Hotel Sou Kyoto Gion

The space is cozy and has the amenities you need for a place to rest between Kyoto adventures. Other necessities are within walking distance. Self check-in is convenient if that suits you, though it can make receiving mail difficult.

A roomy, clean place with a kitchen in a great spot in Gion. The atmosphere is lovely, and it's close to tourist attractions.

We didn't expect to have a whole apartment to ourselves. The room was huge, with a large bed, its own washer, kitchen, TV, and a separate shower room. It was lovely to be so close to a beautiful temple and the main shopping streets. One odd thing was having to pay a separate fee to use the kitchen, even though it was in our room. There was also hardly ever anyone at reception, which could be a bit disappointing.

We found the apartment setup really convenient for our first stay in this kind of hotel in Japan. The unit was very roomy for the price and its popular location, with plenty of space for our things and luggage. It had separate kitchen, toilet, and laundry rooms, plus another room for bathing or showering. Using the kitchen utensils for a week cost an extra 500 yens (USD $3.5 in May 2025). That extra charge seemed odd, but the amount was still quite reasonable. The in-unit washer and dryer were free to use, and detergent was included, which was a pleasant surprise. That's hard to beat compared with hotels where everyone shares a coin-operated laundry room. The hotel is right in Gion, likely Japan's most famous geisha district, and many west Kyoto sights are within walking distance, including Yasaka Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera, Hanamikoji-dori, Shirakawa Canal, and Pontocho. For Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari, Uji, or Nara, another option is to spend the first half of the trip near Kyoto Station and use the trains to explore central and western Kyoto and the southeast. Then move to somewhere like Hotel Sou in Gion for the second half. That worked very well for us.