Editorial Standards

Each ryokan we publish is checked against sources we can name: the property's own website where it has one, official tourism bodies, and booking-platform listings. If a fact that travelers decide on — private baths, tattoo rules, meals, English support — is not stated by a source, we mark it as unknown rather than guess.

Articles are published under the site's name. We do not write in a voice that implies a stay, a meal or a conversation that did not happen.

Ryokan prices change by date, season and room type. Prices on this site are starting rates taken from booking-platform listings, and the rate shown on the booking site when you book is the one that counts.

When we find that a quoted price has drifted far from current rates, we update the page.

Photos on Japan Ryokan Guide are official images of each ryokan — published on the property's own website or supplied by the property through booking platforms — or come from openly licensed libraries such as Wikimedia Commons and Unsplash, credited as each license requires.

We do not use AI-generated imagery anywhere on this site. This is a hard editorial rule, not a soft preference: no Imagen, Midjourney, DALL·E, or any successor model output appears in articles, hero images, ryokan PDPs, or social cards.

We also reject source images that have burned-in text, logos, watermarks, OTA badges, or graphic overlays — even when the underlying photograph is otherwise excellent. The site's photography is pure photographic content; banners, scans, and composited promotional artwork are screened out during photo curation.

When a reader, an inn or our own checks surface an error — a closed bath, a renamed property, an outdated price — we correct the page. Substantive corrections carry a dated note describing what changed.

To request a correction, email editor@japanryokanguide.com with the page URL and the fact in question.

Japan Ryokan Guide earns affiliate commissions from five partners: Agoda (via Travelpayouts), Booking.com (via Travelpayouts), Trip.com (via Travelpayouts), Klook (direct, AID 119596), and Viator (direct, PID P00298490). These commissions are paid by the booking platform, not by the ryokan, and they do not change the price you pay.

Which ryokans we recommend, and how we rank them in our guides, are editorial choices about fit — English-friendliness, bath quality, food, location and value — not about which partner pays more. The order of the booking buttons is chosen from measured revenue per click, a review that does take partner commission terms into account; we test different orders from time to time, so it can differ from one ryokan to another. Which ryokans our guides recommend, and how they rank them, does not. On the home page, the order of a showcase of already-recommended inns can also reflect the areas where readers most often go on to book.

We do not accept paid placements, sponsored "best ryokan" features, gifted or hosted stays, or press trips.

Editorial direction and final review on Japan Ryokan Guide are handled by the Japan Ryokan Guide editorial team.