The New Sustainable Hotels to Check into in 2026 - Japan

Date :Feb 26, 2026

These top-tier stays are tailor-made for mindful travelers.

A fine hotel does more than provide creature comforts – it shapes how we experience a place. Increasingly, the world’s best hotels are also the most sustainable, designed to protect the landscapes and cultures that make travel meaningful.

This year, a fresh crop of hotels is leading the way by giving travelers the chance to surround themselves with preserved architectural heritage, wild landscapes, and diverse cultures. Here, the sustainable hotels inspiring our next journeys, from Japan’s ancient Kansai region to Montana’s Big Sky wilderness.

Capella Kyoto, Japan

(opening in March 2026)

By channeling the exquisite simplicity of a wooden machiya – a traditional townhouse – the 89-room Capella Kyoto , opening in March, pays tribute to its location in Kyoto’s storied Miyagawa-cho district. Efforts to honor and sustain local culture began with its ground-up build, which incorporated materials rescued from the recently renovated Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theater. Just outside the hotel, a gallery displays images of the elementary school that once occupied the site, providing a bridge between old and new Kyoto.

Ties to the local community extend to the hotel’s only-in-Kyoto experiences for travelers, including meditation sessions with Kenninji Temple monks and on-site performances by the geiko (local geisha) and maiko (geiko apprentices) who have drawn visitors to this district for centuries. With a focus on Kyoto’s traditional handicrafts, Capella Curates programming builds on those powerful connections. Guests can step onto ancient streets to visit a workshop where artisans have crafted wooden sandals for 150 years, or join an urushi (natural lacquer) master to learn the slow art of Japanese lacquerware.

-> Book with Luxe Travel to receive breakfast daily, a $100 dining credit and more.

Waldorf Astoria Osaka: The Urban Oasis

When the 252-room Waldorf Astoria Osaka opened last spring in the heart of the new Grand Green Osaka park, it brought the brand’s celebrated sensibility to a sustainable urban oasis designed for osampo, the Japanese art of a leisurely walk. Emerald lawns and onsen pools in the LEED-certified park frame views of the Umekita neighborhood’s mirrored skyline, a fitting backdrop for a hotel where Japanese heritage meets Jazz Age élan. Architect André Fu played with that contrast throughout the property, pairing traditional oak pavilions with art deco details and adorning the minimalist lobby with Tiffany-inspired chandeliers.

The hotel’s green initiatives convey the same reverence for place. From the sushi and teppanyaki restaurant Tsukimi to the Canes & Tales speakeasy, chefs prioritize local producers, including a network of Japanese fishermen providing sustainably harvested salmon and prawns. Efforts to cut waste, emissions, and water use have been honed to align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but with fittingly Japanese flourishes. To reduce its reliance on single-use plastic, the hotel staff wraps guest laundry in traditional unryu paper.

-> Book with Luxe Travel to receive breakfast daily, a $100 dining credit and more.

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