“Is Exiv a hotel? Do you have to be a member to stay?”
If you’ve heard the name Exiv and wondered what it actually is, you’re not alone. It’s one of Japan’s best-kept secrets for luxury travel — and it’s unlike anything most international visitors have encountered before.
What Is Exiv?
Exiv is a members-only resort hotel chain with properties across Japan. Unlike a regular hotel, you can’t simply book a room online and show up. Access is reserved for members — people who have purchased a membership — or guests invited by a member.
Think of it less like booking a hotel and more like belonging to an exclusive club with beautiful places to stay all over the country.
How Does Membership Work?
To use Exiv, you purchase a membership.
Prices vary significantly depending on the property and room grade — from a few hundred thousand yen on the lower end to tens of millions of yen for premium memberships. Annual fees apply on top of the purchase price.
Membership isn’t just tied to one location. Depending on the terms, members can access multiple Exiv properties across Japan — meaning you might spend one year in Hakone, the next in Toba, and the year after that in Arima.
Even as a member, you pay a usage fee when you stay. The concept isn’t “buying a hotel room” — it’s closer to “purchasing the right to access a network of private resorts.”
What Kind of Person Is Exiv For?
- People who travel within Japan regularly and want consistent quality
- Those who value a calm, unhurried atmosphere over a busy hotel lobby
- Families who want space, privacy, and Japanese hospitality without the crowds
- Anyone who wants something between a hotel stay and owning a vacation home
What It Actually Feels Like
The first time I visited an Exiv property, I wasn’t prepared for it.
Walking in, it felt less like checking into a hotel and more like being welcomed into somewhere private. The quality was immediately apparent — not in a showy way, but in the way that well-made things feel different without announcing themselves.
Each property has its own character. Toba feels different from Rokko, which feels different from Hakone, which feels different from Arima. But they share a common atmosphere: quiet, spacious, unhurried. The kind of place where you stop checking your phone.
What Makes Exiv Different From a Regular Hotel
A calm that’s hard to find elsewhere
The membership model naturally limits the number of guests. No overcrowded lobbies, no queues at the restaurant. The guests who stay here tend to be respectful of the atmosphere — and that makes a difference to how the whole place feels. Time moves differently inside an Exiv property.
Japanese hospitality at its most refined
The service is distinctly Japanese in the best sense. Staff anticipate what you need before you ask. Some will remember your name. Small gestures, executed without being asked, executed perfectly. The feeling of being genuinely welcomed — not just processed — is consistent across every property.
The moment you step inside, everything shifts
The lobbies, the gardens, the lounges — everything is designed to create a clear break from ordinary life. Walking through the entrance, there’s a particular feeling: today is different. That sensation is part of what you’re paying for, and Exiv delivers it reliably.
Comfort for every member of the family
Rooms with private outdoor baths or onsen access mean families with young children can use a private onsen without worrying about other guests. Three-generation trips work naturally here — there’s enough space and enough variety of pace that everyone finds their rhythm. The luxury of doing nothing, properly, is available to everyone.
The best of both a hotel and a vacation home
A vacation home requires maintenance, preparation, and effort. A hotel gives you service but no sense of belonging. Exiv sits between the two. You return to the same network of places, year after year. Staff remember you. You know what to expect. But the cooking and cleaning are handled. And you can move between properties across Japan — the mountains one year, the coast the next.
The Food
Many of the restaurants within Exiv properties are highly rated on Tabelog — Japan’s most trusted restaurant review platform. Kaiseki meals, fresh seafood at coastal properties, teppanyaki, sushi — the quality is consistently high. If you travel primarily for food, Exiv rewards that instinct.
Exiv Properties Worth Knowing
- Exiv Toba Bettei — coastal Mie Prefecture, fresh seafood, ocean views
- Exiv Rokko — elevated above Kobe, mountain atmosphere
- Exiv Arima Rikyu — near one of Japan’s oldest hot spring towns
- Exiv Hakone — iconic mountain resort area near Mt. Fuji
- Exiv Yugawara — hot spring town on the Izu Peninsula
Who Should Stay at Exiv? — An Honest Guide for International Visitors
Exiv isn’t for everyone. It’s not for people who simply want a luxurious hotel room for one night. It’s for people who want something more specific.
1. People who love Japan and come back regularly
If you visit Japan every year — or dream of doing so — Exiv gives you something to return to. Not just a destination, but a feeling of coming back to somewhere that knows you. For people who want to experience Japan beyond tourism, beyond the highlights, this is where that experience lives.
2. People who want quiet and quality
Crowded hotel lobbies, noisy corridors, the general busyness of popular tourist accommodation — Exiv is the opposite of all of that. If you want to read, soak in an onsen, eat well, and sleep properly, this is the environment for it.
3. People who want to experience true Japanese hospitality
The Japanese concept of omotenashi — hospitality that anticipates needs rather than just responding to them — is something that’s talked about often and experienced rarely. At Exiv, it’s present in a way that’s hard to find elsewhere. For international visitors who’ve heard about this aspect of Japanese culture and want to actually feel it, Exiv is one of the clearest examples.
4. People who travel for food
The quality of dining at Exiv properties is genuine. If food is a significant part of why you travel, staying at Exiv means you don’t need to leave the property to eat well.
5. Families who want to travel without compromising on comfort
Private onsen rooms, spacious layouts, an atmosphere that’s calm rather than chaotic — Exiv works for families in a way that many luxury hotels don’t. Three generations travelling together, young children who need flexibility, adults who want to actually relax — the format accommodates all of it.
Can International Visitors Stay?
As a non-member, the main route is being introduced by an existing member. Some properties also accept non-member bookings through specific channels at certain times — but availability is limited.
If you have a connection to a Japanese member, it’s worth asking. The experience is genuinely different from anything else available in Japan.
The Honest Summary
Exiv isn’t a hotel. It’s a place you belong to — for a few days at a time, across different corners of Japan, over many years.
For international visitors who want to experience Japan slowly, well, and with the kind of care that’s hard to find in ordinary accommodation, Exiv represents something rare.
A second home in Japan, without the responsibility of owning one.
Have you stayed at an Exiv property, or is this the first time you’ve heard of it? Leave a comment below.
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