Editorial policy

Ryokan Finder is published by Aioli LLC and run by Meg Faibisch Kühn. This page sets out how we choose inns, how we check what we say about them, which photos we use, how we are paid, and how we correct mistakes.

How inns are chosen

The directory lists 260 ryokan and ryokan-style inns. An inn is on the site because we think it is worth a stay, whether or not one of our partners sells it. Chain and business hotels are not added. When we add an inn, we confirm that the booking listing we link to is that inn and not a property with a similar name.

Inns cannot pay to be listed, ranked or featured. Best-of lists are drawn from the directory by place, season or style, and each list’s rule is on how we choose and check ryokans.

How facts are checked

For 224 inns we have checked facts on the inn’s official website: in-room onsen, private baths taken in turns, tattoo rules, children, meal plans, where dinner is served, check-in and check-out, and the nearest station. For a few inns the facts come instead from the official site of the group that runs the inn, or of the local onsen association, and the inn page says which.

Each checked record keeps the date we read it, whose site it came from and, for almost every inn, the exact page, and a fact taken from a more specific page keeps that page too. On the inn page, the line under Key facts links to the source and gives the check date. Where the site does not state something, we record that it was checked and not stated, and show nothing, rather than guess.

Itinerary travel times, fares and pass prices each cite their source and the date it was read. A time or fare no source gives is left out, and the page says so.

What is checked, and what is background

An inn page’s Key facts and its questions and answers use only checked facts, our own price tier (Budget, Mid-range, Premium, Luxury) and, where the inn publishes one, its lowest rate per person with dinner and breakfast.

The rest of an inn page, such as its description, history, bath and room lists, dining notes and tips, comes from our catalog. The catalog has not been checked line by line against each inn’s site, so read it as background and confirm anything that matters with the inn before you book.

We do not show review scores. The score in our catalog has no review count or source we can cite, so it is used only to order lists.

“Updated” on a best-of page is the latest date any of its inns, their checked facts or its travel notes changed in our data. A journal post’s “Last updated” date changes only when its content does.

Photos

We use only photos we are allowed to use, and credit every one that needs it:

• Inn photos come from the inn’s own photo set on Agoda, which our affiliate agreement covers. We do not copy photos from other booking or review sites.
• Other photos are under an open licence (Creative Commons, credited to the photographer with the licence), or used with the written permission of the inn or owner, credited as they ask.
• Photos credited to Meg Faibisch Kühn are her own. They show places near inns, never an inn itself.

How affiliate links work

Ryokan Finder is paid through affiliate links. When you click a booking button and then book, the booking site may pay us a commission, at no extra cost to you. You book and pay with the booking site, never with us. Our booking partners today are Agoda and Stay22; Agoda is the main button on most inn pages. Tours, passes and eSIMs link to Klook, KKday, Airalo, Yesim, Saily, Tiqets, and Go City through Travelpayouts. If you accept cookies, a Travelpayouts script may also turn some ordinary links into affiliate links.

Paid links are marked as sponsored for search engines. Where no partner sells an inn, we link to the inn’s own website, which earns us nothing.

Commission does not decide which inns we list or the order of a list. The one place it touches a list is its first booking button: if the top inn cannot be booked through a partner, the highest-placed inn that can moves to first place, and the rest keep their order. More on how we make money.

Corrections

If something on the site is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] with the page and what needs fixing, or use the “Report an error” link at the bottom of any inn page. A link to the inn’s own site helps.

We check each report against the inn’s official site or another primary source before changing anything. When a checked fact changes, its record takes the new source and check date, and the inn page shows them. Inns and partners can report errors the same way, but cannot buy a change to a list or a page.