Budget Hotels & Hostels
Apartments
Guesthouses and B&Bs
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Tokyo’s most famous hotel has 177 rooms spread out over a dozen floors of a Tange Kenzō-designed skyscraper in west Shinjuku. They’re really more like apartments, and painfully hip ones at that (see the Fellini storyboard sketches on the walls)...
Hyatt Regency Kyoto
The Hyatt Regency is an excellent, stylish and foreigner-friendly hotel at the southern end of Kyoto’s Southern Higashiyama sightseeing district. Many travellers consider this the best hotel in Kyoto...
The Westin Miyako Kyoto
This grande dame of Kyoto hotels occupies a commanding position overlooking the Higashiyama sightseeing district (meaning it’s one of the best locations for sightseeing in Kyoto)...
The Ritz Carlton, Tokyo
Crowning Tokyo Midtown, the Ritz-Carlton literally begins where other hotels leave off. The lobby – with giant paintings by Sam Francis and views clear to the Imperial Palace – is on the 45th floor, and capacious rooms go up from there...
Hotel Granvia Kyoto
Imagine being able to step out of bed and straight into the shinkansen (bullet train). This is almost possible when you stay at the Hotel Granvia, a fine hotel located directly above Kyoto Station...
With The Style Fukuoka
We don't know what the name means, but 'style' is indeed the byword at this sleek, designer hotel...
Hotel Umine
In-room onsen baths with water views, gorgeous common baths, savvy contemporary design, excellent restaurants and oodles of personal service make this Beppu's top stay...
Lake Akan Tsuruga Resort Spa Tsuruga Wings
If you're looking for a worthwhile splurge, this stunner of a ryokan offers refined elegance in the truest Japanese sense...
La Vista Hakodate Bay
This truly excellent upmarket hotel benefits from its location in Nishi-hatoba, a waterfront district with a variety of eateries in converted warehouses and English-style buildings...
Arietta Hotel Osaka
Located in Honmachi, which is about 10 minutes' walk north of the hopping Minami district (and served by the convenient Midō-suji subway line), the new Arietta has a lot going for it: clean minimalist rooms with everything you need at very competiti...
Historical Ryokan Hostel K's House Ito Onsen
This newly opened hostel in a 100-year-old former ryokan might be the best deal in Japan. The beautifully maintained Japanese-style dorms and private rooms have river views and a classic feel...
Kussyarogenya Youth Hostel
Located just off of Rte 243 on the southern shores of Kussharo-ko, this wonderfully designed youth hostel is an architectural treat, both inside and out...
Guest House Pongyi
Run by a friendly Japanese man who did a stint in Southeast Asia as a monk, Pongyi is a charmingly renovated old shop along a mini canal. Cosy dorm beds are located in the attached vintage kura warehouse...
Hiroshima Hana Hostel
Hana is more guesthouse than backpacker joint, with a choice of Japanese- or Western-style private rooms, some with (small) en suite. Cosy lamp lighting and traditional decoration make the tatami rooms the top pick here...
Yakushima Youth Hostel
This well-run youth hostel is about 3km west of Onoaida. Accommodation is in Western-style dorms and the cypress wood tub in the new wing is great...
Hotel Clubby Sapporo
The Clubby is a busy, posh place located across the street from Sapporo Beer Factory (though beer's not brewed there anymore). Come here if you want to be pampered in style...
Crowne Plaza Ana Hiroshima
Rooms are large but plain, and the café downstairs is a mellow place to start the day over a buffet breakfast. Luxury rooms on the 'premier floors' are also available.
Hotel Universal Port
This brand new luxury hotel near Universal Studios Japan is great for families with children. The theme of the hotel is 'water'. Everything is blue in the hotel, including the inside of the elevators...
Imperial Hotel Osaka
The Imperial Hotel Osaka is an elegant and gorgeous hotel. It's a very high-class and high-quality operation in every respect. This is one of the top hotels in Osaka...
Osaka Namba Washington Hotel Plaza
The Osaka Namba Washington Hotel Plaza is a large business hotel that gets its fair share of foreign visitors...
Imperial Hotel
The legendary Imperial Hotel’s present building is the successor to Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1923 masterpiece, and small tributes to Wright can be found in the lobby and elsewhere...
Plaza Hotel Premier
Located in trendy Daimyō, the Premier is a smooth operator rivalling far pricier hotels. The night vibe on the street outside is ubercool and its Trattoria Bal Musette could be straight out of Paris.