Best Hotel Chains in Japan

Japan is the one country where booking by brand actually works: a room in Sapporo is recognisably the same product as the same brand's room in Fukuoka. Learn five or six names — APA, Sotetsu Fresa Inn, Richmond, Comfort, Dormy Inn, Mitsui Garden — and you can stop researching individual hotels. Every Japanese business hotel room includes a private bathroom, a desk, fast wi-fi, pyjamas and toiletries as standard; 10 to 15 m² is the normal size, and that is the only real trade.

This page is the shortlist. It is organised by price rather than by preference, because in practice that is the decision you are making.

What does a Japanese business hotel include?

Before the names, the baseline — because it is higher than the price suggests and it is the same almost everywhere. A Japanese business hotel room includes a private bathroom with a deep bath or good shower, a desk, fast wi-fi, a kettle with tea, air conditioning, a hairdryer, pyjamas, and toiletries you do not need to bring. There will be coin laundry in the building and usually a vending machine with beer. Breakfast is often included and, when it is, is generally worth eating.

Rooms are small — 10 to 15 m² is the normal range — and that is the trade you are making. Nothing else is compromised. If even that footprint is more than you need for a night, a good capsule hotel makes the same money go further.

Which hotel chains are dependable value?

These are the ones to book without agonising over reviews.

• APA Hotel — the most widespread chain in the country, and the reason you will rarely be stuck for a room. Almost always directly outside a station, reliably clean, priced at the low end. Rooms are compact even by Japanese standards, and some branches have a large communal bath, which is a real bonus after a long day. If you want a bed near a station tonight, APA is the answer.

• Sotetsu Fresa Inn — a step up in comfort for not much more money, and one of the easiest recommendations here. Rooms feel a little larger and better finished than the budget average, the beds are good, and locations are consistently well chosen. If APA is the default, Sotetsu Fresa Inn is the small upgrade worth taking.

• Tōyoko Inn — simple rooms, everywhere, with a free breakfast included as standard. Unglamorous and completely dependable.

• Richmond Hotel — one of the best value-for-money chains in Japan. Noticeably more comfortable than the budget tier while still costing well under a mid-range rate.

• Comfort Hotel — clean, efficient, and with a genuinely good free breakfast. Worth choosing on the breakfast alone when you have an early train.

• Daiwa Roynet and Via Inn — both slightly roomier than the budget norm and reliably well run.

• Dormy Inn deserves separating out. It is priced like a mid-range business hotel but has a large communal bath — often a real hot spring — on the top floor, and serves free ramen late in the evening. For a chain hotel that is an unusually good offer, and it makes Dormy Inn worth going slightly out of your way for.

Which chains are a step up?

• Mitsui Garden Hotels — the pick of the mid-range. Genuinely well-designed interiors, larger rooms, often a communal bath, and a standard that matches what the star rating claims. The Premier line is better again. If your budget stretches past business-hotel prices, start here.

• Hotel Monterey — plainer and cheaper than Mitsui Garden, with European-styled interiors that are a matter of taste, but consistently good value and comfortable rooms.

Which chain varies by property?

• Prince Hotels is a large group covering everything from resort hotels to city towers, and the quality genuinely varies. Some properties are new and excellent; others are dated and coasting on the name. This is the one chain where the brand tells you almost nothing — read recent reviews for the specific hotel before booking, and you will often find a very good four-star.

Which specific properties are worth knowing?

Individual hotels rather than chains, so treat these as picks rather than as anything that generalises:

• Remm Roppongi, Tokyo — modern, well designed, good neighbourhood.

• Comfort Hotel ERA Tokyo Higashi Kanda — a strong example of what the Comfort standard looks like, with a good breakfast and a convenient position.

• Gran Ms Kyoto — larger rooms than the Kyoto average, and often still reasonably priced in weeks when most of the city has sold out.

• SAKURA Stay — budget apartment-style rooms, with good options in Kyoto for anyone who wants a kitchen.

A general warning rather than a specific one: at the very cheapest end, some chains compete on price alone and the reviews reflect it. If a rate looks conspicuously below everything around it, read what recent guests say before booking.

Check rates for your dates and work down the list. Choosing the right base, and judging the hotels once you are looking at them, is covered in our guide to where to stay in Japan.