In a nutshell
- With its glittering metropolises, peaceful temples, and pink cherry blossoms, Japan is an incredibly beautiful country full of contrasts. Your best bet is to do a tour through Japan and plan stops in several cities.
- In this guide, we share the Japan hotels where we’ve actually stayed ourselves, plus additional recommendations for each city — so you can book with confidence.
- Our three top picks: the stylish Hotel Cen in Tokyo, the modern Hotel Cordia in Osaka, and the traditionally charming Rinn Kiyomizu Gion in Kyoto.
- Three things to keep in mind: book early (hotels sell out months in advance), pay attention to location, and pack light — rooms in Japan are often seriously small.
Hotel Prices in Japan
When planning your trip to Japan, you’ll notice fairly quickly that hotel prices can be pretty steep — especially during the popular travel seasons in spring and fall.
All of our Japan hotels were solid mid-range picks in good locations. We were there during the cherry blossom season, booked relatively last-minute, and paid peak prices accordingly. Double rooms at mid-range hotels can easily run between 250 and 400 euros per night.
If you book early or travel outside of peak season, accommodation in Japan is significantly cheaper — expect to pay around 120–180 euros for a double room at a decent mid-range hotel.
We’ll share more advice on finding the right place to stay in Japan below.
Our Hotel Recommendations in Japan at a Glance
- Tokyo: Hotel Cen
- Osaka: Hotel Cordia Osaka
- Kyoto: Rinn Kiyomizu Gion
- Hiroshima: Washington Hotel
- Miyajima: Kikunoya
- Hakone: Merveille Hakone Gora
- Nara: Daiwa Roynet Hotel
- Kawaguchi: Bluebird Hotel
- Kamakura: Tosei Hotel Cocone Kamakura
Our Hotel Recommendations for Tokyo
In Tokyo, you really want to stay central — otherwise you’ll be dealing with jam-packed commuter trains every single day. We recommend a neighborhood along the Yamanote Line, which keeps you perfectly connected to the whole city.
Hotel rooms in Tokyo are usually extremely small, but the quality and cleanliness standards are very high to make up for it.
Our Hotels in Tokyo
Hotel Cen
Laura from our team stayed at Hotel Cen in Shinjuku and was super happy with it. The location is great — the area around the hotel is quiet, yet you’re still close to the metro and have a huge selection of 7-Elevens nearby. The luggage slides neatly under the bed, which helps a lot in the tight space.
Super Hotel Premier Akasaka
The Super Hotel Premier Akasaka is seriously great value for money. The rooms are modern, the metro is just a five-minute walk away, there’s a solid selection of restaurants, bars, and supermarkets nearby — and there’s even an onsen, a traditional Japanese hot bath. Men’s and women’s hours are separate.
Book Super Hotel Premier Akasaka online
Intercontinental Tokyo Bay
Things get much more luxurious at the Intercontinental Tokyo Bay. The rooms are spacious and modern, and from your window you get a view of the bay and the Rainbow Bridge — absolutely stunning. The famous Tsukiji Fish Market is within walking distance, and everything else is super easy to reach by train right from the door.
Book Intercontinental Tokyo Bay online
More Recommended Hotels in Tokyo
Read more hotel tips for Tokyo:
Our Hotel Recommendations for Osaka
Osaka is more laid-back, louder, and more personal than Tokyo, but just as modern. Hotel prices here tend to be a bit cheaper than in the capital.
We recommend the Namba or Umeda neighborhoods for where to stay.
Our Hotel in Osaka: Hotel Cordia
We can absolutely recommend Hotel Cordia in Umeda. It’s a relatively new property with modern furnishings and really comfortable beds. There’s a free coffee machine in the lobby — always a win — and a Yotsubashi Line subway station is right outside the door.
More Recommended Hotels in Osaka
Read more hotel tips for Osaka:
Our Hotel Recommendations for Kyoto
Kyoto feels like a completely different world compared to Tokyo and Osaka. It’s quiet, traditional, and refreshingly un-futuristic.
That makes it the perfect place to spend at least one night in a ryokan. Ryokans are traditional Japanese inns with incredibly hospitable staff. You sleep on futons that are put away during the day to free up space in the room.
Our Hotel in Kyoto: Tavinos Kyoto
Tavinos Kyoto is part of a small Japanese hotel chain. The rooms are charmingly decorated with colorful artwork. The value for money is excellent: yes, the rooms are small, but so is the price tag. The lobby has a communal area where it’s easy to strike up a conversation with fellow travelers.
More Recommended Hotels in Kyoto
Read more hotel tips for Kyoto:
Our Hotel Recommendations for Hiroshima
Hiroshima is green, spacious, and relaxed — and noticeably more affordable than Tokyo or Kyoto. You often get a lot more hotel for your money here.
If you have a spare night, you should definitely also stay overnight on Miyajima Island. Our picks for the island are right below.
Our Hotel in Hiroshima: Hotel Washington
Hotel Washington has a fantastic central location. You can walk to all the major highlights in Hiroshima, and there’s certainly no shortage of restaurants nearby either.
Our room was 18 square meters — very spacious by Japanese standards — and the bed was comfortable. The only quirk: the comforter had no cover and just lay on top of a thin sheet. But honestly, that’s nitpicking.
Book Hiroshima Washington Hotel online
More Recommended Hotels in Hiroshima
Read more hotel tips for Hiroshima:
Our Hotel Recommendations for Smaller Cities in Japan
Our Hotel Recommendations for Miyajima
Miyajima is a lush island a few hundred meters off the coast of Hiroshima. It’s a popular day-trip destination, but if you stay overnight you’ll have the island practically to yourself from around 5–6 PM once the day-trippers head back on the ferry.
The island is famous for its traditional ryokans, though you can also find regular hotels if that’s more your style.
Our Hotel Recommendations for Hakone
Hakone makes for a great day trip from Tokyo, but it’s worth staying overnight too. The town sits on a lake surrounded by mountains, with a wonderful vista of Mount Fuji on clear days.
The whole area is perfect for relaxing and unwinding. There are many hotels with onsens (hot springs) — they’re not cheap, but we’d say it’s absolutely worth splurging on one. Hakone is practically synonymous with wellness, so go ahead and treat yourself.
Our Hotel Recommendations for Nara
Nara is best known for the many deer that roam freely through the city park and eat crackers right out of your hand. Beyond the animals, there are also ancient temples, a great shopping street, and an earthquake simulator.
Most visitors only come for the day — but spending the night is really worth it. The atmosphere in the evening is something special, especially at sunset at Nigatsu-do Temple.
Our Hotel Recommendations for Kawaguchi
Want to wake up with a view of Mount Fuji? Then Kawaguchi is your spot. The town sits on one of the five lakes at the foot of the mountain — mornings give you the best chances of a clear view.
Like Hakone, there are plenty of hotels with onsens here.
Our Hotel Recommendations for Kamakura
Kamakura is the perfect place to properly decompress after the hustle of Tokyo. It’s about an hour by train from the capital, right on the Japanese coast — a unique mix of samurai history and modern surf culture. Pretty cool, right?
Beyond the temples and bamboo groves, there are great hiking trails that are really worth exploring if you spend the night here.
Our Tips for Booking Hotels in Japan
Book Early
Hotels in Japan are always in high demand — often booked up many months in advance.
Book your Japan accommodation as early as you can. On Booking.com, most reservations can still be canceled for free, so you stay flexible even if your plans change.
If you wait too long, the selection of available rooms will be very slim — especially during the cherry blossom season and in fall — and prices won’t be any lower.
Location, Location, Location
When booking your lodging in Japan, pay close attention to where it’s located.
Sure, it’s cheaper to book somewhere further out — but the money you save comes at the cost of long commute times on the crowded public transit network. It usually makes more sense to spend a little extra and stay somewhere central.
All of the Japan hotels we’ve featured here are well located. You can book any of them without hesitation.
Pack Light
Especially in Tokyo and Kyoto, rooms are often tiny. We traveled with a large backpack and a small carry-on trolley, and that was already the maximum we could comfortably fit.
If you’re traveling with two large suitcases, you’ll really struggle in these small spaces. Closets are often nonexistent, and floor space is usually so limited that you can only open a big suitcase on the bed.
So you’ve got a choice: pack less, or book larger — and therefore more expensive — rooms.
To Book Breakfast or Not?
Breakfast is rarely included in the room rate at Japanese hotels. As a rule, you have to add it on separately. And unless you’re at a luxury hotel, the breakfast spread is not really geared toward Western tastes.
Since the value for money often wasn’t great either, we booked all of our rooms without breakfast. In the big cities, we grabbed coffee and a bite at local coffee shops or picked something up at one of the many convenience stores.
Watch Out for Non-Smoking Rooms
Japan is still a country where smoking is fairly common. Most hotels are non-smoking these days, but it’s still worth double-checking that your specific room or property is smoke-free. If nothing is specified, it’s typically a non-smoking room.
This tip obviously only applies if you’re a non-smoker.
Cosmetic Products for Women
At some hotels in Japan, we received a small bag of creams and cosmetic products for women at check-in. It’s a nice gesture, but we’d still recommend against using them.
Many cosmetic products in Asia contain skin-lightening agents, as lighter skin is considered particularly desirable there. Since you usually can’t read what’s in the creams, we’d rather skip them — unless lighter skin is something you’re personally interested in.
