Japan ranks as one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit. For travelers planning a trip to Japan they will certainly notice how expensive hotel costs are over there. But you can easily find more affordable and even budget hotels and charming Ryokans (guesthouses) in Japan if you know which company to choose to book online for Japanese hotels.
Rakuten Travel Inc. is one such company where you can find discounted hotel rates in most of Japan. These days almost everyone makes their own travel reservations through Internet travel agencies. And they will usually head for the most well known companies out there with names like Priceline.com or Travelocity.com. But you won’t find the best room rates through their services. Though they are reputable companies they do not specialize in any region and their reservation services are too general and not focused on the Asian hotel market.
While Rakuten only deals with hotels and hotels only. So whether you need an affordable business hotel in Kyoto or a rustic Ryokan in Osaka, you will find that their services are much more specialized.
Since Rakuten Travel specifically connects travelers with Japan’s hotel market they are able to offer up to date low hotel rates through the 24,000 accommodation listings in the country. With so many choices of lodging Rakuten makes it easy for travelers to find the right lodging that fits their budgetary needs.
They are also able to provide hotel reservation services in China, Korea and Southeast Asia, in all a total of 47,000 hotels. Though their rates for those regions are not as competitive but certainly worth checking through for price comparisons.
Is Rakuten Travel’s a reliable hotel agency?
Rakuten (established in 2002) operates the country’s largest online hotel reservation website with 200 employees. They are also a publicly traded company on the Japanese stock market. With offices in Tokyo and Osaka, Rakuten is closely linked with the country’s hotel industry. They handle almost 2 million hotel bookings per month. Today they are partnered with All Nippon Airways to simplify travel planning to Japan.
How does Rakuten offer better rates than book hotel directly?
Hotel reservation agencies like Rakuten are hotel room wholesalers. Since they have a much wider presence on the Internet than any specific hotel they are more easily found by travelers planning a trip to Japan. Since hotels, whether small or big, knows that Rakuten can provide their property a greater presence on the Internet they partner themselves with Rakuten, by offering significantly discounted room rates to them. So whenever you book a room through their website you will receive those discounts as well.