There are very few good English online reservation engines for Japanese hotels out there. The one I would recommend to most people is Rakuten. It's easy to use, and the search results are comprehensive. Not only can you sort the results by price (most people do), but you can sort them by user rankings. However, I didn't find a good package suit for my family.
The other one I came across is Jalan.net. It provided more packages within the same hotel than Rakuten. The only downside is that it's all in Japanese. I did find an English how-to guide on Jalan.net. It was helpful, but not sufficient. It is a basic guide on how to fill out the online search form; however, the search result is of course in Japanese. The only information I could make out was the total cost. I wasn't willing to jeopardize my family's vacation stay simply based on the dollar amount. I eventually had my Japanese friend help me with booking a hotel in Sapporo. I noticed something quite interesting from booking with Jalan.net. You actually do not pay in advance. Once you make your reservation, you'll receive an email from Jalan to confirm your stay, and that's it. You won't even have to provide your credit card information. The site is operated based on trust. I know it's a bit foreign to North Americans. Believe it or not, that's how things work in Japan.
If you are willing to take a bit of risks, you can try Priceline.com, where not only can you bid on hotels, you can also bid on flights and car rentals. The risk is that you don't know which hotel you'll end up with in advance. If you are traveling with families especially with children, this is probably not the best option for you. Hence, I opted out this option.
I also compared a couple of popular ones that most people use here in Canada like Expedia.ca and Hotels.ca. For the similar packages from the same hotel, the prices are a little higher on these sites. If you are price sensitive, these are not your best bets.
Of course, it doesn't matter which online reservation engine you use, the best way to find out about a particular hotel is to read reviews by real travelers. Before I make a reservation, I always go to TripAdvisor to find out what others say about the hotel.
Things to keep in mind when making a reservation:
- Most prices are quoted per person per night.
- Hotel taxes and charges are included in the price.
- Every hotel has its own cancellation policy. You should always check with the hotel.
I'll do another post on the hotels we stay for our trip, and let you know how they turn out.
