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Nishimuraya HonkanRunning 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
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Hostel 64 OsakaOsaka's most stylish hostel is inside a 1960s office building suitably kitted out with vintage furniture. There are Japanese- and Western-style private…
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Guesthouse Nara BackpackersAn 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…
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Shōjōshin-inAmong 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…
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Ekō-inThis 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…
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Conrad OsakaOpened 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…
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Blue Sky GuesthouseAn excellent modern B&B in a glen near central Hongū, with immaculate, comfortably minimalist design, lots of English-language sightseeing info and…
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Ise Guest House KazamiNewly renovated, with natural timber paneling, contemporary amenities (including a kitchen and laundry facilities), a communal lounge and a very chill…
- KKamigoten
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…
- RRyokan Ugenta
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…
- MMiyama Heimat Youth Hostel
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…
- AAsakichi Ryokan
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…
- NNishimuraya Hotel Shōgetsu-tei
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…
- UU-en
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…
- NNara Hotel
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…
- JJ-Hoppers Kumano Yunomine
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…
- FFukuchi-in
Fukuchi-in has two standout features: a communal onsen bath, including a rotemburo (outdoor bath), and a garden designed by famous modernist landscape…
- OOsaka Hana Hostel
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…
- KKonyamachiya
This beautifully renovated guesthouse, with exposed beams and traditional plaster walls, has two Japanese-style bedrooms and sleeps up to six; there's…
- KKigusuriya
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…