Travel
Japan’s hotel scene has plenty of new and exciting additions, from converted historic houses to onsen hotels with private baths and even treehouses.
ByAlicia Miller
Published September 21, 2023
• 11 min read
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
There was a time when accommodation options in Japan tended to fall into three categories: glossy international chains, dull homegrown business hotels and basic ryokan (traditional inns), which despite their atmospheric tatami mats and wooden sliding doors were often light on comfort and mod cons. But new options abound, particularly for the cultural traveller.
1. Roka Ryokan, Naoshima
Best for: art lovers
The ‘art island’ of Naoshima, on the Seto Inland Sea, draws crowds for its pumpkin sculpture by Yayoi Kusama, the Benesse House Museum and installations set in historic homes. Accommodation struggles to meet demand, so the arrival of this new high-end ryokan near the minimalist Ando Museum is especially welcome. In classic ryokan style, the 11 suites have tatami mat flooring, paper sliding doors and sparse decor. But you also get private, open-air baths with water supplied by Yunogo hot springs on the mainland, multi-course sushi feasts and low-lying hybrid beds. In keeping with the setting, Roka also acts as a gallery for emerging Japanese talent.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥84,000 (£457), half board.
2. Rakudo-An, Toyama
Best for: artisan atmosphere
Among the rice paddies of under-the-radar Toyama prefecture, on the northwest coast of central Japan, this 120-year-old azumadachi (east-facing) farmhouse has been restored by local artisans, including silk weavers and makers of washi paper. Their craft underpins the modern Japanese design of the three guest rooms. With local populations dwindling, Toyama’s azumadachi-style settlements are under threat, but Rakudo-An donates 2% of its profits to maintain this historic landscape, as part of a regenerative tourism project. Staff can arrange insider cultural experiences, from taiko drumming at a local shrine to tours of the Kiyoto sake brewery. Dinners featuring Toyama produce are taken overlooking the rice fields.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥45,000 (£245), B&B.
3. OMO3, Tokyo Akasaka
Best for: urban roamers
Finding a budget hotel in Tokyo without the soulless business veneer is hard work, but the OMO brand — part of Japan’s Hoshino hotel group — mixes functionality with plenty of character in this 2022 opening in otherwise-pricey Akasaka. Personalised touches abound, from the giant, illustrated neighbourhood map in the lobby, to the bar and restaurant recommendation plaques contributed by staff, and the OMO Ranger tours each morning and afternoon. The latter are run by English-speaking staff and explore local landmarks, shops and cafes. There’s also an on-site restaurant and a laundry room. The compact, neutral rooms even have clever integrated seating areas. Another branch, in north Tokyo’s Asakusa, opened in July.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥12,000 (£65), room only.
4. Inn the Park, Fukuoka
Best for: waterside reflection
With its proximity to China and the Korean Peninsula, the port city of Fukuoka has been a gateway to the world, even when Japan was largely insular through the 17th to 19th centuries. Today, you can relish its waterside setting at this new glamping-style stay, set on a strip of parkland that separates Hakata Bay from the Sea of Japan. Of the three accommodation types, the spherical pods that glow by night are a highlight — they look as if they’re floating on water. Activities are plentiful, from horse-riding to cycling; otherwise, you can borrow records from the extensive vinyl collection, kick back in-room and look out to the blue.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥17,600 (£96), room only.
5. Marufukuro, Kyoto
Best for: Nintendo nostalgia
Nintendo wasn’t always famous for The Legend of Zelda and Switch. Founded in 1889, it was once known for producing hanafuda playing cards. Its owners, the Yamauchi family, built a warehouse, office and private home near Kyoto’s central station in the 1930s, and when the company expanded, the art deco buildings remained in family hands. Now, renovated by Japanese starchitect Tadao Ando, they’ve been transformed into Marufukuro hotel. Original features remain, from tiling to wallpaper and fireplaces — even furniture used by the family — but with digital art pieces and a free, pour-your-own whisky bar, there’s contemporary cool too. The hotel’s Carta restaurant blends Japanese and European flavours.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥63,000 (£343), B&B.
6. The Sense Fuji, Yamanashi
Best for :peak perfection
So much more than a volcano, sacred Mount Fuji is a symbol of Japan itself. The Sense Fuji is a sleek new villa hotel in Narusawa, near the trekking trailhead at Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station, so you’re about as close to the peak as possible without actually scaling it. On clear days, there are sweeping views from the private terraces, where you’ll enjoy breakfast, dinner and your evening sundowners. When it’s cloudier — as it often is around Fuji — saunas and soaking tubs set the mood for forest-coddled relaxation, and rooms with exposed brick are made cosy by wood-burners. For some light adventure, explore nearby Narusawa Ice Cave, a lava tunnel lined with icicles.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥95,000 (£517), half board.
7. Treeful treehouse, Okinawa
Best for: tropical eco-living
In the lush, wild north of subtropical Okinawa Island, this eco-stay takes you away from the big resorts and into the virgin forests and mangroves the Indigenous Ryukyuan people have coexisted with for generations. Carbon-negative, solar-powered and supported entirely by mature trees high above the ground, Treeful treads lightly on the surrounding environment. Up to six people can stay in the treehouses — fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows and comfy furnishings — either self-catering or with a DIY fire-pit menu featuring local Agu pork shabu-shabu and soba noodles. Take in Okinawa’s famed beaches and sign up for a tour of rural Higashi-son, an isolated village known for its pineapple and coffee farms.
ROOMS: Rooms sleeping six from ¥120,000 (£653), B&B.
8. Hotel Groove Shinjuku, a parkroyal hotel, Tokyo
Best for: staying up late
Kabukicho is the Tokyo of the movies: a riot of neon signs, squeezy bars and ramen joints. But the nightlife district has had an injection of gloss with the opening of Groove, set in a silvery new tower. Rooms with bold, geometric carpets — and even tatami — come with soundproofed windows so you can look out on the nighttime buzz without losing sleep. If you fancy staying up late, Groove offers walking tours of the bar-lined alleys of Golden Gai, an in-house gaming arcade and a 24-hour food hall resembling a disco version of an Edo-era backstreet. The hotel is a hub for Pride Week in spring, too.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥30,000 (£163), room only.
9. Setsu Niseko, Hokkaido
Best for: indulgence
This new resort in ski paradise Niseko prioritises two things: onsen baths and multi-course kaiseki dining. The former comes via a mix of indoor and outdoor, stone-lined pools in a flashy spa complex. Unusually for Japan, where hot-spring bathing is typically communal — in the buff and separated by sex — there are private onsen too: perfect if you’re feeling shy. Meanwhile the kaiseki meals come from renowned Hokkaido-born chef Hironori Sato and feature top local seafood like sea urchin, scallops and crab. You don’t need to be a skier to check into this hotel, with its contemporary, peaceful rooms in wood and grey. All-seasons Niseko majors in a range of outdoor activities, from paddleboarding on Lake Toya in summer to snowshoeing in winter.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥29,790 (£162), B&B.
10. Roku Kyoto, LXR Hotels & Resorts
Best for: culture-keen families
With a slew of on-site activities, this resort on the forested western edge of Kyoto — only a few minutes from the Kinkakuji pavilion — is the pick for culture-minded families seeking space to breathe. Try washi papermaking, craft your own porcelain or rework broken pottery as kintsugi art. Then, after sipping bitter matcha as part of a traditional tea ceremony, enjoy the outdoor pool or nibble on French-inflected dishes at the all-day Tenjin restaurant. There’s an outdoor onsen pool, too. Most of the rooms — Zen-like and overlooking trees — sleep three.
ROOMS: Doubles from ¥95,646 (£520), room only.
Published in the Japan supplement, distributed with the October 2023 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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