そらみみ / CC BY-SA 4.0Where to stay in Kyoto Station
The blocks around the station itself, north into Shimogyō and south into Minami. It is the least atmospheric answer to the question and, for a certain trip, the right one: the city's buses start here, the Shinkansen stops here, the airport express leaves from here, and Nara and Osaka are close on ordinary trains. It also holds Kyoto's largest hotels, which means lifts, luggage rooms and space to open a suitcase — none of it guaranteed in the machiya districts. Higashi and Nishi Hongan-ji are a short walk north, and almost nobody staying here walks to them.
Price level · Mid-range
Area scorecard
Scored 0–10 by Where Stay Guide. No overall total: every traveller weights these differently.
- Sightseeing
- 6.0
- Walkability
- 6.5
- Transport
- 10.0
- Food
- 6.5
- Nightlife
- 4.5
- Quietness
- 4.5
- Families
- 8.0
- Value
- 7.5
- Airport / station
- 10.0
- First trip
- 7.8
Best for
- Day trips to Nara, Osaka and beyond
- Arriving late or leaving on an early Shinkansen
- Families, and anyone travelling with real luggage
Choose elsewhere if
- You want to step out of the door into Kyoto rather than a transport interchange
- You have three days and all of them are in the north-east
- You want dinner to be a walk rather than a plan
Our picks in Kyoto Station
Best for trains and day trips
Hotel Granvia Kyoto
Our pick when the trains decide the trip: it is inside the Kyoto Station building, so the Shinkansen, the airport express and the Nara and Osaka lines are reached without going outdoors.
Best for a lower rate
Hotel Keihan Kyoto Ekiminami
Our pick for a lower rate that keeps the one thing the station area is for. It is a minute from the Hachijō west exit, so the trains stay as close as they are from the far more expensive rooms inside the building.