Tips on Accommodations

Japanese-Style Accomodations

Ryokan -- Although it can be very expensive, spending the night in a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) is worth the splurge at least once during your trip. Unfortunately, you won't find many first-class ryokan in Tokyo itself. Unable to compete with the more profitable high-rise hotels, most closed long ago, so you'll need to travel to a resort or hot-spring spa, such as Hakone, for the true experience. If you don't have time for a side trip from Tokyo, however, you can still find some decent ryokan in the city, though they won't provide the full experience. Alternatively, most of Tokyo's upper-class hotels offer some Japanese-style rooms.

And the full ryokan experience is unforgettable. Nothing conveys the simplicity and beauty -- indeed, the very atmosphere -- of old Japan like these inns, with their gleaming polished wood, tatami floors, rice-paper sliding doors, and meticulously pruned gardens. Exquisitely prepared kaiseki meals and personalized service by kimono-clad hostesses are the trademarks of such inns, and staying in one is like taking a trip back in time.

Traditionally, ryokan are small -- only one or two stories high and containing about 10 to 30 rooms -- and are made of wood with a tile roof. Most guests arrive at their ryokan around 3 or 4pm. The entrance is often through a gate and small garden, where you're met by a bowing woman in a kimono. Remove your shoes, slide on the proffered plastic slippers, and follow the hostess down long wooden corridors until you reach the sliding door of your room. After taking off the slippers, step into your tatami room, almost void of furniture except for a low table in the middle of the room, floor cushions, an antique scroll hanging in an alcove, and a simple flower arrangement. Best of all is the view past rice-paper sliding screens of a Japanese landscaped garden with bonsai, stone lanterns, and a meandering pond filled with carp. Notice that the room has no bed.

Almost immediately, your hostess welcomes you with hot tea and a sweet, served at your low table so that you can sit there for a while and appreciate the view, the peace, and the solitude. Next comes a hot bath, either in your own room (if you have one), or in the communal bath. After bathing and soaking away tension, aches, and pains, change into your yukata, a cotton kimono provided by the ryokan.

When you return to your room, you'll find the maid ready to serve your kaiseki dinner, an elaborate spread that is the highlight of a ryokan stay. It generally consists of locally grown vegetables, sashimi (raw fish), grilled or baked fish or another meat dish, and various regional specialties, served on many tiny plates; the menu is determined by the chef. Admire how each dish is in itself a delicate piece of artwork; it all looks too wonderful to eat, but finally hunger takes over. If you want, you can order sake or beer to accompany your meal (you'll pay extra for drinks).

After you've finished eating, the maid will return to clear away the dishes and to lay out your bed. The bed is really a futon, a kind of mattress with quilts, and is laid out on the tatami floor. The next morning the maid will wake you, put away the futon, and serve a breakfast of fish, pickled vegetables, soup, and other dishes. Feeling rested, well fed, and pampered, you're then ready to pack your bags and pay your bill. Your hostess sees you to the front gate, smiling and bowing as you set off for the rest of your travels.

Such is life at a good ryokan. Sadly, however, the number of upper-class ryokan diminishes each year. And, although ideally a ryokan is an old wooden structure that once served traveling feudal lords or was perhaps the home of a wealthy merchant, today many are actually modern concrete affairs with as many as 100 or more rooms, with meals served in dining rooms. What they lack in intimacy and personal service, however, they make up for with slightly cheaper prices and such amenities as modern bathing facilities and perhaps a bar and outdoor recreational facilities. Most guest rooms are fitted with a color TV, telephone, safe for locking up valuables, and yukata, as well as amenities like soap, shampoo, razor, toothbrush, and toothpaste.

Rates are based on a per-person charge rather than a straight room charge, and include breakfast, dinner, and often service; tax is extra. Thus, while ryokan rates may seem high, they're actually competitive compared to what you'd pay for a hotel room and comparable meals in a restaurant. Although rates can vary from ¥9,000 to an astonishing ¥150,000 ($86-$1,425) per person, the average cost is generally ¥12,000 to ¥20,000 ($114-$190). Even within a single ryokan the rates can vary greatly, depending on the room you choose, the dinner courses you select, and the number of people in your room. If you're paying the highest rate, you can be certain you're getting the best room, the best view of the garden, or perhaps your own private garden, as well as a much more elaborate meal than that given to lower-paying guests. All the rates for ryokan in this book are based on double occupancy; if there are more than two of you in one room, you can generally count on a slightly lower per-person rate.

Although I heartily recommend spending at least one night in a ryokan, there are a number of disadvantages to these accommodations. The most obvious is that you may find it uncomfortable sitting on the floor. And because the futon is put away during the day, there's no place to lie down for an afternoon nap or rest, except on the hard, tatami-covered floor. In addition, some of the older ryokan, though quaint, are bitterly cold in the winter and may have only Japanese-style toilets. As for breakfast, you might find it difficult to swallow fish, rice, and seaweed in the morning (I've even been served grilled grasshopper -- quite crunchy). Sometimes you can get a Western-style breakfast if you order it the night before, but more often than not the fried or scrambled eggs arrive cold, leading you to suspect that they were cooked right after you ordered them.

A ryokan is also quite rigid in its schedule. You're expected to arrive sometime between 3 and 5pm, take your bath, and then eat at around 6 or 7pm. Breakfast is served early, usually by 8am, and checkout is by 10am. That means you can't sleep in, and because the maid is continually coming in and out, you have a lot less privacy than you would in a hotel.

You should always make a reservation if you want to stay in a first-class or medium-priced ryokan, since the chef has to shop for and prepare your meals. You can make reservations through any travel agency in Japan or by contacting a ryokan directly. You may be required to pay a deposit. JNTO's Japan Ryokan Guide lists members of the Japan Ryokan Association (tel. 03/3231-5310; www.ryokan.or.jp).

Japanese Inn Group -- If you want the experience of staying in a Japanese-style room but cannot afford the extravagance of a ryokan, consider staying in one of the participating members of the Japanese Inn Group -- a special organization of more than 80 Japanese-style inns and hotels throughout Japan offering inexpensive lodging and catering largely to foreigners. Although you may balk at the idea of staying at a place filled mainly with foreigners, keep in mind that many inexpensive Japanese-style inns are not accustomed to guests from abroad and may be quite reluctant to take you in. I have covered several Japanese Inn Group members in this buide over the years and have found the owners for the most part an exceptional group of friendly people eager to offer foreigners the chance to experience life on tatami and futons. In many cases, these are good places in which to exchange information with other world travelers, and they are popular with both young people and families.

Although many of the group members call themselves ryokan, they are not ryokan in the true sense of the word, because they do not offer the trademark personalized service nor the beautiful setting common to ryokan. However, they do offer simple tatami rooms that generally come with TVs and air conditioners; most have towels and cotton yukata. Some offer Western-style rooms as well, and/or rooms with private bathrooms. Facilities generally include a coin-operated washer and dryer and a public bath. The average cost of a one-night stay is about ¥4,500 to ¥8,000 ($43-$76) per person, without meals. Breakfast is usually available if you pay extra; dinner is also sometimes available.

You can view member inns at www.jpinn.com. Or, upon your arrival in Tokyo, head to the Tourist Information Center for the free pamphlet called Japanese Inn Group. Make reservations directly with the ryokan in which you wish to stay (most have faxes and e-mail). In some cases, you'll be asked to pay a deposit (most accept American Express, MasterCard, and Visa). Many member inns belong to the Welcome Inn Group as well, which means you can make reservations through one of the methods described earlier.

Minshuku -- Technically, a minshuku is inexpensive Japanese-style lodging in a private home -- the Japanese version of a bed-and-breakfast -- usually located in resort areas or smaller towns. Because minshuku are family-run affairs, there's no personal service, which means that you're expected to lay out your own futon at night, stow it away in the morning, and tidy up your room. Most also do not supply towels or yukata, nor do they have units with private bathrooms. Meals are served in a communal dining room.

Officially, what differentiates a ryokan from a minshuku is that the ryokan is more expensive and provides more services, but the difference is sometimes very slight. I've stayed in cheap ryokan providing almost no service and in minshuku too large and modern to be considered private homes. The average per-person cost for 1 night in a minshuku is generally ¥7,000 to ¥9,000 ($67-$86), including two meals.

Love Hotels -- In addition to Japanese-style inns, Japan has another unique form of accommodations -- so-called love hotels. Usually found close to entertainment districts such as Shinjuku and Shibuya, such hotels do not, as their name might suggest, provide sexual services; rather, they offer rooms for rent by the hour to lovers. Even married couples use love hotels, particularly if they share small quarters with in-laws.

There are an estimated 35,000 such love hotels in Japan, often gaudy affairs shaped like ocean liners or castles and offering such extras as rotating beds, mirrored walls, video cameras, and fantasy-provoking decor. Love hotels are usually clustered together. You'll know you've wandered into a love-hotel district when you notice discreet entryways and -- a dead giveaway -- hourly rates posted near the front door. Many have reasonable overnight rates as well. I have friends who, finding themselves out too late and too far from home, have checked into love hotels, solo.

Western-Style Accomodations

Western-style lodgings range from exclusive first-class hotels to inexpensive ones catering primarily to Japanese businessmen.

When you book a hotel room, contact the hotel directly to inquire about rates, even if a toll-free 800 number is provided; sometimes there are special packages, such as weekend or honeymoon packages, that central reservations desks do not know about. Special, cheaper rates are also often offered on the hotel's website. In addition, always ask what kinds of rooms are available. Many hotels, especially those in the upper and medium range, offer a variety of rooms at various prices, with room size the overwhelming factor in pricing. Other aspects that often have a bearing on rates include bed size, floor height (higher floors are more expensive), and in-room amenities. Views are generally not a factor in Tokyo (though some hotels near Tokyo Bay charge more for harbor views; Mt. Fuji in the far distance is generally visible only in the winter or on rare, clear days). In Japan, a twin room refers to a room with two twin beds, while a double room refers to a room with one double bed. Most hotels charge more for a twin room, but sometimes the opposite is the case. When making your reservation, therefore, inquire about the differences in rates and what they entail.

Once you decide on the type of room you want, ask for the best in that category. For example, if you want a standard room, and deluxe rooms start on the 14th floor, ask for a standard on the 13th floor. In addition, be specific about the kind of room you want, whether it's a nonsmoking room, a room with a view of Mount Fuji, a room with a dataport for your computer, or a room away from traffic noise. If possible, give the hotel your approximate time of arrival, especially if you'll be arriving after 6pm, when unclaimed rooms are sometimes given away.

Price Categories

Very Expensive & Expensive -- Tokyo's top hotels can rival upper-range hotels anywhere in the world. Although many of the city's best hotels may not show much character from the outside, inside they're oases of subdued simplicity where hospitality reigns supreme. In addition to fine Japanese- and Western-style restaurants, they may also offer travel agencies, business centers, guest relations officers to help with any problems or requests you may have (from making a restaurant reservation to finding an address), shopping arcades, cocktail lounges with live music, and health clubs with swimming pools. Unfortunately, health clubs and swimming pools usually cost extra -- anywhere from ¥2,000 to an outrageous ¥5,000 ($19-$48) per single use; I've noted below where extra fees are imposed. In addition, outdoor pools are generally open only in July and August.

Rooms in upper-range hotels come with such standard features as minibars, cable TVs with CNN and pay movies, high-speed dataports, clocks, radios, yukata, hot-water pots and tea (and sometimes coffee, but you usually pay extra for it), hair dryers, and private bathrooms with tub/showers. Many also have washlet toilets, a combination toilet and spray bidet. Because they're accustomed to foreigners, all upper-range hotels employ English-speaking staff and offer nonsmoking floors. Services provided include room service, same-day laundry and dry-cleaning service, and complimentary English-language newspapers such as the Japan Times delivered to your room. Many hotels also offer executive floors, which are generally on the highest floors and offer such perks as private lounges with separate check-in, more in-room amenities, free continental breakfasts and cocktails, extended checkout times, and privileges that can include free use of the health club. At just a few thousand yen more than regular rates, these can be quite economical.

Moderate -- Moderately priced accommodations vary from tourist hotels to business hotels, with business hotels making up the majority in this category. Catering primarily to traveling Japanese businessmen, a business hotel is a no-frills establishment with tiny, sparsely furnished rooms, most of them singles, with barely enough space to unpack your bags. If you're a large person, you may have trouble sleeping in a place like this. Primarily just a place to crash for the night, these rooms usually have everything you need -- minuscule private bathroom, TV, telephone, radio, clock, hair dryer, hot-water pot with tea, and usually a minibar or an empty fridge you can stock yourself. There's no room service, and sometimes not even a lobby or coffee shop, although there may be vending machines that dispense beer and soda. There may be same-day laundry service as well, if you give up your laundry by 10am (no laundry service is available Sun and holidays). Business hotels may not offer nonsmoking rooms. On the plus side, they're usually situated in convenient locations near train or subway stations. If you're interested simply in a clean and functional place to sleep rather than in roomy comfort, a nondescript business hotel may be the way to go.

Inexpensive -- It's difficult to find inexpensive lodgings in Tokyo; the price of land is simply prohibitive. You can, however, find rooms -- tiny though they may be -- for less than $143 a night for two people, which is pretty good considering that you're in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Inexpensive accommodations include a bed or futon and (usually) phone, TV, heating, and air-conditioning. Unless otherwise indicated, units also have private bathrooms and are generally spotless. Inexpensive Japanese-style rooms make up the majority in this category.

Many foreigners find Japan so expensive that they end up becoming youth hostel regulars, even though they may never consider staying in one in other countries. There's no age limit at hostels in Japan (except children younger than 4 may not be accepted), and although most require a youth-hostel membership card, they often let foreigners stay without one for about ¥600 ($5.70) extra per night. However, there are usually quite a few restrictions, such as a 9 or 10pm curfew, a lights-out policy shortly thereafter, an early breakfast time, and closed times through the day, generally from about 10am to 3pm. In addition, rooms usually hold many bunk beds or futons, affording little privacy. On the other hand, these are certainly the cheapest accommodations in Tokyo.