Japan is this Guide’s favorite country to travel around. There is so much to experience and eat and it’s so well connected. If you’re familiar with Japan, it can be very affordable, especially right now. But hotels are one category that have always tended to be more expensive in Japan, unless you want to sleep in a big room on the floor with lots of people, or alone but in a tiny tiny room. So searching for deals on hotels in Japan becomes important if you want a big hotel room but need to save money for matcha soft serve and Hibiki 21 year old whisky. I’ve consistently had good luck finding hotel deals in Japan on Agoda. I’ll explain some of the ins and outs of the site below.
This article contains affiliate links for Agoda because I used it for all of my hotel bookings in Japan recently and it definitely saved me money and time. I’d use it again.
Saving money on nice Kyoto hotels is not normal
When I stayed at the Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu, I saved around $70 USD for a two-night stay by booking with Agoda vs the hotel’s website. And this was in the spring, just after peak cherry-blossom season.
The Nohga is a beautiful hotel. I’ll do a full review on the stay coming up. Not only is it close to Kiyomizudera, but it also has a purpose-built meditation room, as well as a bakery in the lobby and an open air bar on the roof with fire pits so you can watch the sunset behind Kyoto’s hills.
Below I’ll explain some of the things to look for on Agoda that helped me line up that discount for the Nohga Hotel.
The double room is the smallest at the Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu but very comfortably designed. The extended bathroom vanity also covered the fridge and created an open space for the tea pot, with plenty of extra space. Also pictured above is the bread table at the breakfast buffet in the Nohga’s restaurant, as well as their meditation room, designed in collaboration with nearby Rinzai Zen temple, Kennin-ji.
Grab discounts on Agoda when you sign-up / download the app
If you have flexibility in your schedule, catching some time-sensitive deals can work well with Agoda. They regularly send out coupons. Also take advantage of bonuses when you make your first booking and when you download the app.
Don’t download the app until you’re ready to book. They usually give you a larger discount offer right when you download the app, but at least for me, it had a countdown clock on it.
Some more Agoda tips:
Use their booking calendar like you can see in the above photo for Kyoto’s Good Nature Hotel. It shows the days that are cheaper or more expensive.
You can also find last-minute deals, which can be a more affordable way to enjoy some onsen resorts.
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