I lived in Japan for more than twenty years, in the Tokyo area,
in western Honshu, and on Shikoku. I’ve traveled in all 47
prefectures. I now live in the United States.
That combination is the whole reason this site exists.
A primer is what you read before you know enough to ask the right
questions. That’s the job here.
When you plan a trip to Japan from abroad, the hardest decision isn’t
which temples to see. It’s where to sleep. A ryokan or a hotel?
Is 130 square feet really the room, or was that a typo? Will they
turn me away because of my tattoo? Can I use my hotel points,
and if I can, is it worth it?
Most of the English-language advice on these questions comes from
people who spent two weeks in Japan, almost always on the same
route: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. Some of it is very good. But there’s
a difference between visiting a place and having your mail
delivered there, and that difference shows up in exactly the
details that cost travelers money and comfort.
At the same time, most Japanese-language sources are written for
people who already know how a Japanese hotel works. They don’t
explain what a “twin” room is, because everyone already knows.
I sit between those two. I read the Japanese booking sites that
most visitors can’t, I know what these places are actually like, and
I live outside Japan now, so I know what you’re comparing them to.
How I decide what to recommend
I book hotels with points and with cash, in Japan and in the US,
several times a year. When I recommend a property or a booking
method, it’s because of one of three things:
- I’ve stayed there or used it myself.
- I’ve checked the current rates and terms directly with the
provider, in Japanese, and I say so. - I’m explaining how a system works — award charts, room
categories, booking windows — rather than rating a specific
place.
I tell you which one applies. If I haven’t stayed somewhere, I
don’t pretend I have.
What I don’t do
I don’t accept free stays in exchange for coverage. I don’t
recommend a hotel because it pays a higher commission. When two
options are close, I say they’re close instead of manufacturing
a winner.
Why no name
I write under the site name rather than my own. My personal
identity doesn’t make the advice better or worse — what I’ve
stayed in, what I’ve checked, and what I’m still unsure about
does. Everything I claim on this site is something you can
verify for yourself, and I try to make that easy by linking to
the source.
— Japan Primer, since 2026