[godwine]

Well, I think its a given that if you are booking accommodation online, you have to be careful and read.

I am sure Japanhotel.net do show room availability, I booked a ryokan that was full, I got a email the next day by the site operater who asked me specific information to rebook a different place for me. Its a given that they will charge you if you don't show up to a reservation, its an opportunity cost on their end, they need to cover their expenses too.

I am not saying thats the ultimate place to book hotels, just that I had fabulous experience with them for past years of travel to Japan thats all....

As I mentioned in my various post, there are MANY other sites to do your reservations and to look for hotel, I was recommending Japanhotel.net purely from personal experience and I find their online interface very easy to use, thats all