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

The imperial family and visiting baseball teams are among those served by the city's oldest hotel, which is also a haunt for celebrities in search of a little privacy. It's centrally located and provides the extra class and character you'd expect for the price. The lobby's white-brick walls are balanced by soft carpets and dark-wood furnishings. The guest rooms are spacious and overlook the city center. The Nagoya Kanko is five minutes by taxi from Nagoya Station or a short walk from Fushimi Station.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Situated one block north of JR Gifu Station, this conveniently located hotel comes with larger-than-average Western-style rooms. Request an upper floor room facing Gifu Park for an excellent outlook toward Gifu Castle and the Nagara River. 

Opened in 2021, this bright and airy hotel next to Inuyama Station offers simple, but smart Western-style rooms. Where it stands out is with its activities geared toward travelers after cultural experiences. On-site, the hotel runs tea ceremonies, sweets-making classes, and ceramic painting workshops for both guests and nonguests. It also offers history walks of Inuyama's old town and can arrange ukai tickets. 

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.

On the south bank of the Kiso River, this hotel has winning views of the castle and the surrounding hills. The lobby is bright and lively, and the well-tended grounds, including some hot-spring baths (open to nonguests also for ¥930), are relaxing. Sunny rooms in Japanese or Western style have pleasant vistas; the best face the castle, which is illuminated in the evening. The hotel can arrange tours of the area.

Two minutes from Nagoya Station, Nine Hours is a modern take on the capsule hotel, designed for short stays on a tight budget. Unlike capsule hotels of old, this isn't a dingy, last-resort after being too drunk to make the last train home. Design-wise it's got a hip, minimalist feel, with stark concrete and metallic gray common areas. Each of the clean yet basic "sleeping pods" is just 110cm wide, 110cm tall, and 220cm deep (about 3.5’ x 3.5’ x 6.5’ feet), but there's a top-floor lounge and first-floor café to relax in, as well as lockers for luggage storage and shared showers. There are separate male and female floors. There's a 5% discount with free Nine Hour membership.

Opened in the heart of Sakae in 2024, the new hotel offers spacious rooms with sweeping city views and is in the perfect location for nightlife and shopping. Occupying the 24th to 32nd floors of the towering Chunichi Building, rooms on the Premium floor, where everything is 55 square meters or larger, offer the top options. The main differences between the sleek room categories are in the design, some being defined by lighter woods and materials, but others with a darker feel. You'll also find a gym and sauna that are free for all guests, plus several restaurants and a bar.

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.

Originally opened in the 1950s and then reopened in 2016 after a major renovation ahead of hosting the Ise-Shima G7 summit, the Shima Kanko is Ise-Shima’s premier Western-style luxury hotel, with a very refined look and feel throughout its two zones: the spacious Classic and the Bay Suites. The facilities include several highly rated French and Japanese restaurants, a tea-ceremony room, a spa, summer-only pool, and a gym where President Obama took his morning run during the summit.

Shingu isn't blessed with great accommodation, but this business hotel with fair-size Western- and Japanese-style rooms is a reasonable option if you're staying overnight. Among the facilities is a small izakaya that serves a range of seafood (including regional whale dishes, like many izakaya in Shingu) and filling ramen. It's a five-minute walk from the train station.