Another Believer / CC BY-SA 4.0Where to stay in Imperial Palace & Nishijin
The quiet centre. Kyoto Gyoen, the walled park around the Imperial Palace, is the green heart of the city and open to walk through; west of it, Nishijin is the weaving district, a grid of low machiya where the looms still run and the street life is entirely local. It is ten minutes from Downtown by subway and feels a world away from it. Nothing here is a headline sight, which is the point: this is where you stay on a second visit, or on a first one if what you want from Kyoto is to live in it for a week rather than photograph it in three days.
Price level · Mid-range
Kyoto
Area scorecard
Scored 0–10 by Where Stay Guide. No overall total: every traveller weights these differently.
- Sightseeing
- 6.5
- Walkability
- 7.5
- Transport
- 7.0
- Food
- 6.5
- Nightlife
- 3.0
- Quietness
- 8.5
- Families
- 7.0
- Value
- 7.5
- Airport / station
- 6.5
- First trip
- 6.0
Best for
- Longer stays and second visits
- Travellers who want a machiya on a residential street
- Anyone who values a quiet night over a short walk to a temple
Choose elsewhere if
- You have three days and a list
- You want to eat late
- You would rather not use the subway daily