Every Three-Key Stay in Japan
Three MICHELIN Keys is the top of the ladder — the hotel equivalent of three Stars. Just 7 stays in Japan hold it, and they are a deliberately mixed bunch: centuries-old ryokan, a pair of Tokyo towers, a Kyoto landmark and one onsen resort. Here is the whole list, and what puts each of them at the very top.
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The ryokan at the top
Two of the three-Key houses are traditional ryokan, and they are the rarest thing on the list: Asaba, a five-century-old inn with a Noh stage over its pond in Izu, and Gora Kadan in Hakone, which is also a Relais & Châteaux member. That a 500-year-old ryokan and a glass Tokyo tower can share the same top rating tells you exactly how broad the Key is.
The towers, a landmark and a resort
The rest are hotels and a resort. Palace Hotel Tokyo, Four Seasons at Otemachi and Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo hold the top tier in the capital; HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO does the same beside Nijo Castle; and Amanemu, Aman's onsen resort on Ago Bay, is the only three-Key house on the water. See how the Keys spread across the whole catalogue below.
The three-Key stays
Check rates at Gora Kadan
Listed alphabetically. Prices and cancellation terms differ between them, and this page does not see either — it is worth opening more than one.
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Is a three-Key stay always the most expensive?
Not necessarily. The Key rates the stay, not the price — some three-Key ryokan cost less per night than a one-Key auberge with a famous kitchen. The most expensive stays and the three-Key stays overlap, but they are not the same list.
Compare the wider award field in the One-Key guide and Two-Key guide before paying only for the top tier.
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