Ryokan

Ryokan are traditional Japanese style inns with Japanese style rooms. A stay at a ryokan typically includes dinner and breakfast and is recommended to all travelers to Japan as it gives you the opportunity to experience a traditional Japanese lifestyle.


Naraya, Kusatsu Onsen

Ryokan are Japanese style inns found throughout the country, especially in hot spring resorts. More than just a place to sleep, ryokan are an opportunity to experience the traditional Japanese lifestyle and hospitality, incorporating elements such as tatami floors, futon beds, Japanese style baths and local cuisine, making them popular with both Japanese and foreign tourists alike.

There are many different kinds of ryokan, varying greatly in terms of size, cost and style. Some ryokan are small, family run establishments with just a few rooms, while others are large, hotel-like facilities with hundreds of rooms. Ryokan also range from no-frills, budget varieties to costly establishments catering to the very wealthy.

While extremes exist, the average cost of a ryokan stay is between 15,000 and 25,000 yen per person, per night. While this may be too expensive to stay at everyday, it is well worth indulging on one special night during your travels. Also keep in mind that ryokan stays usually include an elaborate dinner in the evening, followed bybreakfast the next morning. Meals are typically kaiseki ryori (Japanese haute cuisine) that feature local and seasonal specialties.

Because of their emphasis on traditional style and atmosphere, ryokan may appear rigid and intimidating for the first timer unfamiliar with the procedures and etiquette. In reality they are a special and relaxing experience that everyone should take the opportunity to try. In order to help set your mind at ease, the following pages offer an explanation of what to expect during a ryokan visit.

Minshuku

4,000 to 10,000 yen per person 
Minshuku are Japanese style "bed and breakfast" lodgings. They are usually family run, offer Japanese style rooms, and often include one or two meals in the price.


A minshuku in Asuka

Minshuku are Japanese style bed and breakfasts, which are usually family operated. They offer visitors a good opportunity to meet a a local family and experience the traditional Japanese lifestyle.

Like in a ryokan, guests stay in Japanese style rooms, sleep on a futon and have the opportunity to take aJapanese bath. Dinner and breakfast are sometimes included.

Typical rates for minshuku range between 5,000 and 9,000 yen per night and person, but some no-frills places ask for less than 4,000 yen per night.

Japanese Apartments and Houses

An increasingly popular, but still relatively rare type of accommodation (currently mainly available in Tokyo andKyoto) are entire apartments or houses offered to foreign tourists for short term stays to experience a true everyday lifestyle. On offer are apartments with traditional or modern interior, as well as restored historic houses.


A restored traditional town house (machiya) in Kyoto

Vacation rentals, also known as holiday rentals, are furnished houses or apartments that can be rented by tourists on a temporary basis, sometimes as short as one night. They include a wide range of properties from modern apartments in the heart of Shinjuku to traditional, restored machiya town houses in Kyoto's Gion District. Vacation rentals make an attractive alternative to hotels, especially for larger groups, families or those who seek a more local, everyday life experience.

In addition to the amenities found at hotels, such as beds, showers and toilets, vacation rentals also typically include a kitchen, a washing machine and a living room. Many also supply basic household items such as cooking utensils, dishes, spices, soap and occasionally bicycles. However, unlike at a hotel, you will also need to take care of chores such as grocery shopping and garbage disposal.

Bedroom with Japanese style futon beds in a modern style house

Vacation rentals are a burgeoning industry in Japan. The majority of rental properties are found in Tokyo, Kyotoand Niseko. While some are individually owned and operated, others are managed by companies that may have several locations in a city. Many of them cater exclusively to foreign guests and often provide an English speaking contact to check you in, orient you to the neighborhood and provide you with information on sightseeing spots and local tours.

There is a lot of variation between different properties, and both traditional Japanese style and Western style accommodations are available. Vacation rentals typically sleep between 2-4 adults, but larger properties are also available. As expected, prices vary a lot depending on the type and location of the property, but they tend to start from around 10,000 to 15,000 yen per night for two guests. Most properties have a minimum nights stay, usually from 3-5 nights. A cleaning fee is also usually charged.

Modern kitchen and living space

Western Style Hotels

8,000 to 50,000 yen per room
Western style hotels, including various international and Japanese hotel chains, can be found across Japan, especially in the larger cities.

Bussiness Hotels

A business hotel double room

Business hotels can be found readily across Japan, providing economical and no-frills accommodation to travelers. The charge is typically between 5,000 and 10,000 yen per night for a single room, and many hotels also have a few twin or double rooms for typically 7,000 to 12,000 yen. Although rooms are relatively small, they are usually clean and well kept, with an attached bathroom.

Basic amenities such as soap, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, razors, cotton buds, shower caps and towels are normally provided. Most rooms also come with a television, an air conditioner, a telephone, a hairdryer, an empty refrigerator and a water boiler with complimentary green tea bags.

Simple bathroom with basic amenities

Hot water and complimentary green tea

Internet access is almost always available in the rooms via a LAN cable or wireless, while some hotels also provide some computers in the lobby or business center. Internet access is often free, but some hotels may charge a fee of usually less then 1500 yen for a day's usage. Pay-TV is frequently available; typically the guest can purchase a prepaid card at a machine placed along the corridor, and then slot it into a card reader in his room to gain access to the channels.

In most business hotels, there is a common room located every two or three floors where vending machines and coin-operated washing machines are placed. Coin-operated drying machines are also often available. Should an iron be needed, it is sometimes placed in this room. Otherwise, make the request to the service counter, and if available, it would usually be brought to your room.

Common room

Machine selling pre-paid cards

Some business hotels adopt a self check-in and check-out system through machines placed in the lobby. Upon checking in, the guest makes payment for the room and receives his room key in the form of a card. Upon checking out, the guest inserts the room key into the machine, which consequently informs the guest should there be any additional charges. Upon making payment (if any), the guest receives a receipt and the checkout process is complete.

Some business hotel chains, such as Route Inn, APA Hotel, Super Hotel, Daiwa Roynet Hotel, Dormy Inn and Toyoko Inn, operate dozens of hotels across Japan, often in convenient locations near railway stations orexpressway exits.

A simple business hotel twin room

Pensions

6,000 to 12,000 yen per person 
Pensions are comparable to minshuku (see above), except that they offer rooms in Western style rather than in Japanese style. They are typically found in mountainous resort towns and in the countryside. 

Pensions are Western style, family run accommodations, usually portraying an elegant image with a personal touch. They are typically found in tourist and ski resorts in highlands and mountains, as well as sometimes by the sea and in smaller cities and towns in the countryside. Some locations where pensions are readily found areFurano, Niseko, Nikko, Nasu, Zao, Urabandai and Karuizawa.

The charge is typically about 6,000 to 12,000 yen per night per person, inclusive of two Western meals cooked often with seasonal local ingredients. Rooms are usually simple, furnished with a television set and a heater. Complimentary hot water and some tea bags are also often provided.

Dining Room

Guestroom

Most pensions have shared toilets and bathrooms. Towels are provided in the rooms which guests have to take along with them when using the bath. Some basic amenities such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and face soap are also usually available at the communal sink area.

Wireless internet access may be available for free, while most pensions at least provide a computer with an internet connection in the common area, where magazines, newspapers and manga tend to be provided for browsing.

Many hotel reservation websites in Japan, such as Japanican and Rakuten Travel, list pensions these days. An increasing number of international accommodation websites list them as well.

Dormitories

1,000 to 3,000 yen per person
Dormitories, usually housed in older buildings, can mainly be found in large cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Many dormitories offer women-only rooms.