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.

Hostels

Youth hostels are among the most inexpensive types of accommodation in Japan. One night typically costs between 2500 and 3500 yen per person and usually 1000 yen more for non-members. Memberships can be purchased at the hostel.

There are over 300 youth hostels spread out across Japan. They do not differ much from European or American youth hostels, except that breakfasts and bathrooms may be in the Japanese style.

Capsule Lodgings

3,000 to 4,000 yen per person
Mainly targeting a male clientele in need of nothing but a bed, capsule hotels accommodate their guests in small capsules. A television, a shared bathroom and coin lockers are usually provided.

Love Hotels

Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya

Love hotels (also known as boutique or fashion hotels) are hotels that offer double rooms for short periods of time. Typically you can rent a room for a minimum of one to three hours during the day, called a "rest", or for the whole night, called a "stay", which usually starts after 10 pm. As the name suggests, the main purpose of love hotels is to provide couples with a room to spend some undisturbed time together.

The rooms are equipped according to their purpose with large double beds, a television offering erotic programs, a nice bathroom, etc. Some love hotels are themed and may come properly equipped, or with items such as costumes available to rent or buy.

Love hotels are found all over Japan and they can usually be recognized because of their strange looks. In large cities there are love hotel districts, such as Tokyo's Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya, where many different hotels can be found together. In smaller cities they are often found near major roads on the city outskirts.

A stay overnight costs around 8000 yen. The room fee for a rest during the day is usually a little bit lower (3000 to 7000 yen), while on weekends, the prices can be much higher. The reception at a love hotel is very anonymous. The guests usually choose a room on a board by pressing a button and then pay at a little window where the receptionist behind cannot be seen.

Temple Lodgings

3,000 to 10,000 yen per person 

It is possible for tourists to spend the night at some Buddhist temple lodgings (shukubo). A stay often includes two vegetarian meals and the opportunity to join the morning prayers. One of the best places to experience a night at a temple is Mount Koya. 

Weekly and Monthly Apartments

From 40,000 yen per month 

A guesthouse (or "gaijin house", meaning "foreigner house") is an inexpensive type of accommodation for foreigners, who stay in Japan for one month or longer, and who want to avoid the hassle and the expense of renting and furnishing a conventional apartment. Some guesthouses also offer weekly contracts.

There are many guesthouses in Tokyo, but they can also be found in other major Japanese cities. While some are single, independently managed houses, others are owned by realty companies, which may operate multiple houses across the city. Some companies maintain a "foreigners only" policy.

Guesthouses come as shared or private apartments and with Japanese or Western style rooms. Naturally, private apartments are more expensive than rooms in shared apartments, where kitchen and bathrooms are typically shared.

Depending on the room and company, the monthly rent for a shared apartment in Tokyo is typically between 40,000 and 100,000 yen per person per month, while a private apartment usually costs at least 100,000 yen per month. Whether cost for utilities is included depends on the company.

Guesthouses do not tend to be the newest or most modern buildings, although the apartments are usually equipped with basic kitchen utensils, a futon, a pay phone, and possibly a television.

By living in a guesthouse, a foreigner has the opportunity to closely experience Japanese everyday life, buy food and household goods in Japanese supermarkets, dispose of garbage in the correct way, etc.