22 Best Hotels in Side Trips from Tokyo, Japan

Exquisite furnishings, indoor and outdoor hot-springs baths, and spacious, predominately Japanese-style rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows are among this hotel's draws. Prices are high, but they include a multicourse dinner, served in your room, and breakfast the next morning. The inn is a 10-minute walk west up a steep hill from Atami Station, but the hotel operates a station shuttle bus for guests.

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the lake or the grounds, and pastel colors decorate the simple rooms at this outpost of the Nikko Kanaya on the road from Chuzenji Onsen to Shobu-ga-hama. The open-air hot-spring baths offer relaxation with views of nature.

As this hotel is perched above the water and a secluded beach, all of its Japanese-style guest rooms overlook the sea. Service is first-class, despite the hotel's popularity with tour groups, and the room rate includes a seafood kaiseki dinner, served in your room, as well as a buffet breakfast. For relaxation and pampering, head to the day spa, outdoor hot spring, or swimming pool.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

This is the biggest resort hotel on Lake Yamanaka, with European-style rooms, hot-spring baths, on-site game and karaoke rooms, and a nature walk on the grounds. The guest rooms are larger than those at the other hotels, and the spacious lounges have fine views of the lake and mountain.

Not only does the Mizno have a stylish lodge aesthetic and stunning views of Lake Kawaguchiko but nearly every part of the hotel—from the restaurant and rooftop bar to the guest rooms and private onsen—is designed to offer stellar Mt. Fuji views as well. In summer, make reservations for dinner on the terrace to watch the sun set over the lake.

This classic hotel is a little worn around the edges after a century of operation, but it still has the best location in town—across the street from Toshogu—and the main building is a delightful, rambling Victorian structure that has hosted royalty and other important personages from around the world. Rooms vary a great deal, as do their prices: the more expensive rooms are spacious and comfortable, with wonderful high ceilings; in the annex the sound of the Daiya-gawa murmuring below the Sacred Bridge lulls you to sleep.

This traditional ryokan was built in the 1870s, and though it has been renovated and modernized, the main wooden structure remains true to its original design, with spacious, comfortable rooms overlooking gardens. Some Japanese literary figures have stayed in this ryokan while writing, with the natural surroundings of Yugashima as the inspiration.

The best lodgings at this family-run inn just a few minutes' walk from Shimoda's main beach are the Japanese-style corner rooms, which have nice views of the hills surrounding Shimoda. The pleasant Japanese couple who run the pension speak English, and cheap meals are available in the dining room. It's worth paying extra for these (especially breakfast) as there are very few dining options nearby.

This resort hotel has the lake in front and the mountains of Komagatake in back. The Ryuguden bathhouse has open-air hot-spring baths with lake views, and the hotel offers tours and activities such as yoga, fishing trips, and kayaking.

One of the closest lodging options to the Mt. Fuji hiking trails isn't much to look at from the outside, but the interior is spacious and homey, and the English-speaking staff speak can help you plan an area sightseeing itinerary. Meals, including vegetarian options, are available at a very low price. Shuttle service is provided from Fuji Yoshida Station, if you arrange ahead of time.

At the former villa of the Iwasaki family, founders of the Mitsubishi conglomerate, this hotel has rooms furnished with museum-quality antiques. The best rooms have traditional baths made of fragrant cypress wood and overlook exquisite little private gardens. Breakfast and dinner are served in your room and are included in the rate. The Sanyoso is a five-minute taxi ride from Izu-Nagaoka Station.

At this V-shaped resort hotel that faces the Pacific, the decor is more functional than it is aesthetically pleasing, but the white sand of Shirahama Beach is just steps away, and there are oceans views from all rooms and the public onsen baths, which open early enough for you to catch the sunrise while soaking.

Perched just above the bay, the Shimoda Tokyu has impressive views of the Pacific from one side (where rooms cost more) and mountains from the other. Unlike at most Japanese resort hotels, the lobby here is full of character and warmth, with an airy layout and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay. Prices are significantly higher in midsummer.

Upon entering this cross between a luxury Western-style hotel and traditional inn, you'll remove your shoes and socks, sit at a counter bar with your tired feet resting in a hot-mineral-spring bath under the bar, and enjoy a tea or beer while checking in. There are Japanese rooms, Western rooms, and combinations of the two, with raised islands of tatami atop wood flooring; prices vary greatly depending on room type and meal (or no-meal) plans. There are two shared onsen baths, one outdoors and one indoors. Some rooms have private baths on terraces with wonderful views of the mountains.

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.

Overlooking the town of Ito and the sea, Yokikan has been catering to visitors for more than a century. Despite being a short taxi ride from the station, this simple, comfortable ryokan feels like a secluded retreat. Take the private cable railway 30 yards up the hillside for impressive views from the open air hot spring bath.