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Choosing the best hotel for you in Japan isn’t always as easy as it might sound. For starters, there are thousands of them – and, while whittling those down, you need to pick the right location, choose your type of hotel – and double-check a few things about the room that are unique to Japanese hotels before you hit reserve. Our guide helps walk you through what you’re going to want to think about – including why you should always check if the pillows touch.
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
Finding Your Perfect Location
What Are You Doing at Night?
This might sound like a weird place to start, but, bear with me. You see you’re going to be walking a lot in Japan – I regularly cover 21km a day, which is like doing back-to-back half marathons. When you’re doing that all day, the last thing you might want to do is then trek back across the city to find some food or a busy bar.
It’s not so much of a problem in Tokyo, where restaurants are on every corner, and the bar areas are plentiful, but depending on where you stay in Kyoto, some hotels might only have one or two restaurants around them to pick from – as is the case with one of my favorite places to stay there.
When I’m staying somewhere in Japan on my own this isn’t a problem as I don’t do much in the evening. It matters more to me that the hotel price is right and that it has great transport links to the sights that I’ll be visiting during the day, but if Mr. Japlanease is with me, we need a lot of different bars and restaurants to choose from so I will choose a hotel closer to the main bar area.
If you’re a late-night partier a ‘evenings first’ approach is even more essential as the trains in Japan finish earlier than you might think. If you’re planning a late night in Tokyo or Osaka, you’ll want to stay in the more lively areas like Shinjuku or Shinsaibashi and Namba so you don’t get caught out.
Which Side of the City Should You Pick?
Each of the main cities you’re likely to be visiting on your first trip to Japan is huge – and there are at least four or five areas suggested as ‘the best place to stay’ in each of them. They all deserve that title but, pick the wrong one for your specific plans, and you could waste an hour or more a day of your sightseeing time on a train.
The next step in deciding on a hotel, therefore, is to look at what you’re hoping to do in the city.
Map out the main sights on Google Maps and see if more of them are clustered around any one side of the city than the other – if so, that’s likely to want to be where you’re going to want to base yourself. Now you can start looking at the best areas on that side
For some more specific ideas of which areas are around which sites in Tokyo, check out our guides.
Where to Stay in Tokyo on your first trip is here.
If you’re looking for ideas on your first trip to Kyoto, here’s where to findour list of the best areas and hotels to stay in Kyoto.
And, if you’re also going to Osaka, then our guide to where to stay in Osaka is here.
Search the site for similar posts in Nagano, Takayama, Toyama and more…
Choosing the Perfect Hotel
Those two tips above will help you fine-tune the general area you might want to pick to stay in, so now, let’s start to get more specific about your hotel.
What Type of Hotel Do You Want to Stay in?
Did you know that there are over 10 types of accommodation that you could choose from in Japan?
Aside from the normal hotel-type rooms for every budget, you can pick from super quirky hotels with robot check-in staff, or indulge in classic Japanese experiences like staying in a luxurious traditional ryokan or a tiny capsule hotel.
Another fun idea, especially with children, is staying at hot springs hotels, which have onsens and other entertainment like bowling alleys and karaoke machines onsite. The list goes on.
So, consider whether you just want to stay in a normal hotel room – or, try something uniquely Japanese.
If you want to know more about the different types of places to stay to help you with your decision, you’ll find a full list of hotel types and some basic pros and cons for them all in our post on Japanese accommodation types.
Where is the Nearest Transport?
This goes back to that walking thing. You do not want to be adding a 20-minute hike to and from the nearest station to your day on every journey; by day three you will be cursing your decision.
Make sure your hotel is close to a station.
Or a bus stop. Particularly in Kyoto, the buses are usually going to get you closer to your destination than the train is. Don’t rule out buses in Tokyo either. They can cut a lot of steps out of your day and they are very easy to use.
In both cities buses usually have signs and announcements in English and clear Western numbers on the front. Between that and Google Maps, which even shows you the fare (which you can pay with cash, a physical transport card like a Suica, or even your phone using a digital suica) using buses in Kyoto and Tokyo becomes very easy.
It can get a bit trickier in other towns where Japanese lettering is used instead of numbers, but, Google Maps can still usually get you to the right stop.
Do You Need to Stay by the Yamanote Line in Tokyo?
This idea gets trotted out all the time in Japan planning groups, and I think it’s one of the biggest misconceptions about staying in Tokyo (see some of the other misconceptions and mistakes not to make in Japan here).
The Yamanote Line is a circular line around Tokyo that goes to a lot of the main tourist sights, but you do not have to stay by the Yamanote Line or even use it, to get around Tokyo (in fact, in some cases, it’s the slowest route to get to your destination).
The key point is that you should be by a station on any line. If you want to see more about the pros and cons of this, take a look at our post on weighing up the need to stay right on the Yamanote Line.
What’s Your Budget?
I’m guessing I don’t need to explain why this is important, but there are a few extra things to be aware of when budgeting for your hotel in Japan.
Hotels in Japan charge per person, so when you’re looking at booking, make sure you have the right number selected, or the price might change. Also, make sure you select the right ages for your children on the date you will check-in, as that might also affect the cost.
If you’re booking a hotel with a pool, it may not be free. You might have to pay a resort fee to use it, so make sure you know what that is and how much it costs.
If you’re staying in a ryokan type hotel, especially in a more rural area, these will often include breakfast and dinner – but, if they don’t make sure there are restaurants nearby – that are still open at dinnertime even in tourist areas this isn’t a given), you can check this on Google Maps – or, know how much your hotel charges for dinner as it might be a lot more than you think.
Oh, it’s not abnormal to be charged a small extra amount when you arrive at a hotel. In Osaka, for example, there is a 100 yen per person per night city tax and you will pay this in cash when you arrive. If you stay at a hotel chain like Dormy Inn that offers public baths as part of their facilities, you’ll be asked to pay a small onsen charge (it’s about 150 yen) even if you don’t want to use the bath.
Do You Need a Private Bathroom?
Talking of baths. Some smaller hotels in Japan, particularly more traditional ones, don’t have showers or baths in every room. This is particularly common if the hotel has a shared onsen-style public bath for guests. Your room might have its own toilet, but you’ll be expected to use the public bath area for bathing/showering.
In other very budget hotels and capsule hotels, the toilets will also be shared, so if you see the phrase ‘shared bathroom,’ do check the situation.
Personally, I don’t mind sharing the public bath as it’s a nice way to relax at the end of the day, but I like a toilet in my room.
How Much Space Do You Need?
Japanese hotel rooms can be very small – 11-12 square meters is not unheard of. That’s fine for one person, but two Western-sized adults with suitcases? Maybe not.
Make sure you check the room size and that it works for you – again if I’m traveling alone, I don’t mind a tiny room, but if I’m with Mr Japlanease we try and find rooms over about 20 sq meters so we can spread out.
Funnily, some of the hotels with larger rooms can be love hotels. If your hotel description says ‘adults only’ this might be what it is – see a bit more about what to expect in our guide to staying in a love hotel.
If you also like the idea of having a bit more space to spread out, then take a look at our posts on hotels with larger rooms.
We’ve found 15 top hotels in Tokyo that cater to those who like their space.
And, as we spent nearly a week in Osaka on our last trip and so definitely want the extra room, we narrowed our choices down to 13 different rooms in Osaka that will let you spread out.
What’s the Bedding Situation?
Some people love the idea of sleeping in a traditional Japanese hotel room with a futon-style bed, others want a full-size Western bed with all the extra throw pillows, so just make sure you know what your room offers.
And, if you are booking a Western-style bed, check the bed size. A Japanese double bed is often a small double, and in hotels where space is tight, this might also be pushed up against the wall which makes sharing it with anyone who fidgets or needs the bathroom in the middle of the night a chore!
When it can be hard to tell from the description, one tip is to check the pillow position. If there’s only one pillow in the middle of the bed, or, if there are two but they touch each other and the edges of the bed, that’s a pretty small bed.
I slept in the one above (which is in the APA hotel in Kokura) alone just fine and had a fantastic stay, but there is no way Mr Japlanease and I would get enough sleep in it together.
This is why, if you spend much time on our other accommodation pages you’ll notice many of the hotel room pictures I show are of twin beds. Hotels that offer King Beds tend to be more expensive, so if we’re budgeting and booking a room in a hotel with small beds, Mr Japlanease and I will book a twin to get the extra bed space -and a decent night’s sleep.
Are You Traveling With Children?
Then, as well as making sure they are priced when you book, it’s important to check how many beds are in a room. Japanese families will often happily share a bed with their child when traveling so you might get to your room and find one bed for say three of you, especially in the more businessy chains like APA. Make sure you know how many beds are in the room and that this suits your family’s sleep style.
Smoking or Non-Smoking?
More hotels in Japan are becoming completely non-smoking, but if you are looking to book into some of the older-style business hotels, particularly outside of the three main cities, many hotels still offer smoking rooms, and you need to specifically book a non-smoking room to get one.
If it really matters to you, as it does me, check they guarantee this request. I was looking for hotels in Takamatsu recently and one of them said ‘We don’t have many non-smoking rooms, but if you book one and we don’t have one don’t worry, we’ll deodorize the smoking room first’. That’s a recipe for me wheezing at 3 am so that went straight off my list.
If you are sensitive to smoke, check out our post on Japan’s smoking rules so you’ll know where else it’s allowed.
Need Extra Planning Help?
Our Japan trip planners can help. You might like our 62-page Japan Super Planner, which includes tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing. Or our super-duper Tokyo Disney Planner makes arranging your park trip MUCH easier. We also have specialised planners like Tokyo Tips, Kyoto Tips, or the Rail Pass Planner. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.
My Suggested Hotels
So, that’s all the things I suggest you might want to look at when deciding on a hotel in Japan. If you’d like to see a list of some of my favorites, there are a few below for the three main cities… these are all hotels I have stayed in, friends have stayed in, or that I have booked for upcoming trips.
In Tokyo
Budget: Sotetsu Fresa Inn Daimon
Mid Range: The Knot Shinjuku (pictured below)
Larger Rooms: Citadines Shinjuku
Luxurious: Park Hyatt Tokyo
In Osaka
Quirky: Henn na Hotel Shinsaibashi
Mid Range: Citadines Namba (pictured below)
Larger Rooms: Fraser Residence Nankai
For Universal Studios: The Park Front
In Kyoto
Budget: Sotetsu Fresa Kiyomizu-dera
Mid Range: Gion Misen Furomonzen (pictured below)
Quirky: BnA Alter Museum
Luxurious: Seikoro
So, that’s my guide on how to work out the perfect place to stay when you’re traveling to Japan. If you do have any more questions though, head over to the Japlanease Facebook Group for more tips and advice. You can ask your questions over there too.
Who Writes This Blog?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a journalist and author. My travel articles have appeared in publications including The Australian, Escape, RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, and more.
I’ve traveled to Japan eight times before – solo and with my partner and visited over 25 towns and cities. My last visit was November 2024 so, everything here is pretty up to date.
