Hotels

This Higashiyama hotel is conveniently located next to Sanjusangendo – one of Kyoto’s most impressive temples – and across the road from the Kyoto National Museum. The interior, courtesy of design studio Super Potato, incorporates Japanese motifs, while each room has a backdrop of different-coloured kimono silks. The sizeable Regency Executive Suite has a tatami room and a cypress-wood bathtub and offers views over the Japanese garden. The hotel’s restaurants include Trattoria Sette – which serves Italian food – and Touzan, whose seasonal Japanese dishes are made from ingredients mostly sourced in and around Kyoto. 

Located next to Higashi Honganji temple, the hotel’s 68 rooms range in size, from compact doubles to generous suites, and the interior styling is a mix of Japanese and western. There’s also the one-off Actus Room, kitted out by the furniture brand of the same name. Breakfast is optional – and, like the decor, both traditional Japanese and western – and served in the basement restaurant, which is also open for dinner. The all-day lounge bar on the ground floor serves Kyoto teas, craft beer and food, while the shop stocks Japanese products such as beautiful ceramics by Kyoto potter Takahiro Okayama.

Hoshinoya Kyoto is a modern reinterpretation of Japan’s traditional ryokan. Located on the Hozugawa River in the forested Arashiyama district, the complex is run by Hoshino Resort Group and has just 25 rooms, with river views, western beds, heated floors and cedar bathtubs. The most spacious option is the Tsukihashi Maisonette, a two-storey riverside suite with tatami mats. Meals tend to be served in the rooms but there’s also a small bar and a restaurant if you fancy a change of scene. The hotel’s boat service runs from dawn until dusk, to and from a dock near Togetsukyo Bridge.