How I decide when to use hotel points, when to pay cash, and which stays are actually worth building a Japan trip around.
Welcome to the Hotel Side of Points
On our latest visit to The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, we were upgraded to a room with a mysteriously large bed. We were swimming!
Like many beginners, I started by covering flights with miles. Later, I realized hotels could be just as powerful - and I wasn’t redeeming for roadside motels, but some of the best properties in Japan.
Here’s exactly how I search for award hotel stays in Japan.
The Tool That Changed Everything
My favorite award tool for hotels: maxmypoint.com
Another tool, another win.
Before modern tools, we searched night by night and brand by brand. Sometimes a 5-night stay showed nothing, but a 3-night stay starting the same day worked.
Every tweak meant starting over.
But not anymore!
If you are new to the points and miles hobby, you are not too late, and if anything, you have more tools and shortcuts than anyone ever had ten years ago.
So now, let’s walk through a typical hotel award search.
Starting with Tokyo & the 5th Night Free
Let’s say you’re traveling in May, and you want to start your trip in Tokyo with a 5-night stay.
Marriott’s Stay for 5, Pay for 4 benefit removes the lowest-priced points night on an eligible booking.
Hilton offers a 5th night free on eligible all-points Standard Room Reward stays for members with Silver status or higher.
Eligible IHG credit cards offer a fourth-night-free benefit on qualifying points stays.
These benefits can stretch your points further, but I’d still compare the full stay totals and take the extra night only if it fits the trip.
A quick search on maxmypoint.com using the free account brings up plenty of options in Tokyo.
Narrowing to Your Points Currency
One of my favorite options lets you filter by brand so you only see hotels you can actually book.
Adjusting the Way You View Results
You can also change the search preference from “popularity” to “points value” and “availability”.
Working with 340k Marriott Points
Now let’s say you have 340k Marriott hotel points (a couple credit card sign-up bonuses will easily hit this number + Chase Ultimate Rewards & Amex Membership points transfer to Marriott).
Let’s squeeze the search to see just Marriott hotels.
Comparing Three Different Hotels
Let’s compare 3 hotels: The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo (ultra-luxury hotel), Mesm Tokyo (high-end hotel), and Aloft Tokyo Ginza (“normal” but comfortable hotel).
Here are the points calendars for May:
These screenshots reflect the prices and availability when I ran this example; check your own dates before booking.
Click to Enlarge
Understanding the Calendar
The blue color indicates a standard room rate on points, meaning that whenever you see 5 blue boxes in a row, those dates are possible for a 5-night award stay.
Finding the Cheapest 5-Night Stretch
After a quick comparison, the cheapest 5-night stretch at The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo is May 4–9 at 506.5k. For Mesm Tokyo, May 3-8 at 282k. For Aloft Tokyo Ginza, May 3-8 at 214k.
How I Calculated Those Totals
How did I get those numbers? You can go to Marriott.com to check actual, real-time award costs, but you can also get an estimate by looking at the calendar: take the five nightly prices, remove the lowest, and total the others.
For The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, for example, out of the 5 nights ranging from 119.5k to 128.5k, you would drop the lowest award night, 119.5k, and add up the other 4 award nights, totaling 506.5k.
Yes, This Is Really Bookable
This is the kind of hotel where the lobby alone makes you walk more slowly -floor-to-ceiling views, white-glove service, and almost always accompanied by live piano music. And hai - this is all possible with points.
If You’re Short on Points
Staying 5 nights at the Ritz would no doubt be unforgettable, but at a whopping 506.5k, you still need another 166.5k.
If your spouse picked up another Marriott card, you could make this work.
If you can’t wait and are willing to use some cash, you could buy Marriott points to offset the 166.5k, which would cost about $2,000. If, in your mind, splurging the points and an average of $400 per night is worth it, this is a direct route you can take.
As you can see from the screenshot below, cash rates are quite high - and you would still be saving close to $3,500 on the 5 nights.
Pro tip: You can buy up to 150k Marriott points per year. Your spouse could purchase the rest and send it to you for free. Also, limited promotions offer discounted Marriott points purchases.
Verify Before You Transfer
Just out of curiosity, I checked the real-time cost of the hotel on points.
The reason being, maxmypoint.com is not always 100% refreshed with the latest rates, so before you transfer points or decide to book, it’s always best to go to the hotel website and double-check real-time award costs.
In this case, the points were not far off at all - MaxMyPoint displayed 506.5k, the Ritz website shows 508k.
If You Don’t Want to Spend More Cash
Now, after going back and forth with your spouse/ travel partner, let’s say you don’t want to spend more money.
That’s totally fair.
So then the options are clear: Mesm Tokyo or Aloft Tokyo Ginza. Keep in mind that, technically, there are at least a dozen more hotels you can afford with points (340k or less for 5 nights).
How I Break a Tie: Breakfast
But for the sake of argument, let’s say you’ve narrowed it down to just these two options.
Where do you go from there?
At this point, I always go to TripAdvisor and read reviews about the breakfast.
Since I have Platinum Elite status with Marriott, most Marriott properties in Japan offer breakfast for my wife and me (Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, and Bvlgari generally don’t include breakfast as a status benefit).
My Hilton Gold status also gets us complimentary breakfast at participating hotels in Japan. And when I book through The Edit by Chase Travel or American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts, daily breakfast for two is included as a booking benefit.
In Japan, hotel breakfasts are events. Beautiful plating, local specialties, real coffee, and unrushed mornings. Getting this free every day can easily save hundreds over a week.
The best hotels always serve breakfast with a view! (Mesm Tokyo)
Unbelievable breakfast at the Osaka Station Hotel - one of the very best lounges
Conrad Tokyo took the “muffin” to a new level! We all agreed this was way better than the menu description led on
Japanese breakfast done right - at Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto
Breakfast is still one of the first things I check. But after our recent Tokyo stays, I also think about what I want the hotel to do for that part of the trip. Will we be out exploring all day, or do we want time to enjoy the restaurants, lounge, and spa? A hotel can have excellent reviews and still be the wrong fit for how we plan to spend our time.
Burn or Save?
If saving ~70k Marriott points is important to you for another part of your trip - maybe you want to have 2 nights somewhere - then, Aloft Tokyo Ginza would be a great option.
Not only would you save 70k, but you would still be in a very central location, and the hotel has very nice reviews - citing modern rooms and a solid breakfast.
As such, the rooms average about $250–$400/night, just a little below the Mesm Tokyo rate.
Before Moving to the Next City
Once the first major stay is secured, it’s worth thinking about how you want to transition between cities.
One of the best ways to do that is by inserting a different kind of stay in between. Adding a cash stay at a ryokan (a traditional inn) or an Airbnb to break up big cities and hotel stays is ideal.
With a ryokan, you’re immersing yourself in Japanese hospitality and traditional food. Often, the best ones are in more rural areas, such as Hakone or near Mount Fuji (both about 1.5 hours by train from Tokyo).
Stepping into nature is also a welcome break after days spent in a bustling city. With Airbnbs, it feels organic to explore a neighborhood and wander into local grocery stores or boutiques. Cooking simple dishes (or reheating depachika premade food) doesn’t sound glamorous, but it can be a fun new way to experience “real” Japan.
Mt. Fuji + Lake Kawaguchi. Absolute Art
Trying to be a photographer…
Nature and art at the famous glass museum in Hakone
On the famouns pirate ship in Hakone, getting some fresh air with Cory
The Day-Trip Trap
Most first-timers to Japan visit the big three: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.
It kills me, though, when people stay in Tokyo and take bullet trains to these cities for day trips.
First of all, that’s very expensive and inefficient. I’ve even heard horror stories from friends who booked one of the final bullet trains leaving Kyoto, only to be hit with a delay - and then - all panic broke out.
They somehow forced their way onto the last train but were left standing for two hours, squeezed by other last-minute passengers.
That. Sounds. Miserable.
So, the better plan would be to actually spend a few days in these cities so you don’t get stuck.
As if Tokyo wasn’t overwhelming enough, Kyoto and Osaka also have so much to offer, even a week would still be too short.
But for a first-time trip, or even a returning trip, five nights should be enough to allow you to explore the city and satisfy that itch for a little bit.
When Your Dream Hotel Isn’t Available
Hyatt Centric Ginza, Tokyo is one of our Hyatt favorites. Stylish and comfy!
Let’s say, on top of the Marriott points, you have a healthy stash of Hyatt points that you intended to use for hotels in Kyoto.
And maybe the exact hotel you had your eye on in Kyoto is available - that’s great, your work here is done.
But what if it isn’t?
Don’t panic. Instead of forcing Kyoto, pivot the search.
Go back to Tokyo and switch programs - this time, narrow your results to Hyatt properties.
Tokyo simply offers more Hyatt options than Kyoto, and you may uncover a hotel that delivers a similar experience to Mesm Tokyo or even the Ritz-Carlton.
My Ideal Tokyo Combo
The renovation at the Park Hyatt Tokyo was well worth the wait. The photo really doesn’t do it any justice.
A quick search reveals two clear winners in my book: Park Hyatt Tokyo, a hotel that rivals The Ritz-Carlton for ultimate luxury, and the more cozy and practical Hyatt House Shibuya Tokyo for exploring.
And yes, it’s that Park Hyatt - cocktails above the city, live music at night, Tokyo glowing below you.
Splurging for a couple of nights at the Park Hyatt sounds very appropriate - let’s do 2 nights for 80k Hyatt points total.
After staying at the renovated Park Hyatt Tokyo, I’d also make sure those two nights include time to actually enjoy the hotel. For us, the spa, restaurants, and room were a substantial part of the experience - not just somewhere to return after sightseeing.
Next, the Hyatt House Shibuya Tokyo for 3 nights - the perfect amount of time to actually walk and explore the buzzing, youthful areas of Shibuya and Shinjuku.
Back to Marriott for Kyoto
After finding potential hotels in Tokyo, you switch gears back to Kyoto and search for Marriott hotels.
Marriott has a large footprint in all three major cities in Japan, so you’d probably find something comparable to the 200k~280k range.
Taking the Middle Ground
Yup, great options as expected.
Much like in Tokyo, you immediately see three categories: The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto (very similar value to The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo), The Westin Kyoto (maybe a touch below Mesm Tokyo but close enough), and Genji Kyoto (Aloft Tokyo level).
So we’ll take the middle ground with The Westin Kyoto to enjoy a posh stay, with 60k Marriott points in our pockets to cover some extra nights somewhere.
Add Buffer Days
So with all the major hotel stays figured out, all that’s left are the fringe days, or “buffer days”.
I’ll explain this in more detail in the next part, Part 3 - Routing, Logistics and Preparing for the Trip, but essentially, it’s always advisable to have a couple of days after you land and a couple of days before you take off to yourself - to recover and recharge.
For these shorter stays, I compare free night certificates, points bookings, and stays paid for with a mix of points and cash through programs such as Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Edit by Chase Travel. Available card credits and included benefits can change which option makes the most sense.
My philosophy is that if anything happens to the flight and I arrive late, I won’t be super upset or heartbroken if I miss these hotel nights.
And if all goes well, I can stay in a comfortable room in a familiar area and gently recharge after a long flight.
On our July trip, the Kimpton Shinjuku worked beautifully as that first-night hotel. Getting there still involved a train and a short taxi ride, but once we arrived, the welcoming atmosphere and excellent in-room dining made it easy to call it a night.
Especially if you aren’t able to snag business or first-class lie-flat seats, you’ll want these buffer days to adjust comfortably rather than going full speed right away.
On our last trip, we took a risk and booked the mesm Tokyo hotel for our first two nights. I swapped the cheaper hotel out once I was 90% certain we’d be on time.
Superb design and lots of character in the small details
The Itinerary Now Complete!
So, here you have it - an ideal itinerary that was hypothetically constructed on our little “points consulting tour”.
5/1 - Depart the U.S. landing in Tokyo 5/2.
5/2-5/4 - Stay in a low-key Marriott using free night certificates 2 nights
5/4-5/6 - Stay 2 nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, 80k total
5/6-5/9 - Since we splurged, let’s stay the rest of the 3 nights in Tokyo at the nearby Hyatt House Tokyo Shibuya (extremely nice for a Hyatt House by the way!) 60k total
5/9-5/12 - We’ll take a break from Tokyo’s metropolis energy and go to Hakone for 3 nights - a ryokan with a sweeping view of Mt. Fuji from their famous outdoor open-air onsen
5/12-5/17 - Now, all refreshed, we take a train down to Kyoto. You were torn between another Ritz-Carlton, The Westin, and Genji Kyoto, but settled for the familiar Westin - costing only 280k for 5 nights, saving $1,800
5/17-5/18 - Return to Tokyo/Yokohama for one night, using some of the remaining 60k Marriott points and/or another free night certificate.
5/18 - Fly home
A 16-night trip to Japan is complete!
The Value of the Redemption
Summary of points and cash used (cash values are conservative estimates):
2 Marriott Free Night Certificates/ equivalent = $500 cash value
140k Hyatt Points/ Chase = $2,000 PH Tokyo + $1,500 HH Shibuya = $3,500 cash value
$750 cash for the ryokan/Airbnb = N/A
280k Marriott points/ Chase or Amex = $1,800 cash value
Final night using points or Free Night certificate = $250 cash value
Approximate cash price of the nights covered by points and certificates: $6,050.
The Real Win
Maybe you can have sushi every night with a bougie nightcap. You’d still have plenty to spend on shopping and tours. Best of all, instead of spending money on a bed, you get to spend it on memories.
Would you take this trip?
I know I would!
Now that you understand award flight and award hotel bookings, on to the final part of the series - The Framework I Use to Plan Every Japan Trip With Points - Part 3: Routing, Logistics, and Preparing for the Trip.
