Kansai
Running for seven generations, this is a fantastic ryokan for a splurge. It excels at everything: beautiful rooms arranged around a central garden; onsen…
Must-see hotels in Kansai
Osaka
Osaka's most stylish hostel is inside a 1960s office building suitably kitted out with vintage furniture. There are Japanese- and Western-style private…
Nara
An utterly charming stay in a traditional 1920s building, which was once a tea master's home. Choose from bunk-bed dorms or five different-size private…
Kii Peninsula
Among Kōya-san's most atmospheric temples, with a thatched roof and an old kitchen with exposed wooden beams, Shōjōshin-in is a wonderful choice for your…
Kii Peninsula
This pretty hillside temple, set around a garden, offers both simple but nicely done-up rooms and pricier en-suite rooms with newly updated facilities. It…
Osaka
Opened in 2017, the Conrad has injected some much-needed contemporary glamour into Osaka's hotel scene. Occupying floors 33 to 40 of the Festival Tower…
Kii Peninsula
An excellent modern B&B in a glen near central Hongū, with immaculate, comfortably minimalist design, lots of English-language sightseeing info and…
Kansai
Newly renovated, with natural timber paneling, contemporary amenities (including a kitchen and laundry facilities), a communal lounge and a very chill…
Kii Peninsula
In its 29th generation, Kamigoten was built in 1657 for the local lord and member of the Tokugawa family. It's been updated over the years and now feels…
Kansai
The superb Ugenta is a stylish inn located in the village of Kibune, about 30 minutes north of Kyoto by taxi or train. There are only two rooms here, one…
Kansai
This hostel is in a modernised kayabukiya, with both Japanese- and Western-style bedding. It's out by its lonesome in the far west of the village – ideal…
Kansai
This six-room ryokan, running for over 200 years, occupies a wonderfully rambling old building roughly halfway between Gekū and Naikū. There's a nice…
Kansai
On a hill overlooking the bay, about a 10-minute walk from the northern end of Amanohashidate, this old but well-kept hostel has both Western- and…
Kansai
In business for two centuries but marvellously up to date, Katō has English-speaking staff who cater well to international travellers. Especially…
Nishimuraya Hotel Shōgetsu-tei
Kansai
A bit far from town and in a rather ordinary building, this modern property is managed by the same family that runs Nishimuraya Honkan and offers a more…
Osaka
Inside a restored, century-old townhouse down a quiet lane, U-en has seven upstairs rooms with a variety of bedding – futons and tatami mats in private…
Nara
Founded in 1909, this grande dame has hosted everyone from Edward VIII and Albert Einstein to Audrey Hepburn and the Dalai Lama. It retains a Meiji-era…
Kii Peninsula
This old minshuku was recently converted into a hostel by the reliable J-Hoppers team. There are spacious, cabin-style bunks and private Japanese-style…
Kansai
This three-room hostel, in a vacant old house thoughtfully renovated by its young, English-speaking owners, is ideally set up for self-catering, with a…
Kii Peninsula
Fukuchi-in has two standout features: a communal onsen bath, including a rotemburo (outdoor bath), and a garden designed by famous modernist landscape…
Osaka
This great budget option in the heart of Amerika-Mura has a variety of rooms. Besides four-bed and six-bed dorms, there are private Japanese- and Western…
Kii Peninsula
This beautifully renovated guesthouse, with exposed beams and traditional plaster walls, has two Japanese-style bedrooms and sleeps up to six; there's…
Kii Peninsula
The fourth-generation Kosaka family of innkeepers opened this modern and polished building in 2015. The current-generation Kosaka-san doesn't speak much…
Kansai
In northern Miyama and surrounded by farmland, this four-room family-run inn started as a pharmacy on the old road connecting Kyoto with the sea; it also…
Osaka
Imagine spending the night in a first-class suite of an Airbus A380 – inside an office building. Cabins, closed off by sliding screens, contain private TV…
Osaka
The Hilton has spacious rooms with king-sized beds and lovely touches such as shoji (sliding rice-paper) window screens. Staff speak English and are at…
Kansai
A foreign-travellers' favourite, this 10-room ryokan in a nearly 100-year-old wooden building has heaps of traditional atmosphere and friendly, English…
Capsule Hotel Asahi Plaza Shinsaibashi
Osaka
This is a classic capsule hotel, with over 400 pods on separate floors for men and women as well as communal baths, conveniently located in Ame-Mura. They…
Kansai
This fairly new inn, with both Japanese- and Western-style rooms, is well set up for solo travellers and those who don't want to be locked into a meal…
Kansai
Squat and concrete, family-run Denyō doesn't look like much but delivers on dinner, which features fresh local specialities such as ise-ebi (spiny lobster…
Kansai
This long-time traveller favourite is a reliable choice and has friendly, English-speaking staff. Rooms have toilet and sink, and the communal onsen bath…
Kōbe
One of Japan's most historic hotels (1870), in Kyū-Kyoryuchi (the former foreigners' settlement), the Oriental was rebuilt after the 1995 earthquake and…
Nara
This welcoming little ryokan, conveniently located in Naramachi, has Japanese-style rooms with toilets (and some with bathroom). It's warm, homey and well…
Kii Peninsula
Miyoshiya is a simple travellers' ryokan from the 1940s, and the knowledgeable English-speaking owner makes a stay here worth it. Most of the Japanese…
Kansai
Right on Yanagi-dōri, conveniently located for Kinosaki's soto-yu (public bathhouses), this long-running ryokan (350 years!) is well kept and welcoming…
Osaka
Opposite an elementary school, Mitsuwaya has wooden bunk dorms with lots of power points, shelves, a storage locker and privacy curtains. It's full of…
Osaka
Minami's most elegant hotel, with stunning views and direct connections to KIX airport via Nankai line trains that depart from Namba Station below the…
Kansai
This is a great budget choice, with owners who love welcoming foreign guests. Rooms are simple (with shared facilities) but well cared for, and the onsen…
Kii Peninsula
A boon for budget travellers, this light and clean guesthouse has capsule-style bunks and a few private rooms, all with shared facilities. It's also a few…
Kii Peninsula
One of Kōya-san's smaller temples, with only 14 rooms, Sōji-in is also one of the most modernised: all rooms have air-conditioning, some have baths (and…
