4 Best Hotels in Nagoya, Ise-Shima, and the Kii Peninsula, Japan

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.

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.

On tiny Yokoyama Island, this small inn has painted its name in large letters on the red roof. Ishiyama-so is a two-minute boat ride from Kashikojima; phone the day before and your hosts will meet you at the quay. The inn isn't fancy, but it offers six well-maintained rooms overlooking the sea. You'll find tea sets and yukata (Japanese bathrobes) in both the Japanese- and Western-style rooms, and breakfast and dinner plans are available.

Across the Nagara River from Gifu Castle, Ryokan Sugiyama is a tasteful blend of traditional and modern, offering large rooms with tatami floors and elegant shoji doors—ask for one overlooking the river. The staff are polite in a mannered way, and the food (meals and no-meals plans are available) features the ubiquitous ayu alongside traditional ryokan fare. There's a nice hot-spring bath on the roof. The place is run by the same family whose cormorant fishing masters ply the river every night in ukai season, and some of the staff speak English. It's a 15-minute taxi ride from Gifu Station or a 10-minute walk north of the castle.