The Ryokan Guide 2026

Top 100

The definitive ranking of Japan's finest ryokans, scored across eight criteria by our editorial panel. Updated annually.

1

Asaba

Shizuoka·Five centuries of kaiseki and Noh theater above a garden pond on Shuzenji's Katsura River.
2

Beniya Mukayu

Ishikawa·Sixteen rooms where Kenya Hara's design philosophy meets kakenagashi onsen above Yamashiro
3

Hiiragiya Ryokan

Kyoto·A Kyoto ryokan since 1818, where a National Cultural Property building hosts eleven-course kaiseki.
4

Wada-ya

Ishikawa·At the foot of Hakusan, six irori rooms where the mountain and river have set the table since 1865.
5

Wasure no Sato Gajoen

Kagoshima·Kayabuki farmhouses, kakenagashi spring baths, and a 90% farm-sourced table in volcanic Kirishima.
6

Hidden Retreat Shirakawa Gensen Sanso Takefue

Kumamoto·Thirty kakenagashi baths in a Kumamoto bamboo valley, all fed by a private 68.1°C spring.
7

Sumiya Ryokan

Kyoto·Kyoto's tea ceremony inn since 1916: five tea rooms, Urasenke tradition, and in-room kaiseki.
8

Miyamasou

Kyoto·The four-room Hanase inn where a Michelin-starred chef forages your kaiseki from Kyoto's mountains.
9

Tsumikusa no Yado Komatsu

Kagoshima·Private sulfur spring baths and a mountain forager's table in Kirishima's volcanic highlands.
10

Aizu Higashiyama Onsen Tsuruga Higashiyama Sohonzan

Fukushima·Aizu's sole-occupancy Showa palace: samurai kaiseki, local basashi, and a butler city tour.
11

Ryotei Hanzuiryo

Nagasaki·Fourteen sukiya villas in Unzen's volcanic forest: sulfur kakenagashi and Michelin kaiseki.
12

Gora Kadan

Kanagawa·A former Kan'in imperial villa turned kaiseki sanctuary on the terraced slopes of Hakone
13

FUJIISO

Nagano·Sukiya rooms above Matsukawa Gorge, with sulfur-spring waters and nakai service approaching an art.
14

Shikinosato Shibian

Kagoshima·Eight private hanare deep in the Hokusatsu hills, each fed by the 640-year sacred spring of Shibi.
15

Akiba Nanikyuan

Wakayama·Two ocean-facing sukiya rooms above Susami Bay, serving clay-pot Ise lobster from the waters below.
16

Atami Furuya Ryokan

Shizuoka·Atami ryokan with exclusive Seizaemon spring ownership since 1806, pure kakenagashi to every room.
17

Island Inn of Moromi, "Mari"

Kagawa·Moromi-scented rooms with kakenagashi silica springs in Shodoshima's 400-year soy sauce district.
18

Gen Hakone Gora

Kanagawa·Private decks, source-fed baths and in-room dining above Hakone Gora.
19

Hakone Ryori Yado Kyuan

Kanagawa·Ten rooms, ten private baths and cuisine at the centre of the Hakone stay.
20

Inami Kokori-an Annex Zuiun

Toyama·Exclusive one-room auberge in Inami's woodcarving quarter, built around Toyama Bay's daily catch.
21

Shaga no Sato Yume-ya

Niigata·Kakenagashi sulfur spring and monthly kaiseki in an eleven-room sukiya garden at Iwamuro Onsen.
22

Sekiyo

Kanagawa·Michelin two-star kaiseki, nine sukiya rooms, and kakenagashi springs above Yugawara Onsen.
23

Yamanaka Onsen Kocho

Ishikawa·Kaga kaiseki on Kutani ware at the kakenagashi spring above Kakusenkei Gorge
24

Ito Yukitei Kawana Villa

Shizuoka·Five private villas above Sagami Bay, with own-source kakenagashi onsen and Kansai kaiseki.
25

SHIGUCHI

Hokkaido·Five kominka villas, private kakenagashi onsen, and rotating gallery art on a Niseko forest ridge.
26

Hoshinoya Kyoto

Kyoto·River gorge solitude and Michelin-recognised kaiseki in Arashiyama, reached only by private boat.
27

Yufuin Rokka

Oita·Six spring-fed cottages in Yufuin's rice fields, Kyushu's most awarded small inn.
28

Yagyu no Sho

Shizuoka·Bamboo satoyama, Kyoto kaiseki roots, and kakenagashi onsen in fifteen sukiya rooms above Shuzenji.
29

Tsuruko

Ishikawa·Kanazawa's legendary kaiseki house reborn: four private suites with saline onsen and Kaga kaiseki.
30

Kuhe Ryokan

Yamagata·Monthly kaiseki by an eleventh-generation inn in Tsuruoka, Japan's only UNESCO gastronomy city.
31

Rakudo An

Toyama·Three rooms of washi, silk, and earth in a 200-year-old farmhouse on Toyama's Tonami Plain.
32

Ryotei Ryokan Asadaya

Ishikawa·Three rooms, a Michelin star, and Kaga kaiseki rooted in central Kanazawa since 1867.
33

Yumeguri Yado Fuefukigawa

Yamanashi·Five kakenagashi baths, three generations of yu-mori, and ayu kaiseki from the Fuefuki River valley.
34

Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama

Gifu·Fifteen rooms of ancient cedar and a bijin-no-yu spring in the mountain town of Hida Takayama.
35

Ryori no Yado Izu no Hana

Shizuoka·Seven tatami rooms set in bamboo above Sagami Bay, where kaiseki is built on Izu's morning catch.
36

Auberge Hanaki

Shizuoka·Thirty years by the Matsukawa: two rooms, hinoki baths, and Izu's most devoted seasonal table.
37

Musashino Bekkan

Kanagawa·Tatami underfoot, bamboo outside and spring water in every bath.
38

Awara Onsen Kofuyuden Beniya

Fukui·Four proprietary kakenagashi springs, Echizen crab kaiseki, and Michelin recognition since 1884.
39

Nishimuraya Honkan

Hyogo·Seven generations at the heart of Kinosaki, where 1,300 years of onsen town life continues.
40

Hoshi Onsen Chojukan

Gunma·One of Japan's fifty foot-source onsen rises through the floor of this 1875 Meiji-era bathhouse.
41

Yado Kanzan

Gunma·Six rooms beneath Tanigawa-dake where a mother cooks and the owner's shakuhachi closes each evening.
42

Oyado Nagomino

Nagano·Soft alkaline waters and calibrated omotenashi in a forest retreat at the foot of the Hotaka range.
43

Mikiya

Hyogo·The inn where Naoya Shiga wrote 'At Kinosaki': seven springs, a 300-year lineage, and winter crab.
44

Bandai Atami Onsen Atami-so

Fukushima·Five sukiya rooms, a gorge-side rotenburo in Aomori cypress, and Aizu kaiseki in Fukushima.
45

Kansuirou

Niigata·Meiji and Taisho villas deep in cedar forest, with kakenagashi radium water and kaiseki in-room.
46

Sakura-yu Sanshuyu

Yamagata·Seven flower-named rooms, each with a private kakenagashi rotenburo, at Akayu Onsen's top-ranked ryokan.
47

Monjusou Shourotei

Kyoto·Six tatami rooms on the forested cape of Amanohashidate, kaiseki from a nationally recognized chef.
48

Zaborin

Hokkaido·Kakenagashi private rotenburo and kita-kaiseki cuisine in a Hokkaido birch-forest retreat.
49

Atami Sekitei Annex Sakuraoka Saryo

Shizuoka·Rosanjin kaiseki and private rotenburo in six Edo-named detached villas on a hilltop in Atami.
50

Matsuzakaya Honten

Kanagawa·Hakone's rarest spring: three minerals flowing since 1662 through a moss-carpeted Tokaido inn.
51

Kamiyashiki Taira no Takafusa

Tochigi·Kakenagashi springs and irori mountain fare in the Heike refuge valley of Yunishigawa, Nikko.
52

Tsutsuji-tei

Gunma·Chef Tago's monthly kaiseki and Bandaiko's pH 1.6 spring meet in ten intimate forest rooms
53

Kanazawa Yuwaku Onsen Kokorian

Ishikawa·Private rotenburo suites and Michelin-noted kaiseki on Kutani porcelain in the hills above Kanazawa.
54

Hirayama Ryokan

Nagasaki·Iki Island's iron-red kakenagashi spring and a table built daily from the okami's morning catch.
55

Sansou Murata

Oita·Twelve relocated farmhouses and a legendary jazz bar in the quiet hills above the Yufuin basin.
56

Soba and Sake Oyado HIYAMA

Tochigi·An owner-chef's three-room ryokan near Kinugawa Onsen where kaiseki ends in hand-pulled soba.
57

Ryokan Ohashi

Tottori·Misasa's only thorium spring, housed in five nationally registered heritage buildings since 1932.
58

Tokine no Yado Yumushi Ichijo

Miyagi·Private kaiseki and kakenagashi onsen at a six-century-old National Cultural Property in Shiroishi.
59

Hatago Wakatsu

Shiga·Omi kaiseki for two, in an 1829 merchant estate beside the Hachiman-bori Canal
60

Atsugi Iiyama Onsen Motoyu Ryokan

Kanagawa·A garden-like mountain retreat with strongly alkaline Iiyama water.
61

Yoshikawa small luxury inn Kyoto & Tempura

Kyoto·Seven tatami rooms and Kyoto's finest tempura, centered on a Taisho garden by Kobori Enshu.
62

Jigoku Onsen Seifuso

Kumamoto·Sulfur water wells from volcanic gravel underfoot at this lone 1803 inn on the slopes of Mount Aso.
63

Kamenoi Besso

Oita·A century on Kinrin Lake: kakenagashi alkaline spring, forest cottages, and a gramophone library.
64

Hakone Yumoto Onsen Bansuirou Fukuzumi

Kanagawa·Operating since 1625, Hakone's sole ryokan holding National Important Cultural Property designation.
65

Myoken Ishiharaso

Kagoshima·Seven kakenagashi springs on the Amorigawa: Kirishima volcanic water, delivered pure since 1966.
66

Esashi Ryotei Kuki

Hokkaido·Kakenagashi springs and 25-kilometre farm-to-table kaiseki in seven rooms on Esashi's herring coast.
67

Kappo Inn Taikanso

Shizuoka·Six rooms, a father-and-son kappo kitchen, and Shirada kakenagashi waters on the east Izu coast.
68

Kyuan Iida

Tochigi·A Nasu-Shiobara forest hideaway where two rooms receive the undivided hospitality of one chef.
69

Hirosekan Hiten no Oto

Niigata·Fifth-generation kaiseki served at temperature and a kakenagashi sulfur spring of national renown.
70

Tocen Goshoboh

Hyogo·Japan's oldest onsen inn since 1191, where iron-rich kinsen water flows from the Rokko mountains.
71

Oyado Uchiyama

Shizuoka·Six hillside cottages in Izu Kogen where the region's finest kaiseki meets Pacific panoramas.
72

Omoidenoyado Yunosimakan

Shizuoka·Free-flow alkaline sulfur spring and four Fuurinkazan private baths deep in the Abe River valley.
73

Umi to Irihi no Yado Teisui

Akita·On Akita's Oga Peninsula above Toga Bay, rare radium onsen and ten rooms of open Sea of Japan.
74

Narashino-no-sato Gyokusui

Shizuoka·Thirteen intimate rooms and a Yumori-tended kakenagashi spring in Oku-Atagawa's bamboo hills.
75

Daimaru Ryokan

Oita·Nagayu's only inn on the Seri-gawa since 1917, with free access to Japan's rarest carbonated spring.
76

Onogawa Onsen Kajikaso

Yamagata·Free-flowing Onogawa water and Yonezawa beef in private dining rooms.
77

Harumiya Ryokan

Fukushima·Private garden baths and in-room dining beside the Arakawa River.
78

Nishiya Villa

Nagano·Irori-grilled kaiseki and Nakabusa kakenagashi springs in a Niigata farmhouse reborn in Azumino.
79

Former Fukujyuin Takei Ryokan

Nagano·Former shrine lodging in Togakushi's cedar forest, two rooms, one proprietress, 300 years of care.
80

Yugokoro no Yado Ryokan Ichikawa

Shizuoka·Umegashima's sole kakenagashi inn, flowing alkaline sulfur spring water since 1967
81

Meigetsuso

Yamagata·Nakai who recall your last room, Zao views from the rotenburo, and kaiseki rooted in Yamagata soil.
82

Onyado Chikurintei

Saga·Eleven rooms of sukiya-zukuri craftsmanship set within Mifuneyama Rakuen, Saga's great Edo garden.
83

Yamagata The Takinami

Yamagata·A 350-year-old relocated farmhouse frames kakenagashi sulfur baths and Yamagata kaiseki in Akayu Onsen.
84

Hashidzuya Annex Tsukishiro

Tottori·World-record radon springs and winter matsuba crab: two private suites in a 300-year Misasa inn.
85

Oyado ZUIGETSU

Kanagawa·Five rooms on Sakurayayama where Chef Nojiri's five decades of kaiseki mastery define every course.
86

Ryokan Hirobun

Kyoto·Three rooms and Kyoto's finest kawadoko, beside the water deity's shrine in the Kibune gorge.
87

Kasenkyo Izutsuya

Hyogo·Above Yumura's 98°C spring, a 300-year inn with a nationally honored kaiseki chef and eight baths.
88

BYAKU Narai

Nagano·Kiso terroir dining in a restored 1793 sake brewery at the heart of Japan's finest post town.
89

Miyajima Villa Hatago Sakura

Hiroshima·Michelin-quality kaiseki for eight guests, with 130-Mache radon baths facing Miyajima's torii.
90

Sansou Tensui

Oita·Ten kakenagashi baths, Sakura Falls views, and Bungo kaiseki on a 10,000-tsubo riverside estate.
91

Bessho Onsen Nanjo Ryokan

Nagano·Garden views, gentle Shinshu cooking and free-flowing water in Bessho.
92

Ryudo

Gunma·Eighteen private open-air baths in the high mountains of Minakami.
93

Ujo no Yado Shintsuta

Fukushima·A garden open-air bath and seasonal seafood at a poetry-linked Iwaki inn.
94

Yachi Onsen

Aomori·Two foot-fed springs in a solitary wooden inn beneath Mount Hakkoda.
95

Yatsusankan

Gifu·Eight generations of kaiseki and irori warmth in Hida Furukawa's Meiji-era cultural property.
96

Kikunoyu

Nagano·Since 1891, soft alkaline springs and honmune-zukuri architecture define this quiet Matsumoto retreat.
97

Minamikan

Shimane·Matsue heritage ryokan on Lake Shinji, serving the same family sea bream rice since 1888.
98

Chousenkaku Kameya

Nagano·Three-century Nakasendo honjin beside Suwa Taisha: Kobori Enshu garden and seasonally driven kaiseki.
99

Onogiso

Shizuoka·A five-room mountain refuge in a Shizuoka valley built around one of Japan's most alkaline kakenagashi springs.
100

Aso no Yamaboushi

Kumamoto·Four private cottages with kakenagashi onsen at the foot of Aso Daikanbo's volcanic caldera.