Opening soon in Japan

A 77-key hotel facing the north gate and gardens of Nijo Castle, on the former residence of the Edo-period Kyoto Shoshidai; it is the second hotel in Shangri-La's Signatures collection. It has a private spa with indoor and outdoor hot baths, an indoor pool, a Chinese restaurant and a kappo-sushi counter, and opens in stages from late 2026.

Hilton's first Conrad in Nagoya, on floors 10, 11 and 31 to 40 of The Landmark Nagoya Sakae tower, with a direct link to Sakae subway station. It opened on 31 July 2026 and is the third Conrad in Japan, after Tokyo and Osaka.

The second HOTEL THE MITSUI, after Kyoto, on 13.5 hectares of former Mitsui family villa land at Kowakudani, two minutes' walk from the Hakone Tozan railway station. Every one of the 126 rooms has a bath fed from the hotel's own hot spring and a balcony or terrace facing Mount Sengen, and the grounds include a sukiya-style villa, Shiki-an, and a swimsuit thermal spring.

A 17-room retreat in the woods of Naka-Karuizawa from Onko Chishin, the operator of the Michelin Key inns Setouchi Retreat Aonagi and Goto Retreat ray. The cooking centres on smoking and ageing, the bar on the scents of forest plants, and the rooms are sold as hotel condominium units.

Four Seasons' first resort in Okinawa, on about 40 hectares of beachfront in Onna on the island's west coast, about 50 km from Naha Airport. The plan spreads hotel rooms, villas and residences across the site with indoor and outdoor pools, a spa and a beach club, and groundbreaking was held in March 2024.

Hoshino Resorts' tenth Hoshinoya and its second in Nara, in Asuka village, where the remains of Japan's seventh-century capitals were inscribed as a World Heritage site in July 2026. All 35 suites are single-storey tiled-roof pavilions of 70 to 260 m² around a stepped garden modelled on rice terraces, and some have stone-chamber baths inspired by the Ishibutai burial mound.

Waldorf Astoria's first hotel in Tokyo, on floors 39 to 47 of the 284 m Tokyo Midtown Nihonbashi tower above Nihombashi Station, with Waldorf Astoria-branded residences on the floors above. It will have three restaurants, the brand's Peacock Alley lounge, an indoor pool and a spa.

The former Hotel Gajoen Tokyo in Meguro, a building of almost a century known for its painted and carved interiors, reopened as Gajoen Tokyo on 27 July 2026 and becomes Hilton's LXR in Tokyo after a phased refurbishment. Its Hyakudan Kaidan, the Hundred-Step Staircase, is a Tokyo-designated Tangible Cultural Property, and the hotel keeps 60 rooms, five restaurants and a spa.

A 272-room Conrad on 16 floors of a new 40-storey tower in Yokohama's Kitanaka-dori district, between the old port quarter and Minato Mirai. It will have four restaurants, an executive lounge, a spa and an indoor pool.

A 165-room resort on about nine acres of forest between Mount Yotei and Mount Annupuri, Fairmont's second hotel in Japan after Fairmont Tokyo. It is planned with hot-spring baths, a spa, two restaurants and a kids' club, and views of Mount Yotei.

The gateway to Mandarin Oriental's three Seto Inland Sea resorts, a 13-storey building on the Takamatsu harbour front next to the station, with a spa and water views across to the islands. Guests are to move between it, the Naoshima ryokan and a later island resort on a private yacht; in July 2026 the developer put the opening back to around spring 2028, citing materials costs.

A 22-room ryokan on Naoshima, the art island of the Chichu Art Museum and Tadao Ando's buildings, set on a site that was the Miyake clan's residence for over 800 years. Suites and villas are split between a new main building and three village houses with their own terraces and gardens.

Hilton's first hotel in Hakone, on a slope in Gora facing Momijidani, a maple valley known for its autumn colour, within walking distance of the Hakone Open-Air Museum and Gora Park. All 94 rooms are at least 50 m² with an open-air hot-spring bath, and some are set aside for guests travelling with dogs.

An 83-room hotel in Okazaki, near Heian Shrine and Nanzen-ji, built around a garden first laid out more than a century ago by the gardener Kumakichi Kato. The site is shared with Tsuruya, a ryotei of about a century that has served the imperial family and state guests, and the rooms have a modern engawa along the windows; construction began in May 2025.

A 61-room hotel on the Miyajimaguchi waterfront, across the strait from Itsukushima Shrine's floating torii gate, about a kilometre from the ferry terminal to Miyajima. It will have a spa, an indoor pool and three restaurants and bars; work on site began in August 2026.

The first Alila in Japan, in the Sengokuhara highlands of Hakone, known for their pampas-grass fields, art museums and views of Mount Kintoki. Each of the 60 rooms has its own natural hot-spring bath, and the low buildings follow the slope of the site.

A new-build hot-spring retreat in the Karuizawa forest with views of Mount Asama, IHG's first Regent resort in Japan, about an hour from Tokyo by shinkansen. Its 58 keys include standalone villas, with an onsen and spa at the centre and a restaurant overlooking the valley.

Dorchester Collection's first hotel in Asia, planned for floors 53 to 58 of Torch Tower, the tower going up beside Tokyo Station that is to be Japan's tallest building. The hotel lobby is planned on the 55th floor.

Raffles' first hotel in Japan, on the upper floors of the rebuilt World Trade Center Building with a direct link to Hamamatsucho Station, looking out to Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge. It is planned with six restaurants and bars, a pool, and a spa with a bathhouse.

A 108-room hotel in two low four-storey buildings overlooking the Tottori Sand Dunes, described as the first five-star resort in the San'in region. Some rooms are planned with open-air baths, and a bridge between the two buildings is to carry a star-gazing deck.

The hotel on floors 52 to 67 of Yokohama Landmark Tower closed in March 2025 for a full rebuild of its rooms, restaurants, spa and club lounge, and reopens under Marriott's Luxury Collection. It keeps the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel name, and the rooms look out from the top of the tower over the port and Minato Mirai.

The Luxury Collection