The Most Popular Places To Stay In Japan

Intro 

Japan is among the popular destinations in the world, but what are the best places to stay when visiting this spectacular country? From the latest trending cities to relaxing getaways off the beaten path, we’ve put together a quick guide to help you choose the best location for your trip. 

Popular places to stay in Japan

Let’s take a look at six of the most popular places to stay in Japan. 

1. Tokyo

The big one! Tokyo is Japan’s capital and the biggest, most populous city in the world. The term ‘mega city’ was practically invented for Tokyo - a vast, sprawling, dazzling metropolis and vision of the future, with more landmarks packed into a single city than most entire countries have to offer. Tokyo is a unique experience - a truly global city that’s also quintessentially Japanese, with a huge amount to see and do and a quirky character that’s all its own. 

From the Tokyo Tower to Tokyo Skytree - both offering panoramic views across the city’s spectacular skyline - to Shibuya Sky and Shibuya Scramble, the world’s busiest road crossing, to Tokyo DisneyLand and DisneySea, to entertainment districts like Akihabara and Roppongi, the anime and manga of Nakano Broadway, and the nightlife of Golden Gai, to the inner-city greenery of Yoyogi Park and the grandeur of Tokyo Imperial Palace - the list of things to see and do goes on and on and on. 

Whether you’re into food, nightlife, culture, shopping, anime, temples, shrines, or something else, Tokyo can provide it. Accommodation options meanwhile are equally vast and diverse, including everything from luxury hotels to traditional ryokan (Japanese inns), hostels to capsule hotels, and more. Also, don’t be fooled into thinking Tokyo is just a big, futuristic city packed with quirky, contemporary culture. It has some of Japan’s most historic shrines and temples and a proud history dating back to the Edo period.  

2. Fuji Five Lakes

Japan’s highest peak and one of the iconic symbols of Japan - Mt. Fuji - is one of the country’s active volcanoes. It’s also surrounded by five lakes along its northern side - formed by lava flows - that have become one of the most attractive and popular areas of Japan to visit and stay in due to their views of the mountain and gorgeous scenery. Between the lakes are several local settlements with Fujiyoshida being the main city in the region. The five lakes are Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Motosu, Lake Saiko and Lake Shoji. Lake Yamanaka is the largest of the five lakes and sits off on its own to the east of Mt. Fuji. However, Lake Kawaguchi is the most popular of the lakes because it enjoys the best views of the mountain and is the easiest to reach. Kawaguchiko is a hot spring resort town at the base of Mount Fuji and the perfect place to begin exploring the wider area. 

There is a huge amount to see and do in the area and it is very popular among locals and international visitors. It’s a particularly great area if you love outdoor activities and enjoy scenic woodland vistas. The region is understandably known for being a lake resort area with camping, fishing, hiking, cycling, water sports and snow sports available. There are also several hot springs to choose from and a number of museums and other attractions, including a popular theme park. Particular highlights include Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway and its spectacular views of Mt. Fuji, Aokigahara Forest, Narusawa Ice Cave, Oshino Hakkai, Kubota Itchiku Art Museum, Chureito Pagoda, Fuji-Q Highland theme park, and the Arayayama Shrine.

As a bonus recommendation for a popular place to stay in the same region, you could also try Hakone. As popular with Tokyo residents and locals as it is with international visitors, Hakone is famous for its hot spring onsen resorts and is another excellent day out from Tokyo. It also offers lots of natural beauty, including serene views of nearby Mt. Fuji and spectacular boat trips across Lake Ashinoko, and plentiful activities and attractions. The lake is known for the picturesque red Torii gate on the shore. 

Hakone may be most famous for its super relaxing hot springs (and that’s reason enough to visit) but there is a wealth of things to see and do from historical shrines, castles and ropeways, to observatories and museums. 

3. Kyoto

The cultural heart of Japan, Kyoto was formerly the country’s capital and remains one of Japan’s most enduringly popular destinations. The city is arguably most famous for its temples, shrines, and traditional architecture. It is the No.1 Japanese city to visit for those drawn to Japan’s ancient culture, history, and spiritual heritage - the Japan of our collective imagination. It also boasts the country's most famous Geisha district, the beautiful Gion, and Pontocho, which was the birthplace of Kabuki. 

The city’s most iconic and beautiful landmarks, from Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion of Kyoto, to the Gion district’s famous Gion Matsuri festival, the world heritage site that is Kiyomizu-Dera, Kyoto’s ‘pure water temple’, Kyoto Tower, Nijo Castle, and Japan’s tallest wooden pagoda at the unmissable Toji Temple.

Many of Kyoto’s temples are recognised collectively as the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto and have been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kyoto is also famous for its Shinto shrines. The most famous and important being Fushimi Inari Taisha, whose vermillion red torii gates were featured in the 2005 film ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’. Fushimi Inari Taisha was founded in 711, which makes it one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto. As you can tell from this list, some of Japan’s most beautiful and most important temples, structures and heritage sites are to be found in Kyoto. It really is unmissable if you want to experience the mythic wonder of ‘old’ Japan. 

4. Osaka

Known as ‘Japan’s kitchen’ for its culinary delights, Osaka is colourful, bold, and spectacular with a reputation for being fun and edgy. The second largest city in Japan and one of the top ten biggest cities in the world, Osaka offers many of the diverse experiences that Tokyo delivers with its own unique twists, as well as a few of its own trademark attractions such as Osaka Castle, Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium, Kuromon Seafood Market, and the legendary Dotonbori district.

The city’s reputation for great food comes from its famously good seafood and legendary street food. Osaka’s neon lights and vast, futuristic cityscape were one of the inspirations for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner (he also filmed the movie Black Rain in the city in the 1980s) and it was also the first Japanese city to have a capsule hotel - a concept that has since swept across Japan and become synonymous with the country. 

5. Sapporo

Sapporo is the capital of Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido, and an increasingly popular destination for international visitors. It’s certainly less touristy than Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka, and this has made it a favourite for travellers looking for unique and authentic experiences. 

Sapporo, and the island of Hokkaido itself, are becoming more popular with visitors who want to see a different side of Japan, as well as those who love the great outdoors in the summer and colder, snowier climates in the winter. Hokkaido is known for its spectacular winter festivals and illuminations, its ski resorts and world-leading slopes, its summer flowers, hiking and walking trails, regional food specialities, and lots more - all of which make the city of Sapporo an increasingly cool destination. You might also be interested in Asahikawa, Hokkaido’s snowy second city, and Hakodate, the island’s scenic merchant city, as other attractive destinations on the northernmost island.

Sapporo is among Japan’s younger cities - as recently as the 1850s it had less than 10 inhabitants - but it has grown quickly over the last century. The city’s fame grew considerably in 1972 when it hosted the Olympic Winter Games and in recent years, the popularity of the Sapporo Snow Festival has attracted millions of visitors and helped introduce the world to this special city. Today, Sapporo describes itself as a metropolis surrounded by incredible nature - it is known for being lush and green during the summer months and magically white with snow in the winter. The city sees an impressive five metres of snow fall every winter, making it a true winter wonderland during the colder months. It’s also famous for its seafood, as well as being a gateway to the great outdoors of Hokkaido and its rugged national parks, for its vibrant art, culture, and shopping, hot springs, proximity to skiing and winter resorts, and more. In recent years, Sapporo and Hokkaido have become more accessible than ever before thanks to the launch of the high-speed Hokkaido Shinkansen bullet train which has turned a seven-hour journey from Tokyo to Sapporo into a four-hour journey. It’s fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass too. Incredibly, once the experimental Alpha X Shinkansen train launches in years to come, this journey will be reduced to just three hours. 

Finally, as an alternative to Hokkaido’s northern charms, you could also consider a stay in subtropical Okinawa in the south.

With its white-sand beaches and relaxed atmosphere, the island chain of Okinawa is known for its stunning coastlines and coral reefs, mangrove jungles, the castles of the Ryukyu kings, and as the birthplace of karate.  

6. Koyasan

Now for something different. While we’ve mainly focussed on popular cities to stay so far, Japan has much more to offer. Mt. Koya (Koya-san), with its thick forests and monastic complex, is an incredible place to stay and easily visited from bigger cities like Osaka, Kyoto or Nara. Staying overnight in temple lodgings, wandering the vast mountain-top cemetery and temples and sampling delicious Buddhist cuisine is an enlightening experience.

Mt. Koya is a holy mountain in Shikoku and the home and birthplace of Shingon Buddhism, which built its temples on Mt. Koya in the 9th Century. The town of Koya-san is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to Japan’s largest cemetery, the beautiful and atmospheric Onku-in, where some of the country’s most prestigious people are laid to rest. Koya-san is also the beginning and end of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, which features 88 temples and shrines and can take three months to complete on foot. Even if you don’t have time for all 88, you can book a Shukubo (a ‘temple stay’) in Koya-san, which has more than 100 temples to choose from, many with their own onsen and zen gardens for maximum relaxation. 

Temples such as Eko-in and Muryoko-in are 1,000 years old and allow guests to meditate, practice calligraphy, take part in morning chanting and other rituals, and much more. The fresh, cool mountain air and serene settings, combined with Koya-san’s rich and fascinating history of spiritual enlightenment, make a refreshing contrast to the fast-pace of the modern Japanese city. 

One of the many great things about this incredible country is that it’s so well-connected you can choose to stay in one of these great locations and easily visit the others on the list - for a daytrip or longer - using the country’s world-class rail network and a Japan Rail Pass for unlimited travel. The likes of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, in particular, are well connected and easily reachable via Japan’s high-speed Shinkansen ‘bullet trains’. Japan has many other fantastic, lesser-known cities to discover too. We would also recommend Kanazawa, Fukuoka, Yokohama, Kamakura, Nagano, Kagoshima, and many more. You also don’t need to stick to cities either as Japan’s railway network stretches the length and breadth of the country, giving you access to every area you might want to visit.

Types of Accommodation in Japan

As we mentioned earlier in the article, there is a wide range of accommodation available in Japan, suitable for all kinds of travellers and budgets, from luxury hotels to hostels, traditional inns known as ryokan to capsule hotels and themed rooms, onsen resort towns to camping, glamping, and spa retreats. You can even stay in Buddhist monasteries like Koyasan above. Japan truly has something for everyone! 

Useful Links 

Here at JapanDen, we take a holistic approach to helping you plan the perfect trip to this incredible country. As well as providing guidance on where to stay, you’ll find expert travel advice, 24/7 support, portable WiFi devices, essential information, and in-depth articles on key topics such as Getting Around Japan, Japanese Cuisine, What To Pack For Japan, and more. At JapanDen, our mission is to bring together everything you could possibly want or need to know about Japan in one place to ensure the best possible travel experience. Find out more below: 

• For the perfect place to stay, visit our Hotels page and choose from more than 2,800 hotels and 1,800 traditional ryokans.

• Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about Japan’s regions and prefectures so you can decide the best area to visit, you should check out our Destinations page. 

• If you’re looking to explore Japan then the country’s famously efficient trains are the way to go. Japan’s railways are renowned as being the fastest, cleanest, and safest in the world. The country’s rail network is so vast and interconnected that it can help you reach almost any corner of Japan you’d like to visit. Furthermore, with a Japan Rail Pass you can enjoy unlimited travel on the majority of the country’s trains, including the famous Shinkansen ‘bullet trains’. The JR Pass is by far the most cost effective and flexible way to get around Japan. Find out more by visiting our partners at www.jrpass.com today.

• Want to use Google Translate to support your language skills? Or Google Maps for live train updates? What about posting photos to social media or keeping in touch with home? For all this and more, you’ll need a PocketWifi device like those from Ninja Wifi. With unlimited data, support for five devices simultaneously, the ability to share your Wifi with your travel companions, and more, renting a PocketWifi is highly recommended. Our Pocket WiFi guide has everything you need to know. 

• If you’re looking for information about Japan and want to speak with fellow travellers who have been there and done that, then you should join our Community. This welcoming and friendly forum is the place to go to share stories, knowledge, and experiences about Japan, ask questions, make new connections, and find travel inspiration.