Casual Hotel Reservations

Hello all.

Just thought I'd ask a quick question based on anyones experience.

I'm heading to various major cities in Jpan at the start of October, and wondered how feasible it will be to not book hotels in advance?

Will this significantly affect price and availability?

I want a reasonably flexible Itinerary, and thus would prefer not to book hotels in advance.

Thanks

I'm heading to various major cities in Jpan at the start of October, and wondered how feasible it will be to not book hotels in advance?

It's doable but not really recommended, especially since many hotels have extremely flexible cancellation policies.

Will this significantly affect price and availability?

Yes, it depends on the hotel, but you can often get better rates booking in advance. Also, some places may sell out around October due to the autumn color season.

As yllwsmrf says: you can do it, but you might find it a little more expensive and you might have less choice (if, for example, you want to stay in a particular area of a city).

The extent to which you might clash with Autumn leaf season will, of course, depend on where in Japan you're going, and on what dates.

You may be able to get the staff at the place you're leaving to help you with a phone booking for the place you're going to next. This can be very useful if you don't speak Japanese, and at least then you'll set off on your journey to the next place with the knowledge that you don't have to spend time at your destination finding a hotel for the night.