Last updated: July 17, 2026

Japan Hotel Guide (japanhotelguide.com) is an independent, reader-supported website. This page explains exactly how the site earns money, so you can read every guide knowing where I stand.

What are affiliate links?

Some links on this site are affiliate links to hotel booking platforms such as Booking.com, Agoda and Expedia. If you click one of these links and make a booking, I may earn a small commission from the booking platform. You never pay more by using these links — the price you see is exactly the same as if you had visited the booking site directly.

How this affects my recommendations

It doesn’t, and here is my promise:

  • Hotels cannot pay to appear in my guides. There are no sponsored placements, and no hotel has ever been included because of a commission.
  • I recommend hotels I would book myself — based on location, value, cleanliness and how easy they are for international visitors.
  • Commission rates never decide rankings. If a hotel with no affiliate program is the best choice for an area, I will still recommend it.
  • Negative points are kept in. If a hotel has thin walls or a confusing check-in, I say so.

How to recognise affiliate links

Booking buttons and hotel name links inside hotel guides are generally affiliate links. Articles containing them carry a short disclosure notice, and this page is linked from the footer of every page on the site.

Why I use affiliate links

Running this site costs money — hosting, tools and a lot of research time. Affiliate commissions keep the site free to read, with no paywall and no sponsored posts. If you find my guides useful and book through one of my links, thank you: it directly supports independent, honest travel writing.

Regulatory note

This disclosure is provided in accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255) and similar consumer-protection rules in other countries.

Questions?

If anything on this page is unclear, please get in touch — I read every message.