If your wallet allows, you could always go this route:
Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
Presenting a small, nicely wrapped, item as a gift might well be understood better than a tip.
The only time I have ever left a gratuity of any type at a hotel in Japan was a few years back. I offered to buy dinner for the whole staff of a hotel at which I stay regularly. When I told the GM of the hotel what I was thinking, he combined it with the annual employee dinner and it turned out to be a heck of an event for me and my family as well as the staff.
Rather more pricey than a normal gratuity, however.
(press the blue button if you're interested in the comments that were posted in relation to this one - post 18/19 onwards in the linked thread)
EDIT: Having just re-read them, I'd recommend this - the subsequent posts are among the most succinct and useful information I've ever seen on this topic - re Japan.
- And the en has also finally dropped as to why a certain contributor might tear out their guidebook pages after using them; they make excellent 100yen notes - great for confusing poilte bellboys with (or perhaps this belies a rather keener understanding of the culture than we may have expected, what he's really done is taken the concept of 'nazoraeru' to a whole new level in the modern world)