Hotel vacancies - Japanese v English sites

What does it mean when a hotel offers rooms on its Japanese site but not the English one? Can foreigners book through the Japanese site?

Yes, sure you can book through the Japanese site if you understand what you are actually booking. Note that there is a campaign ongoing only eligible fir residents. So even if you book that, when you come to the hotel you�fll need to pay tge full price. Ie more than you see now on tge Japanese webpage.

You can do it, but be very careful that you understand what you are getting. Japanese hotels have all sorts of special �gplans�h that might surprise you. Among other things, it is legal to offer �glady�fs plans�h over there. Also, there are day-use plans, late check-in plans (that might attract you because of the lower price), and plans that include a can of beer and all-you-can watch soft porn. (Well, they don�ft mention the porn specifically, but these are typically �gmen�fs plans�h with unlimited use of the pay-for-view system.) This recent thing with plans that are available only to residents is something you really have to watch out for. I don�ft know how an online translator would render the pertinent wording for something like that, and it�fs even possible that the wording might be in a banner ad that doesn�ft translate or something.

That said, loads of people do book through Japanese sites and I guess most of them don�ft have any problems at all. I book through Rakuten Japanese myself, but I can read Japanese well enough to understand all the fine print.

During these days when using Japanese websites, you also have to be careful not to sign up for the "Nationwide Travel Discounts" (‘S�‘—·�sŽx‰‡) which are available only to residents of Japan (unless you are a resident of Japan, of course).

Thank you All. I'm happy to pay the ordinary non-resident price if I inadvertently book a wrong price. I'm however wondering why they have vacancies on the Japanese page but none on their English page. Do they have to set aside quotas for the domestic promotion campaign? The hotel I'm looking at is a JR West Hotel.

@Judith,
I noticed a bunch of hotels have just been slow to update their English language hotel websites with availability.

As an example, when I planned my trip to Japan for December 2022, the Royal Park Iconic website had availability on their Japanese website but none on their English website, but they did have availability on Booking/Agoda/the aggregate websites. I was a little peeved because the deal I wanted (which was a later check and earlier check out rate but included breakfast and a dessert plate was on the Japanese website but not Booking.) I waited long enough and it eventually did come to Booking and I booked it.

We were not even close to the only foreigners there.

I also know hotels do give out different hotel room blocks to different websites. The Tokyo Station Hotel was full on Booking the day I arrived but I got a reservation on Agoda. The ryokan I stayed in was full on Agoda and Booking, but still had rooms on Japanican.

So... there really does seem to be some variable in blocks.

If you want to stay there, I would honestly email the hotel. I did that when I was trying to get a package offered only on the Japanese website for the Keihan near USJ in 2016. They responded to the email and gave me the package which included use of the top floor bath, room and breakfast (and Elmo luggage tags I didn't care about.) None of the English plans included use of the bath. I don't know if they just assumed foreigners didn't want to be naked or what. I've also written to TDR about some of their packages, but they don't tend to work for me, because I've been an adult with 1 child, and their packages are really designed around 2 adults and 1 kid.