hotel reservation - family with kids?

We, a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 kids (7 years old and 4 years old).
What is the best way to make a hotel reservation? 1 triple room or 1 single room and 1 double room
Do they charge for a kid aged 4?

Probably need double with two beds if possible but its probably better with two rooms.
You could also try AirBnB for renting whole apartments and houses for parts of your trip but they tend to have minimums night of stays and restricted cancellation fees.

Hope this helps!!

Have Fun!!

I'm not sure about the hotel rooms, but don't go to AirBnB - I have heard the Japan listings can be very dodgy.

*Most* hotels and ryokan in Japan will allow a child of under 6 yrs to stay for free, if using existing bedding (i.e. there will only be a charge if you want an extra bed for the child).

At ryokan, there are generally 3 or 4 options for a child under 6:
- stay for free if they don't require a separate futon
- stay for a small charge if they require a futon but no meals
- larger charge for a futon and a small child's meal
- larger charge again for a futon and a large child's meal

One option is to go for a twin room in a hotel, and to check the size of the beds. It's common in Japan for the beds in twin rooms to be "semi-double" in size (up to something like 155cm). If the two adults are happy sharing a bed, then the two kids can use the other bed.

However, typical Japanese twin rooms are quite small and so you'll not have much space for 4 people.

Hotel websites in Japan are particularly good at showing room size and bed size, so you can work it out before you book. So is booking.com

Also, you need to double check each hotel's rules. Most use 6 yrs old as the cut off point, but some use younger ages.

There are also conventional triple/quadruple/family rooms in some hotels.