4-Star Hotels in Nara Prefecture, Japan

My stay at Nono Hotel Nara was excellent overall. The hotel is right next to JR Nara Station, making it super convenient for getting around. The lobby has an authentic Japanese style, where you need to take off your shoes and they provide clean socks, which adds a nice touch to the experience. Although the room wasn't huge, it was well-designed, clean, and tidy, with a comfortable bed. The biggest highlight was the natural hot spring on the first floor, featuring both indoor and outdoor pools. After a soak, you can even enjoy free ramen and ice cream! Breakfast offered a wide variety of choices and tasted great. The only minor downside is that being close to the station, you might hear some train noise early in the morning. All in all, it's great value for money and highly recommended for anyone visiting Nara.

The room was spacious, and the hot spring was wonderfully uncrowded and relaxing. Everything was very clean. There's free ice cream in the lobby, which was a nice treat after a hot spring soak! The hotel is conveniently located near tourist attractions, and it's about a ten-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station. The service was excellent, and there's free coffee and tea bags available in the lobby. The only downside was that the room wasn't very warm. In winter, cold air seeped in near the windows, and even with the air conditioning set to 30 degrees, it still felt a bit chilly.

Everything was excellent! This is our second visit this year, and the hot spring pools were fantastic as well.

The hotel boasts an excellent location, conveniently close to Nara Kintetsu Station and surrounded by numerous restaurants offering a diverse range of food options. It's also very near Nara Park, where you can easily spot the deer with just a short walk. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful, and the meals served were also of good quality. A minor point for improvement would be the hallway carpets, which could use more frequent cleaning. The onsen (hot spring) facilities were also excellent and very clean. However, the mineral concentration of the hot spring water felt a bit low!

This is a self-service chain hotel where guests handle check-in, luggage storage, and check-out all through machines. The self-service kiosks offer various language options, making it convenient even for first-time users. The lobby is cozy and features illustrated recommendations for nearby restaurants and shops. In front of the elevators, there's a row of bookshelves for guests to browse. The room amenities are typical of a standard business hotel.

Hygiene: Yellow stains that had not been cleaned were found on the toilet Environment: Halfway up Mount Wakakusa, isolated from the outside noise. The overall design style is modern Japanese. If you want to experience pure Japanese living, you should pay attention to the difference Service: The service is still worthy of praise. The driver and front desk staff are very enthusiastic. They helped arrange the car to go up the mountain in the morning. It was very lucky to see 👀 deer🦌 on a rainy day Food: Most of the food arranged is made from local ingredients in Nara. The ingredients are not gorgeous, the taste is OK, and it is more down-to-earth

We went by car! There was a parking lot where guests could park for free. The location was also great, as it was only about a 15-minute walk to Todaiji Temple. We booked a room with dinner and breakfast included, and both were delicious and very satisfying (;;) They provided petit cakes in the evening, which we enjoyed eating while doodling in our memory notebook! They even have a hot spring! The inside of the hotel was very clean, and everything was great, so we were very satisfied! If I come to Nara again, I'd love to stay here!

Excellent location, right next to Nara JR Station, which is super convenient for travelers with luggage. After dropping off our bags, we easily walked through Sanjo-dori to Kofuku-ji Temple and Nara Park, passing by various shops and restaurants along the way. The hotel's self check-in and check-out machines were very efficient, even printing our breakfast vouchers automatically. The room size was just right, and the facilities were quite new. Highly recommend this hotel!

We stayed at Mikasa Ryokan (万葉若草の宿 三笠旅館) in Nara, and overall it was a great experience — but there are definitely some things you should know and plan for in advance. 🏞 1. Location & Transportation The ryokan is located halfway up Mount Wakakusa, with beautiful views over Nara city — the scenery is stunning, especially at night. But getting up and down the mountain isn’t very convenient. At first, I thought the location was right near Todai-ji Temple and would be easy to access. Turns out: The mountain road is very narrow and winding, and it actually takes longer than expected. According to the staff, walking up the mountain is not allowed. There's a gate, and the staff inside don’t permit people to walk up. Luckily, the hotel offers a shuttle bus up the mountain, but you should arrange it with the hotel in advance. Once you’re at the ryokan, getting out isn’t very easy either. Even if you want to take a taxi, you need to book it in advance — it’s not like calling a cab from the street. So I’d recommend planning your itinerary carefully before you arrive. While Todai-ji Temple, Nara Park, and Kasuga Taisha are technically just at the bottom of the mountain, they’re not within walking distance from the hotel, so you’ll still need transport. 🛌 2. Room Experience We booked the Japanese-style room with a private open-air bath. I did quite a bit of research before booking: Sites like *********** say the room is about 28 sqm (307 sq ft) But Ctrip listed it as 56 sqm, which was confusing After checking in, I think 28 sqm is probably just the indoor area, and 56 sqm includes the balcony, private onsen, and garden area. The room is traditional Japanese-style with tatami floors and a low table in the center. In the evening, while we were out having dinner, staff came in and set up our futon beds for the night — a really nice touch. This was our first time sleeping on Japanese futons. It was surprisingly comfortable, and the room temperature was perfect. If you're traveling with kids, this type of setup could be extra fun. 3. Onsen Experience We tried both the public onsen and the private one in our room: The public bath areas are located on the first and second floors, with men’s and women’s baths alternating daily. They include both indoor and outdoor hot spring pools. The water is hot — after about 10 minutes, we felt totally warm and relaxed. The private bath in the room was also very enjoyable. The garden had high fences and trees for privacy, and the tub was perfectly sized for two people. 🍱 4. Meals We booked a plan that included both dinner and breakfast. One important thing to note — you need to confirm your dinner time with the hotel before arrival, because if you arrive after 7 PM, you might miss dinner. Dinner is served in private dining rooms, which gave us a cozy and quiet atmosphere. The food was beautifully presented and very Japanese — including Wagyu beef and sukiyaki. Breakfast was also very traditional — grilled fish, rice, and various small dishes. Personally, I prefer something lighter for breakfast, and there was no coffee, bread, or buns included. If you want coffee, you can get it later in the lounge near the lobby.