Japan guide

Stays & baths

Hotel check-in

Check-in in Japan is quick, but there is one step visitors don't always expect: if you don't live in Japan, the hotel asks to see your passport and keeps a copy. That is a national rule, not the hotel's choice.

12 steps · 3 common mistakes· Show in Japanese (3)
A bright hotel lobby with a front desk at the back and sofas to one side.

Photo: Ka23 13 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

At the front desk

At a hotel front desk, a guest with a suitcase hands over a passport; the staff member behind the counter has a key card ready.

Step by step

  1. Go to the front desk (フロント) and say you have a booking — the line below helps.

  2. Show your booking on your phone.

  3. Hand over your passport. Guests without an address in Japan have their nationality and passport number recorded, and the hotel copies the passport.

  4. Fill in the guest card if you are given one.

  5. Pay any local accommodation tax if your city charges one.

  6. Take your key or key card, and ask about breakfast times.

Common mistakes

  • Being surprised that the hotel copies your passport — it is required for overseas guests.

Good to know: Check-in time is usually in the afternoon. It is written in your booking.

Leaving your bags

At a luggage counter, a traveller hands over a large suitcase and a filled-in shipping form; a van is drawn on the sign.

Step by step

  1. Arrived before check-in time? Ask the front desk to keep your bags.

  2. Take the tag or ticket they give you.

  3. After check-out, most hotels keep bags for the rest of the day too.

Good to know: Many hotels can also send your suitcase to your next hotel — see the luggage page.

In the room

A person in a ryokan room ties a yukata with the left side over the right; a futon is laid out on the tatami.
  • Key card slot by the door: put the card in to turn the lights on.
  • Slippers and, at many hotels and ryokan, a cotton robe (yukata) are yours to use during the stay.
  • Tap water in Japan is safe to drink.
  • Walls can be thin — keep your voice down at night.

Common mistakes

  • Taking the slippers into the bathroom — there may be separate toilet slippers.

Checking out

Step by step

  1. Check the check-out time in your booking — usually in the morning.

  2. Return the key at the front desk, or drop it in the key box.

  3. Pay any extras (drinks from the fridge, late check-out).

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the key card in the slot and walking off with no receipt for the extras.

On HAKOBUNE Spot

Places to stay that list their check-in times in your language.

See all places

Sources

Sources (checked 2026-11-05). Facts, numbers and prices on this page come from these official pages.

  1. Local government宿泊者名簿の記載等について（神奈川県）Japanese(opens in a new tab)Kanagawa Prefecture: filling in hotel guest registers
  2. Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)Japan Travel Planning(opens in a new tab)JNTO: official Japan travel planning pages
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