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Japanese for hotels and ryokan: check in smoothly, and complain without sounding rude

ReviewAnswered out loud

At the front desk · say it in Japanese

Ask what time breakfast starts.

You said

Understandable

Correct Japanese? Yes

Sounds natural? Not quite

Grammatical, but 始まりますか sounds like asking about an event. For opening hours, Japanese asks 何時から.

More natural

AgainHardGoodEasy

Kiko suggests a grade and brings the natural version back until it's the one you say.

Right, but not natural — the gap no textbook marks. Kiko catches it on every card you say out loud.

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At check-in in Japan, (I have a reservation) and your name are usually all you need, and staff will then ask for your passport. The phrases below cover luggage and Wi-Fi, ryokan dinners and baths, and how to raise a problem with your room politely, where does the heavy lifting.

Updated · 18 phrases, each with its reading and JLPT level

What you'll learn

  • The check-in exchange, start to finish
  • How a ryokan's dinner, bath and futon timetable works
  • The one sentence ending that makes a complaint polite
  • Phrases for anything wrong with the room

Checking in

Staff will usually open with — do you have a reservation? and your name is the whole answer.

Visitors without an address in Japan have to show a passport at check-in, and the hotel will copy it, so keep it handy: you'll hear .

Hotels will hold your bags before check-in and after checkout, and can send luggage ahead to your next hotel or the airport by courier (宅配便) — one of the most useful services in Japan if you're moving around by train.

Spot the mistake

3 slips almost everyone makes here. Can you catch them before Kiko does?

This is how a practice conversation in Kiko goes. Each learner line below has one mistake in it — the kind you won't hear yourself make. Tap the part you'd fix, and watch how Kiko marks it without stopping the conversation.

At the front deskKiko plays the receptionist

1 / 3

Welcome. Do you have a reservation?

Learner

Meant: Yes, I have a reservation. It's Smith.

Something's off. Tap the part you'd fix.

At the front desk

Everything you'll need between arriving and heading out for the day.

  • JLPT N5

    I'd like to check in.

    They'll ask for your passport next: .

  • JLPT N4

    I have a reservation.

    Add to state the nights.

  • JLPT N4

    What time is checkout?

    Usually 10時 or 11時; ryokan are often earlier.

  • JLPT N3

    Could you hold my luggage?

    Works before check-in and after checkout.

  • JLPT N4

    Could you tell me the Wi-Fi password?

    They'll often just hand you a card with it printed.

  • JLPT N5

    What time does breakfast start?

    〜から / 〜まで pair: ask both to get the window.

  • JLPT N3

    I'd like to send my luggage.

    Hotels arrange 宅配便 to your next hotel or the airport.

Staying at a ryokan

A ryokan runs on a timetable. Shoes come off at the entrance, where staff may keep them for you, and you'll usually be asked at check-in which dinner time you'd like — dinner is served in set slots, not whenever you arrive.

While you're at dinner, staff often lay out the futon in your room. The baths may have set hours, and at many ryokan the men's and women's baths swap over at night, so check the sign on the curtain every time.

Smaller ryokan and guesthouses may lock the door at night (門限). If you'll be out late, tell them before you go.

Dinner, baths and futons

Ryokan staff are used to guests asking; these questions are expected, not a bother.

  • JLPT N4

    What time is dinner?

    Ryokan dinner slots are fixed; you usually pick at check-in.

  • JLPT N3

    Until what time can I use the bath?

    Many ryokan swap the men's and women's baths at night.

  • JLPT N3

    Could you lay out the futon?

    At ryokan staff usually do it during dinner — no need to ask.

  • JLPT N4

    I'll be back a bit late tonight.

    Important at ryokan and guesthouses with a curfew (門限).

  • JLPT N3

    Can I stay one more night?

    泊 is the night counter: 一泊, 二泊, 三泊.

Try it now · 30 seconds

Your turn. Answer Kiko.

Kiko speaks first. Answer out loud — really out loud — before you peek. Producing it cold is the skill a page can't train.

Welcome.

You

Say: “I'd like to check in.”

Raising a problem politely

The key is on the end of the sentence. states a fact, flatly. means roughly "the hot water doesn't seem to be working…" and leaves the sentence open for the staff to offer help — which they will.

If you want something changed, give the reason first and the request second. Asking to change rooms out of nowhere sounds demanding; saying the room is cold and then asking sounds entirely reasonable.

When something's wrong with the room

Swap the noun and verb to cover almost anything that isn't working.

  • JLPT N4

    My room is cold.

    んですが softens a complaint — never state it flatly.

  • JLPT N4

    There's no hot water.

    Same pattern for 電気がつかない, 水が流れない.

  • JLPT N3

    The air conditioner won't turn on.

    Staff may come to the room; 見てもらえますか asks them to check.

  • JLPT N3

    Could I change rooms?

    Give a reason first; a bare request sounds demanding.

  • JLPT N3

    I've lost my key.

    Apologise first: .

  • JLPT N4

    Is there a washing machine?

    Guesthouses often have coin laundry: コインランドリー.

Practise it out loud

Reading a phrase and saying it with someone waiting are different things. In these scenes Kiko plays the other person and opens with the line below; you answer out loud, and Kiko marks what to fix without stopping the conversation.

  • Checking into a business hotel

    JLPT N4
    Answer Kiko in this scene

  • Checking into a ryokan

    JLPT N4
    Answer Kiko in this scene

  • Ryokan dinner and futon

    JLPT N5–N4
    Answer Kiko in this scene

  • A problem with your room

    JLPT N3
    Answer Kiko in this scene

Questions

Do I need to show my passport when checking into a hotel in Japan?
Yes, if you don't have an address in Japan. Hotels are required to record foreign guests' passport details, so they'll ask to see it and take a copy.
Should I tip at a ryokan?
It isn't expected. Service is included in the price, and a sincere thank-you to the staff at checkout is the usual gesture.
What does 門限 mean?
門限 is a curfew: the time the door is locked for the night. It's common at smaller ryokan, minshuku and some guesthouses, so ask about it at check-in if you plan to be out late.

Now you know what to say

Here's why it still won't come out — and how to fix that

  • You read the phrase, nod, and forget it by the time you land.

    Review you say out loud

    The phrases you practise come back in spaced review — and you answer by speaking, not by flipping a card.

  • You know the line, but go blank when someone's actually waiting.

    Voice roleplay

    Kiko plays the other person — the waiter, the station staff, the ryokan host — so you say it out loud, with a reply coming back, before it counts.

  • The guide can't tell you what you got wrong.

    Corrections that don't stop you

    Say it wrong and the conversation keeps going. Afterwards, Kiko shows the exact particle or ending to fix.

  • Real people don't follow the script.

    Replies you didn't expect

    Kiko answers in natural Japanese and asks the follow-up questions real staff ask, so the second line doesn't catch you out.

  • Practice feels like a chore you'll drop after a week.

    No streaks, no guilt

    No streaks to lose and no nagging reminders. Ten minutes when you have them, and everything is still there when you come back.

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