editorial

Words by Jonathan DeLise July 8, 2025
These Japanese properties offer a hotel-based ryokan experience.
<figure id="attachment_145532" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-145532" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-145532 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Tatami-Corner-Suite-5.jpg" alt="The bedroom of a Tatami Corner suite at Four Seasons Hotel Osaka." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Tatami-Corner-Suite-5.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Tatami-Corner-Suite-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Tatami-Corner-Suite-5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Tatami-Corner-Suite-5-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145532" class="wp-caption-text">The bedroom of a Tatami Corner suite at Four Seasons Hotel Osaka. (Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka)</figcaption></figure>
Counting tatami mats, wooden tubs, multicourse seasonal meals, and bucolic landscapes among their most memorable features, Japan’s traditional inns, or ryokan, have long offered a compelling alternative to hotel stays. But for those looking to enjoy the best of both worlds, there are a growing number of luxury hotels that house ryokan of their own. Here are three.
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<h2><a href="https://www.kaneyamaen.com/eng/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BESSHO SASA</a></h2>
<figure id="attachment_145533" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-145533" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-145533 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Bessho-Sasa.jpeg" alt="A balcony and outdoor bath with a view of Mount Fuji at Bessho Sasa." width="1200" height="776" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145533" class="wp-caption-text">A balcony and outdoor bath with a view of Mount Fuji at Bessho Sasa. (Courtesy of Hotel Kaneyamaen)</figcaption></figure>
With its Mount Fuji views, onsen baths, and expansive Japanese garden, Hotel Kaneyamaen in Fujiyoshida—about 100 kilometers west of Tokyo—already has much to recommend it. But for a more traditional ryokan atmosphere, there’s Bessho Sasa, a dedicated clutch of suites on the building’s fourth and fifth floors. Each spacious room comes with Western-style beds, shoji sliding walls, and a private rotenburo (outdoor bath) on its balcony.
<a href="https://www.kaneyamaen.com/eng/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kaneyamaen.com</a>
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<h3><a href="https://www.princehotels.com/hanakohro/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TAKANAWA HANAKOHRO</a></h3>
<figure id="attachment_145534" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-145534" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-145534 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Takanawa-Hanakohro.jpeg" alt="The reception area at Takanawa Hanakohro." width="1000" height="666" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145534" class="wp-caption-text">The reception area at Takanawa Hanakohro. (Courtesy of Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa)</figcaption></figure>
Tucked within a campus of four different Prince hotels in Tokyo’s Shinagawa district, Takanawa Hanakohro is an intimate bolt-hole with ready access to a gamut of facilities. The ryokan-styled enclave is housed in the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and comprises just 16 tatami-floored suites, some with stone-tiled bathtubs; book one that overlooks the hotel garden. Guests have the use of a private spa and the Oh-Sai Lounge, with its matcha-making classes and cocktail service. 
<a href="https://www.princehotels.com/hanakohro/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">princehotels.com/hanakohro</a>
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<h4><a href="https://www.fourseasons.com/osaka/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FOUR SEASONS HOTEL OSAKA</a></h4>
<figure id="attachment_145535" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-145535" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-145535 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo.jpg" alt="Sabo, the exclusive tea lounge on the Gensui floor of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka." width="1920" height="1280" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo.jpg 1920w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Japan-Luxury-Hotels-with-Ryokan-Four-Seasons-Hotel-Osaka-Sabo-1568x1045.jpg 1568w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-145535" class="wp-caption-text">Sabo, the exclusive tea lounge on the Gensui floor of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka. (Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka)</figcaption></figure>
The newest entry on the list, <a href="https://destinasian.com/osaka-hotels-four-seasons-hotel-osaka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this elegant skyscraper hotel</a> opened in August 2024 with what it calls “the first modern ryokan experience in the sky”—Gensui, an entire floor (the 28th) of 21 rooms and suites dressed in a contemporary ryokan aesthetic. Features include tatami mats, futon bedding, washi paper headboards, and minibars stocked with premium sake nihonshu. There’s also Sabo, Gensui’s exclusive tea lounge, where guests can enjoy bento breakfasts and a selection of Japanese beverages. 
<a href="https://www.fourseasons.com/osaka/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourseasons.com/osaka</a>
This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://subscription.destinasian.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">June/July 2025</a> print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Comfort Zones”). Buy a single issue or subscribe <a href="https://subscription.destinasian.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Sabo, the exclusive tea lounge on the Gensui floor of Four Seasons Hotel Osaka.

3 Luxury Hotels in Japan with Traditional Charm