Hyatt Regency Hakone Resort and Spa

Travelers to (and within) Japan know the Hyatt name means something special here. There’s the famous Park Hyatt in Tokyo, of course, and a number of fine Grand Hyatts all around the country. Located in Gora, a hot spring town at the foot of Mount Fuji, an hour and a half to the west of Tokyo, the Hyatt Regency Hakone is exceptional for being an international-style luxury hotel in the rural spa territory ordinarily reserved for Japan’s traditional inns.

And though a ryokan it most certainly isn’t, there’s a fair bit of old-world Japanese flavor about the Regency, including a number of tatami rooms and suites for those guests who are looking for a traditional experience. Both the Western-style and the tatami rooms and suites are large and exceedingly well-equipped — the best come with jetted tubs, with balconies that look out over the mountain views, and even the twin rooms are comfortably oversized.

As for the location, make no mistake, this is a resort hotel — you’ll have to get comfortable with the hotel’s restaurants, for one, as there’s no town to skip off to for dinner. But it’s more than worth it for the spa, with its hot-spring onsen baths, and for its surroundings, including the ancient shrine at Hakone-Jinja.