25 Best Hotels in The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast, Japan

This small ryokan has welcomed guests since 1804 with a strictly traditional experience: 10 large tatami rooms share a single bath and four clean but old-fashioned pit toilets, and the walls are sliding paper screens. Delicately arranged dinners are served in your room (book meals in advance for an extra cost). The ryokan can be booked in English via  www.japaneseguesthouses.com.

This rustic alpine lodge is owned by Tokyo's legendary Imperial Hotel, and the service is so exemplary because the staff are borrowed from that establishment for the summer. In the lounge, low wooden beams support the beautifully crafted ceiling, while a central hearth adds a warm glow. Guest rooms have sofas and gorgeous woodwork, and some have balconies. Western and Japanese restaurants are on the premises. You can see the red-tiled, gabled roof of the hotel from Kamikochi's bus terminal in the center of town.

Just south of Toyama Station, the DoubleTree is one of the smartest options in Toyama, with simple but contemporary interiors, plus nice extras like communal hot-spring baths, a bar, and a 24-hour fitness center. Rooms range from twins (also for single occupancy) to spacious suites suitable for families. To get the free Wi-Fi, sign up for a free Hilton Honors membership; otherwise it's ¥1,100 a day.

A few hundred meters from the Happo-one Resort, this sleek hotel is one of Hakuba's newest, having opened in December 2021. You'll find bright and airy rooms that range from doubles to family rooms and a suite, plus facilities that include a Finnish sauna, hot-spring baths, and ski gear rental shop. There's also a bar for a nightcap.

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.

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.

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.

This sleek hotel offers spotless, if cramped, rooms at reasonable rates. There's a comfortable lobby lounge, and from there you have direct access to the train station or the shops and restaurants of the CoCoLo shopping center. Breakfast, served in an adjacent eatery, is good value.

This 30-story hotel's exotic lobby is more reminiscent of Singapore than Japan, with tropical plants, cherry-oak slatted doors, and colonial-style furniture. A winding staircase curls around a bubbling pond in the middle of the lobby and leads to a brasserie called Garden House, which serves wonderful coffee and cake. The colorful top-floor lounge, Le Grand Chariot, has panoramic views over Kanazawa, cocktails, and soft piano music. Guest rooms begin at the 17th floor, and the Western-style ones are decorated with creamy pastels and blond-wood furnishings and have striking views of the sea, city, or mountains. An underground passageway connects the hotel to the JR Station.

Perched on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Japan, this resort in Aikawa offers ocean views, an open-air hot-spring pool, and comfortable Japanese- or Western-style rooms. What you're really here for, though, is the food: meals consist of fresh sashimi, grilled sazae (a local shellfish), wagyu beef, and vegetable tempura from Sado farms. It's all washed down with some Niigata sake, of course. The hotel is a 50-minute bus ride from Ryotsu; ask in advance about the hotel's shuttle bus.

Opened next to Kanazawa Station in 2020, the Hyatt Centric delivers stylish rooms and common areas, but with deliberately trimmed back facilities in an attempt to keep fees down. The rooms and suites are all spacious, combining natural tones and natural lighting with the occasional bold motif and modern amenities. There's a chic rooftop bar, plus a café and grill that serves a Western-style buffet breakfast. Unlike some of Kanazawa's older accommodations, the Centric also has an accessible room available. Next door you'll find another new property, Hyatt House, better geared toward longer stays and families.

Built in the traditional honmune-zukuri style, this hot-springs lodging has a characteristic peaked roof, ornamental woodwork above the front gable, and bow windows. The spacious lobby has crossbeams made from the trunk of a zelkova tree. There are two hot-spring baths: Kikuburo is made of Italian marble with a large carved chrysanthemum, while beniburo has an open-air tub. Ground-floor guest rooms face the garden, and some have private cypress baths. Artfully arranged meals on lacquer trays arrive in your room. The hotel is a 20-minute bus ride from Matsumoto Station to Asama-onsen, which is northeast of the city at the foot of the Utsukushigahara highlands.

Built in 1913, but with a smart, new annex added in 2020, the Kusatsu Hotel is a blend of classic and contemporary ryokan; though meals are not obligatory, use of the hot springs is included with all rooms. Accommodation options include traditional tatami-mat rooms (with futon for sleeping) in the main building or rooms with beds and wood flooring that still manage to retain a traditional vibe. Meals (there are various plans available) are centered on multicourse kaiseki traditions, but there's also a laid-back café on-site. The several indoor and outdoor public baths, which were renovated in 2020, offer a classic way to unwind, especially after a day at the nearby Kusatsu Ski Resort.

On the Shinano River, about 1½ km (1 mile) from the station, the 16-story high-rise affords views of the water from many of its rooms. The riverside La Shinano café is a great spot for afternoon cake or coffee. The service is attentive and the rooms—mostly Western in style but some Japanese—are comfortable. 

This fresh, budget option from luxury hotel operator Hoshino Resorts opened in Katamachi in 2022, offering simple, Western-style rooms that are decorated with light woods and pastel accents. The common areas include a chilled-out cafe-lounge and library. Nice extra touches are the on-site cultural experiences, such as a confectionary workshop and a tea-tasting session. It's especially good value on weekdays, as the Saturday rate is (unusually) double other nights.

The windows in all six tatami rooms of this minshuku face the wooded valley, and although you can opt for a room-only stay, it's only an extra couple of thousand yen to book dinner and breakfast too, which is a good idea with nowhere to eat nearby. The chef prepares local specialties such as horse-meat sashimi, mountain vegetables, but more-familiar Japanese food is also on the menu. There are shared Japanese baths.

Antiques-filled nooks with chairs and coffee tables become cozy lounges in this old Tera-machi minshuku. In the mineral-water baths, a giant waterwheel turns hypnotically, complemented by recorded birdsong. Dinner hours are more flexible than those of the typical minshuku, and the food, including local specialties such as Hida-gyu beef and hobamiso, is superb. The rooms are all Japanese style, but there are no private baths. Yamakyu is east of the Enako-gawa, at the very top of Sanmachi-dori, a 20-minute walk from Takayama Station. There's an 11 pm curfew, but the staff will give you a key if you plan to be out later. Only Visa and MasterCard accepted (no Amex).

Established during the Meiji Restoration (1867), this small ryokan is the most lavish lodging in Kanazawa, and guests come from all over Japan as much for the food (breakfast and dinner are included in the rate) as for the stay. The interior blends traditional elegance with innovative designs—a perfect metaphor for the age of Japan's transition into modernity. Antique furnishings and exquisite scrolls and paintings appear throughout the inn. Superb regional Kaga cuisine is served in your room or in the restaurant.

Before it was upstaged by the bathing monkeys, Kanaguya Ryokan, the town's oldest and grandest traditional inn, was Shibu Onsen's main draw. Kanaguya Ryokan's majestic wooden building dates from the late 18th century and retains a traditional atmosphere both inside and out. Most rooms don't have attached baths (most do have a private toilet), but five of the eight hot-spring baths in the ryokan can be used privately. The ryokan serves locally sourced feasts for dinner and breakfast and also offers a selection of local sake. Attentive kimono-clad service staff make sure your stay is comfortable, and the inn offers morning tours of the source hot spring and the elaborate network of pipes running into the hotel.

A coffee table and easy chair are squeezed into each compact Western-style room here, which is all you need if you're en route to other Alps destinations. The guest rooms are accented with wood paneling from Nagano forests, and all rooms have free Wi-Fi. The escalator across the street from JR Nagano Station leads to the reception area and tea lounge. There's another branch on the opposite side of the station, but this one is more convenient for catching the bus or walking up the road to Zenko-ji Temple.

A few minutes’ south of Matsumoto Station, near the Hotel Buena Vista, the Tabino added a smart budget option to Matsumoto when it opened in the summer of 2021. The Western-style rooms are simple and bright, with natural wood tones accented by greens and oranges, and there are also some Japanese-style rooms available. As well as the on-site hot-spring baths, guests get a free evening beer in the first-floor lounge, plus morning coffee in the lobby. All rooms have free Wi-Fi.

This small mountain resort is perched on the rim of the brilliant-blue Taisho Pond. The lobby, restaurant, and bath have large windows with excellent views of the breathtaking landscape. Opt for the spacious Western-style rooms, with their comfortable beds and soft, puffy quilts. The Japanese rooms are not as nice as those found in a ryokan. All rooms have a private bath, but there is a shared Japanese bath as well. Rooms at the back, without a view of the water, are about 10% cheaper.

A several-minute walk south of Takayama Station, the Ouan is a business hotel with ryokan touches. As with many ryokan, you take your shoes off in the lobby and spend your time indoors in socks or slippers. Also like a ryokan, there are top-floor hot-spring baths, including three private baths (with sweeping city views) that can be used on a first-come basis for free; a great option for families or anyone a bit shy of stripping off in public. As for the rooms, that's where the Ouan feels like a business hotel; they are small and simple but smart, and come with a tatami-like flooring, a work desk, and beds not futon.

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.