Area
Kyoto’s luxury hotels divide clearly by location. Along the Kamo River and in central Kyoto you are within walking distance of restaurants and shrines. In Higashiyama you are among the temples, close to Gion. Further out, in places such as Takagamine, you trade convenience for gardens and silence.
The first decision is whether the hotel is a base for walking the city, or a retreat from it. The table below sets out, for the properties we have checked on their official sites, where each one is, how you get there from Kyoto Station, and what the breakfast and the bath in the room are.
What each hotel’s official hot-spring and room pages say. Not a ranking. These hotels are in Kyoto city, not in a hot-spring town outside it. “Not covered here” means we have not checked it, not that it is missing.
A bath in your room and a bath you book separately are different things. For the terms, see private onsen terms explained.
Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto
Hot springRoomschecked 12 October 2026
Hot springchecked 12 October 2026
Thermal Spring spaPrivate Onsenchecked 12 October 2026
What each property’s official site says. Not a ranking. Travel times are the hotels’ own estimates; check timetables for your date. “Not covered here” means we have not checked it, not that it is missing.
Official siteSource 2checked 8 October 2026
Official siteSource 2checked 8 October 2026
Official siteSource 2Source 3checked 8 October 2026
Official siteSource 2checked 8 October 2026
Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto
Official siteSource 2checked 8 October 2026
From each property’s official website. “Not confirmed” means we have not checked it yet — not that it is unavailable.
| Property | Baths | Dining | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO | Natural onsen from beneath the grounds — a swimsuit spa and a paid private bathOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 | Not confirmed | Three minutes’ walk from Nijojo-mae subway stationOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 |
| Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto | 17 rooms have their own open-air bath; the private onsen costs extraOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 | Kaiseki meets French at Kyo Suiran, and a four-seat teppanyaki counterOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 | A free pick-up by taxi from Kyoto Station or by rickshaw in ArashiyamaOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 |
| The Westin Miyako Kyoto | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Two minutes from Keage subway stationOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 |
| FUFU Kyoto | A hinoki onsen bath in every room — indoors, with windows that openOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 | Charcoal-grilled Kyoto vegetables at Ihoto; breakfast can come to your roomOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 | About seven minutes’ walk from Keage subway stationOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 |
| MARUFUKURO | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 15 minutes from Kyoto Station, and no car parkOfficial site, checked 29 September 2026 |
| THE THOUSAND KYOTO | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | About two minutes’ walk from Kyoto StationOfficial site, checked 8 October 2026 |
Ordered by how many stay reports we have linked. We do not rank or score hotels.
アマン京都
In a private forest at the foot of Takagamine, north of Kinkaku-ji. It sits away from the city, and the grounds are covered in moss and cedar. The buildings are kept low and scattered, so that walking the garden becomes part of the stay.
パーク ハイアット 京都
A low-rise city hotel on the slope of Ninenzaka, with the Yasaka Pagoda close enough to fill a window. It keeps its room count down and its height in line with the streets of Higashiyama around it.
HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO
Directly opposite Nijo Castle, on the site of the Mitsui family’s own residence. You enter through the Kajiimiya gate, moved here and rebuilt, and the guest wings stand around a garden at the centre. A thermal spring drawn from under the grounds feeds the bathhouse.
ROKU KYOTO
A low-rise resort at the foot of the Takagamine hills, next to the Shozan gardens. It has a communal bath fed by a natural hot spring and an outdoor pool facing the garden. Being out of the city, it is quiet in a way the centre is not.
ザ・リッツ・カールトン京都
On the bank of the Kamo river, looking across it to the Higashiyama hills. It is in the middle of the city but built low along the water, so the rooms look out onto the river and the gardens.
星のや京都
A ryokan on the water along the Oi river in Arashiyama, reached by the hotel’s own boat from the landing at Togetsukyo. There is no road to it, which makes the arrival itself part of the stay.
フォーシーズンズホテル京都
Next to Myoho-in in Higashiyama, with Shakusuien — a pond garden said to be more than eight hundred years old — inside the grounds. The guest wings are arranged around it, so the water is below you from indoors.
翠嵐 ラグジュアリーコレクションホテル 京都
On the bank of the Oi river, east of Tenryu-ji in Arashiyama. Wings kept from a Meiji-era villa stand alongside modern ones, so the building your room is in changes what the room is like. The garden makes use of the riverside setting.
カペラ京都
A hotel at Komatsu-cho in Gion, Capella’s property in Kyoto, five minutes on foot from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan line. Kenninji and the Yasaka Pagoda are within walking distance, and Hanamikoji is close. It holds two Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection. The building draws on the design of machiya townhouses, has a Japanese garden and a spa, and its rooms face inner courtyards.
ザ・ホテル青龍 京都清水
At the foot of Kiyomizu-dera, in a primary school building from the early Showa era that has been kept and converted. The old façade and its arched windows remain, with rooms and restaurants built inside. The building is itself part of the view around the Yasaka Pagoda.
長楽館
A Western-style mansion in Maruyama Park, Kyoto, built in 1909 by the businessman Kichibei Murai and designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 2024. The main house is used as a café and restaurant, and guests stay in the adjoining new wing, which has only six rooms. The rooms make generous use of solid wood, and their design takes its cue from the words of Tatsuaki Kuroda, the Kyoto-born Living National Treasure.
ウェスティン都ホテル京都
A long-established hotel on a rise at Awataguchi in Higashiyama. Besides the main building it has Kasuien, a sukiya-style annex designed by Togo Murano, one of the leading architects of Japanese modernism. Its 2,100 sqm spa, fed by a hot spring drilled on the grounds, is among the largest in Kyoto and has a rooftop garden and an outdoor pool.
ふふ 京都
The FUFU house in Kyoto, on the approach to Nanzen-ji, with a hot spring bath in every room. Temples and old villa grounds surround it, and it sounds nothing like the middle of the city.
丸福樓
A hotel in the Kagiyacho district of Kyoto, built into the former head office of Nintendo. Nintendo began in 1889 when Yamauchi Fusajiro opened a shop making and selling hanafuda cards, and the house traded here under the name Marufuku, which the hotel now carries. The former head office, completed in 1930, is three buildings — office, residence and warehouse — and keeps the straight lines and geometric patterns of the Art Deco style that was fashionable in early Showa Japan. A fourth building, designed under the supervision of Ando Tadao, was added, and the four together hold 18 rooms including four suites. Light meals and all drinks during a stay are included in the room rate. About 15 minutes on foot from Kyoto Station, or six from Shichijo Station on the Keihan Line.
THE HIRAMATSU 京都
A small hotel built into a Kyoto machiya townhouse at Karasuma Oike, with few rooms and food at its centre. The machiya frontage is kept as it was, with a courtyard garden and modern rooms set behind it. The brand began as a restaurant business, and it shows.
デュシタニ京都
A hotel in the temple town in front of Nishi Honganji, the first Dusit Thani in Japan, opened in September 2023. It is about twelve minutes on foot from the central exit of JR Kyoto Station, with Nishi Honganji and Higashi Honganji within walking distance. It holds four stars in the Forbes Travel Guide 2026 and one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, and has several restaurants including a Thai restaurant.
ホテル ザ セレスティン京都祇園
A hotel on Yasaka-dori in Gion. It is a ten-minute walk from Gion-Shijo on the Keihan line and twelve minutes from Kyoto-Kawaramachi on the Hankyu line, with a free shuttle bus from Kyoto Station of about ten minutes. It has a large communal bath. The Yasaka Pagoda and Kiyomizu-dera are within walking distance, and it holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection.
エースホテル京都
A hotel inside Shinpuhkan at Karasuma-Oike, with Kengo Kuma involved in its design. It is connected directly to the south gate of Karasuma-Oike subway station, three stops and about six minutes from Kyoto Station. Shinpuhkan reuses the former Kyoto Central Telephone Office building and has restaurants and shops. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection. Some rooms have record players.
ザ・サウザンド京都
A hotel about two minutes’ walk east of the Central exit of JR Kyoto Station, which marked its fifth anniversary in 2024. Breakfast is served in either of its two restaurants: KIZAHASHI (Japanese) or SCALAE (Italian).
東山 四季花木
An eight-room inn near Shirakawa Bridge on Sanjo in Higashiyama, about two minutes on foot from exit 2 of Higashiyama Station on the Tozai subway line. It has a private open-air bath and a rooftop terrace. It stands along the Shirakawa, within walking distance of Gion and Heian Shrine, with restaurants along Sanjo-dori nearby.
The Shinmonzen
A hotel on Shinmonzen-dori in Gion, designed by Tadao Ando, on a street of antique dealers along the Shirakawa. Keihan Sanjo and Gion-Shijo stations are within walking distance, and so are Kenninji and Chion-in. It holds two Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection, keeps its room count small and displays contemporary art inside.
晴鴨楼
A long-established ryokan on Toiyamachi-dori in Higashiyama, Kyoto, two minutes on foot from Kiyomizu-Gojo Station on the Keihan line and about seven minutes by taxi from JR Kyoto Station. It is a traditional Japanese building that keeps its Taisho-era design, close to the Kamo River and Gojo Bridge, with Kiyomizu-dera and Gion within walking distance. It keeps its room count small.
柊家
A ryokan on Fuyacho street, in business since the end of the Edo period. Many writers stayed here, Kawabata Yasunari among them. The rooms divide between the sukiya architecture of the main house and a newer wing with modern fittings.
AKARI東山二条
An apartment-style hotel at Higashiyama-Nijo in Kyoto, about ten minutes on foot from Keihan Sanjo Station and about 15 minutes from Gion. Rooms have a kitchenette and cookware, suited to longer stays. Heian Shrine, Nanzen-ji and the Okazaki area are within walking distance. The building has only a few rooms, and the Tozai subway line makes it easy to get around the city.
旅亭 嵐月
A ryokan on the bank of the Oi River in Arashiyama, 15 minutes on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, seven from Randen Arashiyama and ten from Hankyu Arashiyama. Tenryuji and the Togetsukyo Bridge are within walking distance, and so is the bamboo grove of Sagano. It serves seasonal kaiseki and keeps its room count small, a little away from central Arashiyama.
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ギャリア・二条城 京都 by バンヤン・グループ
A hotel at Ichinocho in Nakagyo-ku, near Nijo Castle, two minutes on foot from Nijojo-mae Station on the Tozai subway line and about twelve minutes by car from JR Kyoto Station. It is Banyan Group’s Garrya brand, within walking distance of Nijo Castle, a World Heritage site, and close to the Imperial Palace and Nishijin. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection and has a restaurant.
京蘭ー幻月邸
A whole-house rental in Higashi-Kujo, south of Kyoto Station, about five minutes on foot from Kyoto Station and from Kujo subway station. It has an open-air rock bath and a bar counter and is rented as a whole building. It is about 90 minutes from Kansai Airport by public transport, and Toji and Kyoto Tower are within walking distance.
貴船 右源太
An inn at Kurama-Kibune-cho in Kyoto, close to Kibune Shrine, reached by bus from Kibuneguchi Station on the Eizan Railway. In summer the area sets up kawadoko dining platforms over the Kibune River, and it is cooler than the city. A mountain path leads to Kurama-dera. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection. The road up from Kibuneguchi Station is a steady climb, and the summer kawadoko and autumn leaves draw crowds.
GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO（グッド ネイチャー ホテル キョウト）
A hotel on Kawaramachi-dori just south of Shijo, about two minutes on foot from exit 4 of Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu line. It is designed with the environment and health in mind and has WELL certification. Nishiki Market, Gion and the Kamo River are within walking distance, and it has a restaurant and a shop. Shijo-Kawaramachi is Kyoto’s main shopping district and a transport hub.
バンヤンツリー・東山 京都
A hotel at Seikanji Ryozen-cho in Higashiyama, opened in summer 2024 as Banyan Tree’s first property in Japan, about 20 minutes by car from JR Kyoto Station. It stands at the foot of the Higashiyama hills, close to Kodai-ji and Kiyomizu-dera, and holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection. The rooms are set along the slope, and there is a spa. A taxi is the easiest way from Kyoto Station.
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京都祇園 柚子屋旅館
An eight-room inn on the south side of Gion, right next to Yasaka Shrine, close to the Gion city bus stop and reached on route 206 from Kyoto Station. The stay is built around its food. Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park are next door, and Kiyomizu-dera and Kodaiji are within walking distance.