, the Gracery is a good choice for fans of the silver screen's top prehistoric creature. A word of warning: while the hotel is clean, and the staff is friendly, it is located in a red-light district.

Connected by walkways to Hiroshima's JR Station, this conveniently located hotel is welcoming to weary travelers. Granvia's location and unpretentious, comfortable rooms make it a good choice for travelers arriving later in the evening or taking an early train out of the city. The Japanese restaurant Seto-uchi, on the second floor, offers a sampling of good traditional fare, and the expansive lobby is great for people-watching. 

Bright-white marble and richly stained wood dominate the lobby at this large, luxurious hotel, a comfortable base for exploring the area. The bilingual staff are cheerful and welcoming. The superior rooms are spacious, with higher floors offering views over the city. It's conveniently connected to the JR Okayama Station—stay on the second level and follow the signs toward the southern end.

At the main intersection in Ishigaki City, the Hotel GranView Ishigaki is a short walk from the port, restaurants, and dive shops. The rooms are spartan but clean and modern, and the staff are helpful and friendly. Japanese communal baths are open in the morning and evening. This is a great choice if you are focused on diving or don't have a rental car to get to more out-of-the-way beachside hotels, which ironically have far grander views.

The InterContinental offers lovely views of the Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Bay, and surrounding Odaiba and has large rooms featuring soft neutral textiles and bathrooms with separate showers and tubs—all of which offsets a somewhat isolated location, wedged between Tokyo Bay and an expressway, with nothing in the way of nearby entertainment options. The club floors (20th to 24th) have a breakfast buffet and complimentary evening drinks to go with a dedicated check-in area. Haneda Airport is easily accessible from JR Hamamatsucho Station, just an 8-minute walk from the hotel.

This nine-story hotel curves around a corner just up from the ASPAM building as if it belonged in a periodically snowbound 1990s-era Miami Beach. The lobby is open and bright and has an adjacent restaurant. A prime location makes shopping and exploring the city center easier, and because it's close to the harbor, you can easily walk along the waterfront in the morning. The rooms are spacious, some have sea views, and some accommodate guests in wheelchairs.

This chic downtown pied-à-terre successfully combines traditional ryokan elements—sliding paper screens, tatami rooms—with some unexpected boutique-hotel touches like the contemporary room design and the lobby aromas that change with the season (citrus when it's cool outside, mint when it's warm). One definite break with tradition is that you can opt for a plan that includes no meals.