Accommodations in Japan
Hotel Business Hotel Ryokan Minshuku Pension Guest House Capsule Hotel Youth Hostel Love Hotel Minpaku Shukubou
Western-style hotel
Hotel
The word of "Hotel" is maybe the accommodation which you know well.
It is a Western-style accommodation for Japanese people.
There is a Western-style room with one or two beds and a bathroom.
In the high-class hotels, there are a few rooms and furnishings are gorgeous.
In some hotels, there is also a Japanese room.
These hotels are mainly located in the center of large cities and major resort areas.
Mainly, the rooms are in the tall building and have fine view of the city and the the surrounding area.
The major hotel have a few restaurants in the site.
The hotels have the plans including the meals in the restaurants.
Generally, the lodging charge is over 10,000 yen in cheap hotel and most high-class hotels are far more expensive than 20,000 yen.
Business Hotel
There are many budget hotels in Japan.
In Japan, it is called "Business hotel".
Business hotel is literally for the businessmen who only sleep for the tomorrow's work.
The building is compact, and it is located around the main railway station and in the center of the city.
The businessman can go to the office, customer or factory in the next morning.
So, the hotel have mainly single rooms.
The hotels of major chain have also double and twin rooms.
The room is small, and a bed and a bathroom are in the narrow room.
The window is also small, and the view is not so important.
Mostly, it has no room service.
Of course, the charge is cheap, so it is a good accommodation for the travellers.
The lodging charge is from 5,000 yen to 15,000 yen.
Narrow room of a business hotel
Compact bathroom of a business hotel
There are some business hotel chains across Japan.
Japanese-style hotel
Ryokan
Ryokan (旅館) is a traditional Japanese-style hotel.
So, not a few ryokans have the name including "hotel" (ホテル).
Since ancient times, ryokan has been the main accommodation for Japanese travellers.
Therefore, most ryokans are located around the sightseeing spots and onsen (hot spring) resort areas.
Most ryokans have Japanese-style buildings, and they are not so high.
Old ryokans are mainly built of wood, and the rooms are also made by the traditional Japanese architecture.
Probably, you need to make a reservation to stay in advance.
The lodging charge is from 15,000 yen to 50,000 yen a night, including two meals.
When you stay in any ryokan, you must follow the lifestyle of Japanese people.
Because Japanese-style rooms are main, you stay on "tatami" mat.
So, you must take off your shoes to enter the room.
When you walk around the ryokan, slippers are prepared.
And, "Yukata" and "Haori" are prepared for you.
Yukata is a Japanese casual kimono and is also used as nightclothes.
Haori is like a jacket, and you wear it on Yukata when you feel cold.
You can wear them in the ryokan during your stay.
Enjoying the bathing has been one of the purposes for Japanese travellers.
So, there are wide public bathrooms in the site, and some ryokans have open air bathes.
You can take a bath many times as you like.
Of course, you must bathe naked.
(But, if you are tattooed, you may be not allowed to enter the bathroom.)
Japanese-style room
Wide public bathroom in a large ryokan
Basically, evening meal and breakfast are included in your lodging.
These are also the purposes for Japanese travellers.
Ryokan has exclusive Japanese chefs, and the ryokan is like a Japanese restaurant.
Mainly, the evening meal is a full-course dinner of Japanese cuisine.
In some ryokans, the meals are served in your room.
In other ryokans, the meals are served in the exclusive dining room.
In any case, the meals are the main events in your lodging.
Making a bed in Japanese room is to lay out "futon" which is a traditional Japanese style of bedding.
Mattress is laid on tatami floor directly, and comforter is covered on the body.
A set of futon is for one person, and there is no futon set for two persons.
After evening meal, the staffs of the ryokan come to your room and do the setting.
Your room changes to the bedroom.
During your stay, a chambermaid called "Nakai" attends to you.
She hears your request and controlls above schedule.
Meal is served in your room
Futon are laid out in your room after dinner
Minshuku
Minshukus on a lakeside
Minshuku (民宿) is a lodging facility like small ryokan.
It is sometimes translated as "B&B" in English, but Minshuku in Japan is slightly different in the type from it.
Most minshukus serve both evening and morning meals, but the lodging without meals is also possible.
Minshuku is mainly located around scenic sightseeing spots such as mountain, lake, coast, onsen area.
And, minshuku is also located in the popular old district in the city, town and village.
Most minshukus are mostly family-run, and the host lives there.
The building is not so big.
Some minshukus are the buildings with two stories at most, and some minshukus are old traditional Japanese houses.
So, the number of the rooms is not a lot.
Most minshukus have Japanese-style rooms for tourists, but each room is not so wide.
Washroom, lavatory are mostly shared and bath room is narrow.
Usually, you must make a bed using a mattress (futon in Japanese) yourself.
The sets of futon are in the closet in your room.
Such experience is similar to staying in a local house of Japanese family.
The lodging charge is cheaper than ryokan, and is from 8,000 yen to 20,000 yen a night, including two meals.
If no meal, the lodging charge is from 5,000 yen.
Pension
A pension in Yamanashi Prefecture
In English, "Pension" doesn't mean accommodation in general.
But, in Japan, Pension means "Minshuku in Western style".
Pension is mainly located around highland, lakeside, seaside, or ski resorts.
The appearance of the house is like European cottage or lodge, and the scenery surrounded by nature looks like some country in Europe.
Western-style pension has more sophisticated image for Japanese people than Japanese-style minshuku.
So, it is popular with young couples and families.
But, basically, the form of lodging is similar to minshuku.
In almost all pensions, the guests take off the shoes and change to slippers at the entrance.
That is a Japanese custom.
The rooms with beds are Western-style.
But, some pensions have Japanese-style rooms.
One dinner and one breakfast are served for one night's lodging, and all guests have the meals at the same time in a dining room.
The meals are mostly Western-style foods which Japanese people like, but some pensions serve Japanese dishes in the meals.
The lodging fee is slightly more expensive than minshuku.
Cheap accommodations
Guest house
Dormitory in a guest house
Guest house is increasing since the late 2010s in Japan.
It is located in main cities and popular sightseeing cities.
Guest house is relatively new and cheap accommodation in Japan, so few general Japanese travellers select this accommodation.
Mainly, foreign tourists or Japanese backpackers use this.
The building is not so big.
Recently, the guest houses reformed from old Japanese house is also increasing.
As the name of the house, "Guest house", "Hostel" are used and some guest houses name "Minshuku".
Basically, the lodging in guest house is like living together with the other guests.
Most guest houses have shared rooms with bunk beds called "dormitory".
The room is mainly for both men and women, but some guest houses have the rooms for only women and for only men.
And some guest houses have also private rooms.
Washroom, lavatory are mostly shared and bath room is narrow.
Basically, meals are not served.
But in exchange, sheard kitchen is set up and the guests can make a meal themselves.
There is a shared space and the guests can interact with each other.
The lodging charge is from 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen.
Capsule hotel
Capsule hotel originated in Japan in 1979.
A capsule like kennel is your room, and it has only the space that you can lie.
Upper and lower capsules are lined side by side in a wide room.
A television, an alarm clock, an air conditioner are equiped in the capsule.
Mostly, the open end of the capsule can be closed with a curtain or a solid door for privacy, but it cannot be locked.
Probably, you will hear the footstep on the floor and the snoring from the other capusle in your room.
Shared bathroom and washroom are in the hotel.
Capsule hotels are located in the center of large cities.
The guests are mainly businessmen and young people who have missed the last train and bus in the midnight or have not found any hotel to stay in the area.
Basically, the room is for both men and women.
But, because of the form, men have been the main guests.
Now, the hotels with the room for only women are increasing.
The lodging charge is from 2,000 yen to 4,000 yen.
Youth hostel
Youth hostel in Rebun Island, Hokkaido
Youth hostel is the cheap and wholesome accommodation originated in Germany for young people.
In Japan, there are about 130 youth hostels in the main cities and around sightseeing areas.
Some hostels are located around little-known sightseeing spots.
The rooms, baths and lavatories are basically shared with the boys and girls separated.
Formerly, the lodgers had to do the preparation of dishes, the wash of dishes after your meal, the cleanup in your room and so on, for educational purposes.
But the style of travel has changed and the use of hostels has decreased in recent decades, so you need not do them in most hostels today.
Recently alcohol drinking is also allowed in most hostels.
In many hostels, the manager help the meeting in the evening for guide of sightseeing or deepening the friendship of the lodgers.
In a sense, youth hostel is similar to guest house.
It is an idea that you consider youth hostel as a guest house.
The lodging charge is from 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen, and the fee of the meals is added.
If you are "Youth hostel Member", a discount rate (600 yen) is applied.
Love hotel
Love hotel along a back street
Love hotel is literally a facility that lovers use to make love.
The sign says "Hotel", but most of them are fancy buildings and have few windows.
The hotels are located around the back streets near the downtown, or along the street to the suburbs.
At night, we can find the neon sign of the hotel in the darkness.
Love hotel is unique to Japan.
But, it is not a formal hotel but an amusement facility for adult legally.
Therefore, only a couple of man and woman over 18 year old is available.
The family with children is not available.
Because secrecy is important, the front desk is simple and there is sometimes a screen to hide the faces at each other.
And, signing the register is not required.
Naturally, there is no room service.
The room is mainly western style, and a double bed and a bathroom are set up.
The interior design is romantic.
Some foreign couples use this as interesting topic for conversation.
So, love hotel may be a unique choice as the accommodation for travel.
The purpose to use the hotel is mainly the stay of the couple for a short time.
So, when you want to go out for shopping during the stay, the hotel may regard as check out.
You need to confirm that when you check in at the hotel.
The lodging charge is mainly fixed at a length of staying time.
For example, for 12 hours, it is from 6,000 yen to 12,000 yen.
In many love hotel, you can use a credit card for payment.
But, there are also the love hotels of cash only.
(Because, the secret payment will be recorded in the detailed statement of the credit card. Are you OK?...)
Minpaku
Minpaku (民泊) is a relatively new accomodation service started from 2018 in Japan.
It is similar to Vacation rental in other countries, and it is translated as Private lodging in Japan Tourism Agency.
Private house is rented to the tourists as an accommodation.
Mostly, it is a Japanese house or a room in an apartment house.
The owner and the tourists must use the house as the accommodation under the Japanese law.
You can stay in the rental house for a short time.
So, you can enjoy the sightseeing around the area freely.
When the owner don't live in the house, you must live as the resident in the community.
Because of new style of accommodation, it is true that some lodgers annoy the neighborhood.
The neighborhoods consider that you are unknown foreign person who suddenly appeared.
You should know that you are seen with sense of caution by the neighborhoods.
Especially, when a group with several tourists live in the house, the neighborhoods worry the unmannered and noisy behaviors.
You must follow the rule of collecting the garbage in the town.
You should not make a fuss or do noisy behavior such as music and dance, especially at night.
You should not visit and require the neighborhood to do any service.
Minpaku business is run with the permission of the relevant ministries and agencies.
So, when you search a favorite minpaku, you should use the reliable website.
But, the acommodations don't have the name with "Minpaku" or "Vacation rental".
Accommodation in Buddhist temple
Shukubou
Shukubou (宿坊) is the accommodation in Buddhist temple.
Originally Shukubou had been the accommodation for ascetic monks.
After that, it became the accommodation for pilgrims in Edo period (17-19th centuries).
Now, even if you aren't a Buddhist or don't know in Buddhism, you can stay there.
Shukubou is set up in some large temples.
The accommodation is almost same as minshuku.
The waiter is a young monk, but you shouldn't request excessive service.
Because, you are in the place where Buddhist priests practice asceticism in seeking spiritual enlightenment.
Evening meal and breakfast are served.
Generally the meals are all vegetarian dishes without meat, fish, egg.
It is the same as the meal of the priests in Buddhist temple, but the special meals are served for the lodgers.
You can also order alcohol drink.
The lodgers can join the morning religious ceremony that many priests chant a sutra in front of the principal image in the main hall.
It starts around 6 a.m. and lasts for 30 to 40 minutes.
In some temples, the lodgers can experience writing characters of sutra with a brush.
And, in some Zen temple, the lodgers can experience Zen meditation.
The lodging charge is from 10,000 yen to 30,000 yen.
The price is a little expensive, but it includes the cost for above experiences.
Temple lodging at Shojoshin-in on Koyasan,
Photo by Andrea Schaffer
Evening meal of a Shukubou
Sadly, a foreign tourist who stayed in a Shukubou criticized that the meals and the service were horrible on social media.
But, he doesn't understand what Shukubou is.
Shukubou is neither hotel nor resort.
You should think that you are allowed to stay in the accommodation to know Buddhism and worship.
Some temples with English website of shukubou are the followings.