In Japan, hotel rooms for university entrance exams can be booked six months to a year before the night of the stay. That is when most hotel websites and online booking sites open reservations, so as of November 12, 2026, rooms for the night before the Common Test for University Admissions (大学入学共通テスト) on Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17, 2027 (the nights of January 15 and 16) are already on sale. The same goes for the first-round (zenki) secondary exams at national and public universities, which start February 25, and for private-university general admissions exams, which start February 1. This article is written for parents of exam candidates and covers when to start booking, where to book, what to look for in a hotel, and the listed room rates for January and February.

When Can You Book a Hotel for University Entrance Exams? Six Months to a Year Ahead

Each hotel sets its own booking window, and most open somewhere between six months and a year before the night of the stay. One clearly published example is Toyoko Inn, whose official website says reservations open “9 months before the planned stay for the general public, and 12 months before for card members and business members,” and that cancellation is free until 12:00 noon on the day of the stay (see Toyoko Inn Booking Window: 9 Months Ahead, 12 for Members for details). For other chains and independent hotels, the date reservations open can be checked on each company’s official website.

Applied to the exam calendar, it looks like this.

Source: National Center for University Entrance Examinations, “Reiwa 9 (2027) Examination”; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), “Guidelines for University Admissions, Reiwa 9 (2027)” and “Overview of Admissions at National and Public Universities, Reiwa 9 (2027)”. Individual exam dates differ by university and faculty, so check the application guidelines of each target university.

In other words, at any hotel that opens bookings six months or more in advance, every exam on the calendar is already bookable. The only reason to wait is that the venue is not yet confirmed, and the free-cancellation plans described next solve that. For candidates planning ahead for future years: for the night before the Common Test, bookings open around mid-April at hotels with a 9-month window, and around mid-January of the previous year at hotels with a 12-month window.

Can You Book Before the Venue Is Known? Admission Tickets Arrive in Early December

The Common Test venue is printed on the admission ticket. The National Center for University Entrance Examinations issues admission tickets by early December 2026, and candidates download them from the My Page section of the online application site. As a rule, the venue is assigned within the exam district where the candidate’s school is located (or, for graduates and others, where they live).

That makes it a two-step process.

1. Now: hold a free-cancellation plan near a station with a direct train, no transfers, to the venues you are likely to be assigned.
2. Once the admission ticket is out: check the travel time to the venue and rebook if there is a closer hotel. Always cancel any reservation you will not use before cancellation fees kick in.

The same thinking applies to national and public university secondary exams and to private universities. Applications to national and public universities run from January 25 to February 3, 2027, and many families decide where to apply after seeing the candidate’s self-scored Common Test results. If there are two candidate universities, hold rooms for both on free-cancellation plans and release one on the day you submit the application. At private universities, even a single university may have several exam venues, with the venue determined by the admission ticket. In that case, it is easier to adjust if you first book near a major terminal station with easy access to every venue.

Where to Book: Four Routes

How to apply for a travel agency’s exam-candidate plan is covered in our guide to “Juken-sei no Yado” 2027. The four routes can be combined, so a workable order is to secure one free-cancellation room first, then switch if you later find a route with better terms.

What Makes a Good Hotel for a Parent and Child? Five Checks

• Cancellation terms: how many days before the stay you can still cancel for free. Choose prepaid, non-changeable plans only after the venue and the universities you are applying to are confirmed.
• Travel time to the venue: aim for walking distance or a single direct train with no transfers. January brings snow and train delays, so plan two routes for the morning of the exam.
• Breakfast start time: the Common Test starts early in the morning. Check whether breakfast is served from 6 a.m. or whether a light meal can be picked up the night before.
• Ease of extending the stay: the Common Test runs over two days, and national and public university secondary exams can also take two days or more depending on the faculty. Confirm at booking that you can stay consecutive nights in the same room.
• Room type: a twin room for a parent and child. If the room has only one desk and one reading light, a lounge or lobby where the parent can spend time keeps them from disturbing evening study.

For an example of these criteria applied to real hotels, HotelPicks’ article choosing hotels in Hongo, Ochanomizu and Suidobashi for the night before the Common Test (in Japanese) checks the breakfast start time and the availability of rooms for three at each of five hotels. It is a useful model for how to read the criteria.

How Much Does a Stay Cost in January and February? Listed Rates for Two Guests per Room

The table below shows business hotel listed rates during exam season by prefecture, for the main exam locations. Figures are per room including tax, for a parent and candidate sharing one room.

Source: HotelBank Editorial Team research. Monthly average of business hotel OTA listed rates (two guests per room, per room, tax included). January and February 2027 are the rates listed as of November 12, 2026. January 2026 is the settled value for a completed month, with a different set of properties, and is shown for reference only.

In Tokyo, the January rate is ¥17,594 (N=921), or about ¥8,800 per person. February is ¥19,085 (N=887), about ¥1,500 higher than January, a period that overlaps with the peak of private-university exams. Kyoto is ¥17,355 in January (N=329) and ¥16,815 in February (N=327); Osaka is ¥13,898 in January (N=508) and ¥14,449 in February (N=494). The nationwide average was ¥15,161 in January (N=7,039) and ¥15,670 in February (N=6,620).

These are averages for the whole month, so the night before an exam, and Saturday nights in particular, can be priced above average. For the Common Test, January 15 falls on a Friday and January 16 on a Saturday. The rates in the table are also for two guests; the price for a candidate staying alone depends on the room type, so set the correct number of guests and check the plan details on the booking screen. How many hotels there are around the exam venues is laid out in Common Test 2027 lodging demand within 2 km of the venues.

What If Your Preferred Hotel Is Full? Three Options

• Move one or two stations along the line: instead of insisting on the station nearest the venue, widen the search to stations on the same line with no transfer, and the options grow. Major terminal stations have many hotels around them.
• Check again later: rooms held on free-cancellation plans are released after admission tickets are issued and after application deadlines pass. Early December and early February are worth a second search.
• Change routes: even on dates when nothing turns up on booking sites, rooms are sometimes available on hotel websites or through university and travel agency services for exam candidates.

If the candidate is eligible for the Common Test make-up and re-sit exams (January 23 and 24), the venue may differ from the main exam, so confirm the venue in the National Center for University Entrance Examinations’ notice before booking. For how many hotel rooms there are around Osaka University and Kyoto University, see our article on room stock within 2 km of the main campuses.

For a Closer Look at Specific Hotels

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When can you book a hotel for university entrance exams?

Most hotel websites and booking sites open reservations six months to a year before the night of the stay. Toyoko Inn’s official website says bookings open 9 months ahead for the general public and 12 months ahead for members. Rooms for the night before the Common Test on January 16 and 17, 2027 were already on sale as of November 12, 2026, so the day your dates are set is the day to start booking.

Q. Is it OK to book before the exam venue is known?

Yes. Common Test admission tickets, which show the exam venue, are issued by early December 2026. Until then, hold a room on a free-cancellation plan near a station with a direct train to the venues the candidate is likely to be assigned. Once the admission ticket shows the venue, decide whether to rebook closer or keep the room.

Q. When should you book hotels for national and public university secondary exams or private universities?

First-round exams at national and public universities start February 25, 2027, and applications to each university run from January 25 to February 3. General admissions exams, including those at private universities, are held between February 1 and March 25. Hotel bookings are already open for these dates, so a workable approach is to hold free-cancellation plans once you have narrowed down the target universities, then release the ones you do not need after applying.

Q. How much does one night cost for a parent and child sharing a room?

The listed rate for a business hotel in January 2027, two guests per room including tax, averages ¥15,161 nationwide (N=7,039 properties), ¥17,594 in Tokyo (N=921), ¥17,355 in Kyoto (N=329) and ¥13,898 in Osaka (N=508) (OTA listed rates as of November 12, 2026). The rate for a single guest depends on the room type, so check the plan details on the booking screen.

Methodology and Sources

■ Data sources

Rates are monthly averages of business hotel OTA listed rates (two guests per room, per room, tax included) compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team. Exam dates and admission ticket issue dates are from published materials of the National Center for University Entrance Examinations and MEXT; booking windows are from each hotel’s official website.

■ Assumptions

“About ¥8,800 per person” is a rough guide obtained by dividing Tokyo’s January 2027 two-guest room rate of ¥17,594 by two; it is not the actual single-occupancy rate. The night before an exam is counted as the day before the exam date.

■ Limitations

January and February 2027 figures are rates listed as of November 12, 2026, and will change as rooms sell. Because they are monthly averages, the night before an exam or a Saturday night may be priced above the table. January 2026 is the value for a completed month and covers a different set of properties.

• Listed rates: HotelBank Editorial Team research. Monthly average of business hotel OTA listed rates (two guests per room, per room, tax included). January and February 2027 are rates listed as of November 12, 2026 and will change with future sales. N is the number of properties included.
• Exam dates: National Center for University Entrance Examinations, “Reiwa 9 (2027) Examination”; MEXT, “Guidelines for University Admissions, Reiwa 9 (2027)”; MEXT, “Overview of Admissions at National and Public Universities, Reiwa 9 (2027)” (checked November 12, 2026). All in Japanese.
• Toyoko Inn booking window and cancellation deadline: the company’s official website (as confirmed on October 29, 2026 for an earlier HotelBank article).
• Check exam dates and venues for individual universities, and each hotel’s booking open date and cancellation terms, with the respective official sources.