Editorial & ad policy

Advertising

Pages on this site carry affiliate links. If you book through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Every page that contains one is labelled at the top.

What commission does not decide

Which five places appear, and in what order they are presented, is set by the scoring described in How we choose. Commission rates are not an input. We use earnings for one thing only: deciding which themes are worth expanding.

No rankings, no superlatives

We do not number the five or call any of them the best, because we cannot verify such a claim across every property in Japan. One entry is marked “If you can’t decide” — that is the highest total score, and the score is shown.

Prices

Prices are ranges taken from live availability on the dates we checked, and the date of the check is printed. They move daily. Always confirm on the booking page before you book.

Guest reviews

Guest comments are reproduced exactly as the booking site returns them, with a link to the full set. We do not copy reviews from other review sites, and we do not edit them.

Updates

Each guide is reviewed within 90 days of its last update. Changes to the five are listed at the bottom of the guide, with the date and reason.