Accomodations

Overview

Room with a view

User: (WT-shared) Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In addition to the usual youth hostels and business hotels, you can find several kinds of uniquely Japanese accommodation, ranging from rarefied ryokan inns to strictly functional capsule hotels and utterly over-the-top love hotels. Pricing for Japanese inns is often per person, not per room. All accommodations are required by law to make a copy of your passport unless you are a resident of Japan. You may have difficulty finding rooms at the busiest holiday times, such as Golden Week at the beginning of May ^[1].

Stay options

Capsule Hotel

kallerna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A capsule hotel, also known in the Western world as a pod hotel, is a type of hotel developed in Japan that features many small, bed-sized rooms known as capsules. Capsule hotels provide cheap, basic overnight accommodation for guests who do not require or who cannot afford larger, more expensive rooms offered by more conventional hotels ^[2].

Ryokan

Daniel Rubio from Sevilla, España, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A ryokan is a type of traditional Japanese inn that typically features tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear nemaki, a unisex Japanese robe, and talk with the owner. When guests first enter their room, they usually find a table and some supplies for making tea, and bedding is a futon spread out on the tatami floor. Most ryokan offer dinner and breakfast, which are often included in the price of the room ^[3].

Additional Options

AirBnb

Kyoto Airbnb, Carolina C self taken photo 2024

Particularly in Japan's dense cities, hospitality exchange, minpaku, through sites like AirBnB has become very popular. Such rentals are now regulated, and hosts must register with the government and display a license number on their listing. Hospitality exchange can be a good way to find a great deal on premium lodging and experience what a typical home is like for many Japanese. Many of the listings will be for ,mansions which in Japanese is a common marketing term that really means condominium. Mansions are typically in high-rise buildings with many amenities, unlike apartments which are usually inexpensive flats ^[4].