Where to stay in Atami: choosing a private villa with an ocean view

Where you stay in Atami shapes the whole trip. The town is 40 to 50 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen, or about an hour and forty-five minutes on the Tokaido line. It's a hot-spring town on a bay, with Hakone behind it and the whole Izu coast to the south, and it has more ways to stay than most towns three times its size: grand old ryokan, tall resort hotels, and, more and more, whole houses rented one party at a time. If you're travelling as a family, with friends, or simply want a place that is yours for a few nights, a private villa can be the best of these. Choose carefully, though: the words used to sell them don't always mean what you'd expect.

What "private" should mean

A whole-house rental should be one party a night. Some properties let rooms separately and call the result a villa. Ask, and look for it in the listing: when only your group is in the house, the kitchen, the deck and the bath are yours at any hour, and nobody else's luggage is in the hall.

Look too for the registration number. In Japan a house let to guests must be registered as private lodging (住宅宿泊事業) or licensed as an inn. Registered houses show their number, and the law limits how many nights a year they can take guests. It's a quick way to tell a lawful house from one that will be gone next season.

"Onsen" or heated water?

This is the question most people forget to ask in Atami. The town is built on hot springs, and many villas advertise an "onsen" or "hot-spring bath". Some genuinely draw spring water; many fill a tub with heated tap water. Both can be lovely, but they are not the same thing, and in Japan calling heated water an onsen is misleading. Ask what's in the tub. A good host will tell you plainly, and if it isn't a spring, will tell you where the real ones are.

The view, the slope and getting there

Ocean views in Atami come with hills. The best houses sit high on the slopes above the bay, and the roads up to them are steep and narrow. Before you book, check:

• How you'll arrive. Is there parking for your car, or will the host collect you from the station? Taxis go anywhere, but a free pickup with your luggage is worth a lot on a hill.
• What the view really is. Sea views are often partly over roofs. Photographs taken at dusk are honest about the light; photographs that are all sky are honest about nothing.
• How far the shops are. A villa on the hill is quiet because it's out of town. Know where the nearest convenience store is before 22:00.

Rooms, beds and the size of your group

Count beds, not "capacity". A house that "sleeps ten" might mean four in beds and six on sofas and futons. Ask how each room is made up. Futons on tatami are comfortable and very Japanese, but they suit some guests better than others. If you're travelling with grandparents, ask about stairs and toilets on each floor.

The real price

Villa prices in Japan are usually per night for the group, not per person. Check what is included:

• tax (consumption tax should be included in the price you see);
• cleaning fees;
• Atami's lodging tax, ¥200 per guest per night, which is added separately, with young children exempt;
• the cancellation terms.

Booking direct with the house often costs less than through a platform, which adds its own fees.

A host, nearby

The best private houses aren't unattended. A host who lives close by can greet you, show you the bath, answer the question you didn't think of, and book the restaurant that doesn't take reservations from strangers. Ask who will meet you at the door, and how to reach them in the evening.

Our house, against that list

We wrote this guide because we answer these questions every week, so here are our own answers. Atami Umihoshi is a house on the hill above Atami bay, registered private lodging (住宅宿泊事業), No. M220063824.

• One party a night, always. Book a single room, the whole floor (1階貸切, best for up to six, sleeps eight), or the full house (一棟貸切, best for nine or ten, and yours for a party of any size).
• The water: an outdoor Jacuzzi on the deck, heated tap water and not an onsen, and a deep ocean-view bath upstairs. For real hot springs, your host meets you in town and takes you to a day-use onsen.
• The view: the whole bay from the upper deck, Hatsushima on the water, the town's lights at night. Every photograph on our site was taken here, and the ones that weren't say where they were taken.
• Arriving: a free pickup from Atami, Hakone or Odawara station, with your luggage. The hill is steep, so the pickup is free for every guest.
• Beds: Room A is a tatami room of hinoki with futons or mattresses for up to five. Room B has a double bed and futons for two. Room C, upstairs on the upper deck, has a double bed and futons for two.
• The price, tax included, with our own price before tax in brackets, on standard nights: by the room, ¥19,800 a guest a night (¥18,000 + tax), and never more than the whole floor that night; the whole floor, ¥82,500 a night for up to eight (¥75,000 + tax); the full house, ¥104,500 a night for up to eight (¥95,000 + tax) and ¥121,000 for nine or ten (¥110,000 + tax). Golden Week, Obon and New Year nights are 10% more, and the price for your dates is shown in full before you pay. Long stays are 25% less from five nights and 30% less from seven. Cleaning is ¥1,650 a stay (¥1,500 + tax), and the lodging tax is shown separately.
• Your host lives upstairs, or next door on full-house nights, and plans days out across Izu and Hakone.

If that sounds like the house you're looking for, check your dates. If it doesn't, we hope this list helps you find the right one.