Accommodation in Japan
From capsule to ryokan — the types, the customs, and what to expect before you book
Japan has one of the most varied places-to-stay markets on earth — and some of it works in ways a first-time visitor won't expect. You might sleep in a pod the size of a single bed, or on a futon laid out on a straw-mat floor by an attendant while you're at dinner; you might meet a high-tech heated toilet, or a bathroom where you wash before you get in the bath.
None of it is difficult once you know the shape of it. This page explains the main types, what's distinctive about each, and the small customs and practicalities — from footwear to bathrooms to English — that make a Japanese stay run smoothly.
For the specifics of where to base yourself in each city — the best neighbourhoods, and our pick of areas — see our dedicated guides for Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. This page is about the kinds of stay, and how they work.
The main types of accommodation
Broadly, you'll choose between Western-style hotels (a bed, a private bathroom, familiar comforts) and Japanese-style stays (tatami, futon, communal baths, and rather more ritual). Most trips mix the two — business hotels for the cities, a ryokan for a night or two of the real thing.
Ryokan — the traditional inn
A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, and staying in one even once will change how you understand the country. The room has a tatami-mat floor, paper sliding screens, and a low table; there's no bed — instead a futon is laid directly on the mat, usually set out for you by a room attendant (the nakai-san) while you're at dinner, and cleared again in the morning. You're given a yukata (a light cotton robe) to wear throughout your stay, even out to dinner or around an onsen town.
The defining thing about a ryokan is that the experience is the product, not just the bed. Most include an elaborate multi-course kaiseki dinner and breakfast in the price, quoted per person rather than per room.
Business hotels
The backbone of city travel: compact, efficient Western-style hotels clustered around train stations. Rooms are small (often 12–15 m²) but spotless and well designed, with a private bathroom, reliable Wi-Fi, a desk and charging points. Chains like APA, Toyoko Inn, Route Inn and Dormy Inn are dependable and everywhere.
Capsule hotels
A genuinely Japanese invention: your "room" is a sleeping pod, roughly the size of a single bed with sitting-up headroom, in a bank of others. Inside is usually a light, a socket, and sometimes a small screen. Your luggage goes in a separate locker; bathrooms and often a large communal bath are shared. Modern ones are clean, quiet, high-tech and surprisingly comfortable.
Minshuku & guesthouses
A minshuku is a family-run guesthouse — think of it as the Japanese bed-and-breakfast, and a simpler, cheaper cousin of the ryokan. You'll usually have a tatami room and futon, shared bathrooms, and often a good home-cooked dinner and breakfast. Modern guesthouses and hostels sit alongside these, especially in cities, and are great for meeting other travellers.
Luxury hotels & high-end ryokan
Japan's top end is superb — international five-stars in Tokyo with staggering skyline views, and exquisite luxury ryokan where a room may have its own private open-air hot-spring bath (rotenburo). At current exchange rates, this tier is expensive but often less so than the equivalent in Europe or the US.
What each will cost
Rough per-night guide prices (see our cost of visiting Japan page for the full picture). Ryokan and minshuku rates are usually per person including dinner and breakfast; hotels are usually per room, room-only.
| Type | Typical price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Capsule hotel | ¥3,000–5,500 | Per pod, room-only |
| Hostel dorm / guesthouse | ¥3,000–8,000 | Per bed / room |
| Minshuku | ¥6,000–12,000 | Per person, often with meals |
| Business hotel | ¥8,000–14,000 | Per room, room-only |
| Mid-range city hotel | ¥15,000–28,000 | Per room, room-only |
| Ryokan | ¥18,000–60,000+ | Per person, with dinner & breakfast |
| Luxury hotel / ryokan | ¥50,000–100,000+ | Varies |
The things visitors don't expect
This is the part worth reading before you go. None of it is hard — but knowing it in advance turns potential confusion into a smooth, confident stay.
Shoes come off — and there's a footwear hierarchy
In any Japanese-style stay (and many hotels' onsen areas), you remove outdoor shoes at the entrance (the genkan) and switch to indoor slippers. Those slippers come off again before you step onto tatami — walk on the mats in socks or bare feet. And there's a separate pair of slippers for the toilet: put them on entering, and — the classic visitor slip-up — remember to take them off again when you leave. Don't wheel a suitcase across tatami; it damages the mats.
You wash before the bath, not in it
The single most important thing to understand about Japanese bathing. In a communal bath (onsen or sentō) or even a ryokan's shared bath, you shower and wash thoroughly first, sitting at the row of stools and taps, and get completely clean. Only then do you get into the bath — which is for soaking, not washing. The water is shared by everyone and kept pristine. Bathing is nude (baths are almost always single-sex), you bring the small towel to the washing area but keep it out of the bath, and you tie up long hair. The mood is quiet and restful, not social.
Tattoos can be an issue — but there are easy workarounds
Many onsen and public baths still bar visible tattoos, a hangover from their historical association with organised crime. If you have ink: policies have relaxed a lot for visitors, and you can look for explicitly "tattoo-friendly" places (Kinosaki and Beppu are known for it), cover a small tattoo with a skin-tone cover patch (buy them before you go, e.g. at a Don Quijote store), or — the cleanest solution — book a room or slot with a private bath (kashikiri-buro), which sidesteps the question entirely. When in doubt, ask when booking.
The toilet may be smarter than you are
Japan's high-tech washlet toilets — heated seats, built-in bidet, sound effects — are a delight once you're over the panel of buttons. The controls are increasingly labelled in English or with clear icons; the big one is usually "stop." At the traditional end, a few older or rural places still have a squat toilet alongside; most now have Western-style.
The yukata has a right way round
If you're given a yukata robe, wrap left side over right (bring the right panel to your body first, then the left over it). Right-over-left is used only to dress the dead, and an older host may be quietly distressed to see it. Staff are happy to show you; there's a matching sash to tie it.
No tipping — anywhere
Tipping is simply not part of Japanese culture and can cause polite confusion; excellent service is included in the price. At a ryokan, a small gift from home for your nakai-san is occasionally appreciated, but never cash.
How much English to expect
More than you'd fear. City hotels, and any ryokan used to tourists, will have some English at check-in and printed English house rules and bath instructions. Smaller rural inns may have little spoken English — but the essentials (arrival time, meal times, bath etiquette) are straightforward with a few gestures and a translation app on your phone. Booking platforms flag which properties offer English support.
Check-in windows are real, especially at ryokan
Ryokan typically ask you to arrive in a set window (often 3–6pm) because dinner is timed and prepared per guest. If you'll be late, phone ahead. City hotels are far more flexible, though many still have a firm earliest check-in and hold luggage if you arrive before it.
How to mix it for a first trip
You don't have to choose one style. The happiest first-timer's pattern is usually: business or mid-range hotels in the big cities (convenient, flexible, near the stations), with at least one or two nights in a ryokan — ideally in an onsen town like Hakone, Beppu, Kinosaki or Kurokawa — for the full tatami-futon-kaiseki-hot-spring experience. A capsule for a night is a fun, cheap, only-in-Japan adventure if it appeals. That mix gives you comfort where you want it and culture where it counts.