Untranslated Japan

Finding one private room for a family of four in Japan can be tricky. Here are the Shikoku hotels I shortlisted for our trip, with non-smoking rooms, private bathrooms and practical sleeping setups.

Finding a family room in Tokyo isn’t as easy as it sounds. We’ve picked hotels and apartments that actually suit families of four, so everyone gets a proper bed and a good night’s sleep.

Planning one unforgettable ryokan stay near Mt. Fuji? Discover nine carefully selected onsen ryokan in Hakone, Atami, Yugawara, and Izu Nagaoka, each offering a different experience worth travelling for.

Looking for an Okinawa beach resort without the luxury price tag? Compare eight carefully researched stays, grouped by the kind of holiday each one is designed to create.

A Meiji ryokan on the Hayakawa River, where Japan’s first toll road was planned over tea. The building is a registered cultural landmark. The baths are still fed by the original spring. You can still sleep there.

Yukata, onsen etiquette, kaiseki dining, private baths. A quiet, thorough guide to Japan’s most considered form of hospitality — for those who want to arrive prepared.

Asaba was founded in 1484, when a Buddhist monk opened lodging at the gate of Shuzenji Temple. The Noh stage — its reflection trembling in the pond — has stood here since the Meiji period.

At Gyokusui in Oku-Atagawa, a yumori tends the spring by hand each morning — adjusting temperature without adding cold, preserving what makes the water worth entering.