“Can I stay at Hotel Urashima right now?” “Which wing is the newest?” “How much does it cost?” Anyone looking up this inn in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama, will find plenty of renovation news since the start of 2026, and many travelers are unsure whether it is open. The short answer: Hotel Urashima (ホテル浦島) is open and is taking bookings for almost every night in November and December. Stay plans are on sale for all four wings — Sanjokan (山上館), Nisshokan (日昇館), Nagisakan (なぎさ館) and the Main Building (本館) — and the newest is Nisshokan, which reopened on August 1, 2026 with new guest rooms and a new restaurant.

On rates, OTA listed prices (per room for 2 guests, tax included, as of November 1, 2026) start at ¥17,380 per room for a room-only Western twin (no view), and the median of each night’s cheapest rate is ¥29,700 per room. Averaging every plan, from room-only to half board (dinner and breakfast), comes to roughly ¥63,000 per room (for two people, about ¥31,000 per person). Below we cover only what you need to know before booking: operating status, how the four wings differ, how to read the rates, and access.

Can You Stay Now? — Open, With Rooms on Sale Almost Every Night in November–December

When the HotelBank Editorial Team checked public OTA inventory, a plan for 2 guests was on sale on at least one OTA on every one of the 57 nights from November 2 to December 31, 2026 for which data was available (December 15–17 were not captured; as of November 1, 2026). On one OTA, 2-guest occupancy showed as sold out on November 21 and December 31. The official website also lists stay plans named for each of Sanjokan, Nisshokan, Nagisakan and the Main Building (a 70th-anniversary campaign, year-end/New Year, 45-day early booking, room-only, breakfast-included and more), so all four wings are accepting guests. The latest “closure day” notice on the official website covers June–July 2026, and no full-property closure has been announced for November–December (as of November 1, 2026).

The hot springs are operating normally too. The official hot spring page lists hours for the great cave bath “Bokido” (忘帰洞; Main Building, 5:00–10:00 / 13:00–23:00, with men’s and women’s sides swapped between morning and afternoon) and the natural cave bath “Genbudo” (玄武洞; Nisshokan, 5:00–12:00 / 16:00–23:00), as well as Taki-no-Yu and Hamayu-no-Yu (Main Building), Iso-no-Yu (Nisshokan) and Yoho-no-Yu (Sanjokan). Genbudo was closed from April to July 2026 during the Nisshokan renovation and reopened together with Nisshokan.

Which Wing Is Newest? — Nisshokan, Reopened on August 1, 2026

In December 2023, Japan Co-creation Platform (JPiX) acquired all shares of Hotel Urashima from the founding family, and it is carrying out a multi-year renovation of about ¥4 billion ahead of the hotel’s 70th anniversary in December 2026 (Travel Voice interview article, August 28, 2026; official press release, July 8, 2026). The first phase was Nisshokan, which reopened on August 1, 2026. According to the official website, the following are new.

• New guest rooms: Built around a “WABI SABI” concept, “Modern Japanese-style rooms” combining tatami and beds (42–65㎡, for 3–5 guests) and a “Japanese-Western Suite” (110㎡). In the room list they are marked 【2026年8月リニューアル】 (renovated August 2026).
• New restaurant “Chef’s Live Kitchen URASHIMA” (Nisshokan 2F): A live-kitchen-style buffet with fresh Katsuura tuna sushi made by chefs in front of you, sous-vide steak, freshly boiled pasta and more. Dinner runs 90 minutes with all-you-can-drink included, and there is a tuna-carving show every day (18:00–18:30 / 19:30–20:00).
• Main Building lobby “ICHIGO ICHIE” (March 21, 2026): Equipped with automated check-in/check-out machines and a self-service locker room; a “Blue Lounge” was added on July 20.
• “Umi no Tunnel” (Sea Tunnel) (August 1, 2026): The roughly 90m connecting passage linking the Main Building, Nisshokan and Nagisakan was redesigned as an undersea-themed promenade, with an “Undersea Stand Bar” for tasting local umeshu (plum wine) and sake, and the souvenir shop “Urashima Select”.

Sanjokan’s restaurant was also relaunched in June 2026 as “Innovative Cuisine” (a half buffet blending Japanese, French, Italian and Oriental cooking), and Nagisakan’s “Wa DINING Matsuri” (和DINING 祭) is a buffet venue themed on Showa-era festivals. The operator says it will “further raise the value of Sanjokan” (Travel Voice), but no specific timing has been announced for guest-room renovations at Sanjokan, Nagisakan or the Main Building (as of November 1, 2026). Check the “What’s New” section of the official website for the latest information at the time you book. For how much the ¥4 billion works out to per room, and whether the investment pencils out against Nachikatsuura’s room rates, see Hotel Urashima’s ¥4bn Renovation: ¥10.96m per Room vs. ¥12,900 ADR, which looks at it from the operator’s side.

How Do the Four Wings Differ? — Choose by View, Nearest Bath and Dinner Venue

The four wings stand at different points on the slopes of the cape, and each has a different view, nearest hot spring and dinner venue. Based on the official room and facility guides, they compare as follows.

The Main Building, Nisshokan and Nagisakan are linked by a connecting passage; Sanjokan is reached from the Main Building by the “Space Walker” escalator, which climbs 77m (5 minutes 45 seconds, the equivalent of 428 steps). A simple rule of thumb: Sanjokan if views come first, Nisshokan for the new rooms and live kitchen, Nagisakan for a lively stay with children, and the Main Building if you want to be close to Bokido and keep costs down. For review trends and rate history by past stay season, see yadolist’s article on Hotel Urashima (in Japanese).

How Much Does It Cost? — Listed Prices per Room for 2 Guests, Tax Included (November–December 2026)

The table below shows OTA listed prices (per room for 2 guests, tax included) compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team for 58 stay dates from November 1 to December 31, 2026. “Lowest” is the cheapest plan on each night (mainly room-only, Western twin, no view), and “all-plan average” is the average of every plan from room-only to half board, which runs higher because it includes larger rooms and Sanjokan plans. All figures are totals per room for 2 guests, not per-person rates.

Source: HotelBank Editorial Team research (OTA listed prices, as of November 1, 2026, N=58 nights). Listed prices change daily and may differ from the amount shown at booking.

There are three ways to read this. First, if you only want a room-only stay for the hot springs, budget around ¥30,000 per room for 2 guests. In December, mainly on weekdays, the Nisshokan Western twin (no view) offered on some OTAs is often in the ¥17,000 range per room. With the official room-only plans, you can put together meals at the Main Building’s izakaya, ramen shop, food hall and convenience store. Second, half-board rates vary widely by wing and room type. An all-plan average in the ¥60,000s per room includes Sanjokan suites and rooms with open-air baths, so a standard Japanese room with dinner and breakfast will come in below that. The quickest way to compare is to specify the wing in the official website’s availability search. Third, December is cheaper than November, except for the year-end. The median nightly lowest rate is ¥17,600 in December versus ¥29,700 in November, and the median all-plan average also falls by about ¥5,000. Saturday nights, on the other hand, run about ¥3,300–7,700 higher than weekdays, and December 31 is the most expensive night of the period. For how rate levels differ between the Kumano side, which includes Nachikatsuura, and the Shirahama side, see the regional comparison in Wakayama Autumn 2026: Kumano Tops Shirahama at ¥15,900 vs ¥14,700.

Review data backs this up. The cumulative overall rating in public reviews is 4.21 (N=29,580 reviews, as of November 1, 2026), and by category (last 24 months) “Bathroom” scores 4.70 (N=2,019) and “Location” 4.25 (N=1,098). The numbers show that the cave baths and the seaside location on the cape are at the heart of how guests rate this inn (HotelBank Editorial Team research).

Getting There and Winter Highlights — The Shuttle Boat and Nachikatsuura’s Fresh Tuna

By train: Walk about 6 minutes from JR Kii-Katsuura Station to the sightseeing pier at Katsuura Port, then take the shuttle boat to the hotel. According to the official timetable, boats run as needed at roughly 15-minute intervals, from the 7:30 to the 10:20 departure in the morning, and from 15:10 onward until the last boat at 18:40 in the afternoon. Outside boat hours, a microbus connects the hotel entrance and the sightseeing pier every 20 minutes during the 10:00–14:00 hours and from 18:40 to 21:40. The shuttle boat was suspended for inspection from May 7 to July 24, 2026, but is now back in service (official website, as of November 1, 2026).

By car: Park at the dedicated lot (441 Tenma, Nachikatsuura-cho, Wakayama; free) and take the shuttle bus to the hotel. Buses from the lot run on demand, and during shuttle boat hours (from 15:10) they stop at the sightseeing pier, so you can get off and switch to the boat. The lot can be used until 19:30, so it is easiest to plan an itinerary that arrives early enough for dinner.

Nachikatsuura in winter: Nachikatsuura Town is known for its landings of fresh tuna, and Nisshokan’s dinner venue holds a tuna-carving show twice every day. Combine the morning auction at Katsuura Fishing Port with Nachi Falls and Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine, and even a one-night trip feels like a proper visit to the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula. If you plan to walk the Kumano Kodo as well, Kumano Kodo: 89 Inns, 2,958 Rooms Within 3km vs 15 on Shikoku Henro, which counts the inns and rooms along the trail, is also useful. Check-in is 15:00 and check-out is 10:00. Dinner and breakfast are both served in the hotel’s restaurants, and you can move around the property in yukata and slippers.

Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology and Sources

■ Data Sources

Public listed prices and public inventory (rooms available for sale) on major Japanese OTAs, and cumulative ratings from public reviews, compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team. Details of the wings, hot springs, shuttle boat and renovation are from the Hotel Urashima official website, a press release from Urashima Kanko Hotel (浦島観光ホテル; July 8, 2026) and a Travel Voice interview article (August 28, 2026).

■ Assumptions

Rates are the full one-night price for the room (tax included) when 2 guests share one room. “Lowest” is the cheapest plan for each stay date, and “all-plan average” is the average of every plan from room-only to half board. Listed values as of November 1, 2026 were compiled for stay dates from November 1 to December 31, 2026 (N=58 nights).

■ Limitations

Listed prices change daily and may not match the amount shown at booking or the amount actually paid. Inventory data could not be captured for December 15–17. The timing of guest-room renovations at Sanjokan, Nagisakan and the Main Building had not been announced as of November 1, 2026, and this article does not speculate on it.

• Listed prices: HotelBank Editorial Team research. Public OTA listed prices per room for 2 guests, tax included, compiled for stay dates November 1–December 31, 2026 (N=58 nights, as of November 1, 2026). “Lowest” is the cheapest plan each night; “all-plan average” is the average of every plan from room-only to half board.
• Operating status and inventory: Public OTA inventory (rooms available for sale) for the same period, and the Hotel Urashima official website’s stay plan list and What’s New (as of November 1, 2026).
• Wings, hot springs and access: Hotel Urashima official website (rooms, hot springs, facilities, access and renovation special pages; viewed November 1, 2026).
• Renovation plan: Urashima Kanko Hotel press release (July 8, 2026); Travel Voice, “How Will a Large Showa-Era Hot Spring Hotel Change? Hotel Urashima’s Major ¥4 Billion Renovation” (August 28, 2026; in Japanese).
• Review ratings: Cumulative public reviews (overall N=29,580; category N as stated; as of November 1, 2026). HotelBank Editorial Team research.