A discount just for living, working, or studying in Tokyo? We’ll take it!
Travel in Japan isn’t always cheap, but it can be a bit easier on your wallet if you know where to look. Our Japanese-language reporter Mariko Ohanabata has a pretty good tip for you if you live, study, or work within one of the 23 main wards of Tokyo. Just by being a resident, student, or employee, you may be eligible for deals on hotels in places like Hakone, Karuizawa, and Izu!
These recreational facilities or retreat centers, known as hoyoujo in Japanese, start at a mostly reasonable 5,000 yen (US $38.89) to 10,000 yen (US $77.78) per night, and guests can enjoy perks like onsen baths, delicious course meals, and great views of nature. There are also occasionally places that feature famous architecture and facilities like swimming pools. It all depends on where you live!
▼ Here’s an example of where to find the info (this is Shinjuku’s page):
One drawback is that this information can be pretty hard to find on each ward’s homepage (and you should have a fairly good grasp of Japanese to figure out reservations), so Mariko summarized all of the information she could find for many of the 23 wards, along with some of their social media accounts. Note that this info is up to date as of April 2022:
Chiyoda Ward
Mereezu Karuizawa (Karuizawa)
Open exclusively to Chiyoda-ku residents, students, and employees
Chiyoda-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Chuo Ward
Villa Motosu (Kawaguchi-ko)
Open to anyone (discount for Chuo-ku residents and employees)
Chuo-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Izu Kogen-sou (Izu)
Open to anyone (discount for Chuo-ku residents and employees)
Chuo-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Minato Ward
Ohiradai Minato-sou (Hakone)
Open exclusively to Minato-ku residents, students, and employees
Minato-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Shinjuku Ward
Hakone Tsutsuji-sou (Hakone)
Open to anyone (discount for Shinjuku-ku residents)
Shinjuku-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Green Hill Yatsugatake (Yamanashi)
Open to anyone (discount for Shinjuku-ku residents)
Shinjuku-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ Shinjuku Tweeted about these, so check your ward’s Twitter account for information, too!
Bunkyo Ward
Shiki no Sato Yakushi Onsen Yamabiko-sou (Uonuma, Niigata)
Open to anyone (discount for Bunkyo-ku residents, students, and employees)
Bunkyo-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ Here’s a peek at the inside of this facility
Shinagawa Ward
Shinagawa-sou (Ito, Shizuoka)
Open to anyone (discount for Shinagawa-ku residents, students, and employees)
Shinagawa-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Kourin-sou (Nikko)
Open to anyone (discount for Shinagawa-ku residents, students, and employees)
Shinagawa-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Ota Ward
Recreation Village Tobu (Tomi, Nagano)
Open to anyone (discount for Ota-ku residents, students, and employees)
Ota-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ It looks like this place has amazing food.
Setagaya Ward
Setagaya Kumin Health Village (Tone, Gunma)
Open to anyone (discount for Setagaya-ku residents, students, and employees)
Setagaya-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Shibuya Ward
Ninotaira Shibuya-sou (Hakone)
Open exclusively to Shibuya-ku residents, students, and their guests
Shibuya-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Kawazu Sakura no Sato Shibuya (Kawazu, Shizuoka)
Open exclusively to Shibuya-ku residents, students, and their guests
Shibuya-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ You may recognize “Kawazu” from the famous pink Kawazu cherry blossoms.
Suginami Ward
Conifer Iwabitsu (Agatsuma, Gunma)
Open to anyone (discount for Suginami-ku residents)
Suginami-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ We’re loving the log cabin aesthetic.
Yumigahama Club (Minami-Izu)
Open to anyone (discount for Suginami-ku residents)
Suginami-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Fukushima-ken Kitashiobara-mura (this applies to a number of places in this town, so take a look!)
Open exclusively to Suginami-ku residents, students, and their guests
Suginami-ku homepage, retreats homepage
Toshima Ward
Yamanaka-ko Shuuzanso (Yamanashi)
Open to anyone (discount for Toshima-ku residents, students, and employees)
Toshima-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ This one is great for romantic evenings.
Inawashiro Shiki no Sato (Inawashiro, Fukushima)
Open to anyone (discount for Toshima-ku residents, students, and employees)
Toshima-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ This is the perfect place to get your nature fix.
Kita Ward
Kanra Furusato-kan (Kanra, Gunma)
Open to anyone (discount for Toshima-ku residents, students, employees, and their families)
Kita-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Arakawa Ward
Hotel Green Pearl Nasu (Nasu, Tochigi)
Open to anyone (discount for Toshima-ku residents, students, employees, and their relatives within three degrees)
Arakawa-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Edogawa Ward
Hotaka-sou (Azumino, Nagano)
Open to anyone (discount for Edogawa-ku residents, employees, and family members that live with them)
Edogawa-ku homepage, retreat homepage
Shiozawa Edogawa-sou (Minamiuonuma, Niigata)
Open to anyone (discount for Edogawa-ku residents, employees, and family members that live with them)
Edogawa-ku homepage, retreat homepage
▼ Edogawa residents have this to look forward to.
While each ward’s rules differ slightly, many state that you need to enter a lottery for the discount or reservation to apply, but you often need to enter the lottery several months in advance for on-season periods like the year-end holidays or weekends. Off-season dates can be pretty easy to reserve, though!
Besides these exclusive retreats, there are also big-name hotels like Prince Hotel that cooperate with different Tokyo Wards to provide discounts to residents. For example, Minato Ward residents can get a discount on Prince Hotel Atagawa in Izu! To see which deals are available for the ward you live, work, or study in, search for the hoyoujo (保養所) information on the ward’s homepage.
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