Hotels Near Gallery Rakuchu Rakugai in Kyoto

On April 28, 2024, I stayed at Kyoto Universal Hotel Karasuma to participate in the Kyoto May Day event held at Umekoji Park Lawn Square. The hotel is located south of Kujo Subway Station. To get to Umekoji Park, take city bus number 208 from Oishibashi without changing buses. The room rates have increased because it is the first Saturday of Golden Week, but I made the reservation two months in advance in anticipation of this. The usually free dinner and breakfast were 720 yen and 570 yen, respectively. I had dinner at the nearby Indian restaurant ”Dana Pani En.” The front desk was able to handle three check-ins. The service was not bad. The large public bath has not yet reopened under the pretext of infection prevention, but I think it is actually for cost-saving purposes. The rooms on the third floor have sofas and are not small. Be careful of the steps in the bathroom. BS cannot be viewed.

The location of hotel is in a walking distance from Kyoto Station. It is not close to the town 四條町. Every time when we go for shopping, we need to take a bus to the downtown. Easy access to anywhere by bus. The hotel staffs are very professional. The breakfast is highly recommended to book before departure. The hot spring, the room size, buffet breakfast, the service of reception are in a high standard. Highly recommended to the travelers who is planning to Kyoto. Interesting point: No shoes in this hotel. U need to lock your shoes in the locker before you walk in the hotel. They provided socks for you to wear.

Ala Hotel Kyoto is a charming boutique hotel situated in the heart of Kyoto, offering a blend of traditional Japanese hospitality with modern conveniences. Its location is excellent for tourists, as it provides easy access to many of Kyoto’s famous shrines, temples, and cultural sites. The interior decor of the hotel reflects a tasteful mix of classic and contemporary styles, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Rooms are well-equipped with modern amenities while still maintaining a touch of traditional Japanese aesthetics, such as tatami flooring and sliding shoji doors in some rooms. The service at Ala Hotel Kyoto is noteworthy, with staff demonstrating the attentive and polite service that Japan is known for. They are helpful in providing information about local attractions and transportation, which enhances the overall guest experience. However, while the hotel excels in comfort and service, some guests might find the amenities slightly limited compared to larger hotel chains. The dining options, although satisfactory, may not impress those looking for a more extensive menu.

The hotel looks dated from the outside, is very modern in the lobby with machines for checking in and out, and then the rooms are also quite dated. The hotel is quite big, and you can be unfortunate to get a room far away from the lifts. The rooms are decent and clean. The bathroom is okay, but there wasn’t much caulk next to the shower so the water from the shower that hit the wall was just sliding down underneath the bath… very strange. On each floor there is one room where you can get ice and water, it also has a vending machine.

Overall was okay, a bit far from Kyoto staion. But, hotel has shuttle bus every 20 mins and make it more convenient. Service and amenities were nice. The worst part was humidity of the room and cleanliness (quite low compared to Japanese standard), plus bedsheets were smelly.

Nice and clean hotel, good location to browse the city. The staff are kind and friendly. The rooms are not big but family of 3 with one big piece of luggage can easily fit in. Japanese style room is very charming but you might need some time to adjust to a mattress firmness. The breakfast selection is rather limited and repetitive.

We chose this hotel due to itsʻ location and it exceeded our expectations! The hotel staff was helpful and provided information in Japanese and English. We stayed for 13 days and were impressed with the hotelʻs determination to provide us with clean rooms, towels and other items. This hotelʻs location at Shijo/Karasuma made it easy to get to train stations, bus and the subway. There were also many excellent restaurants and shopping possibilities. One of the features we appreciated a lot was the laundry. We also appreciated that it was quiet.. didnʻt even hear people in the halls or doors close. Having lived in Kyoto for a long time, this was our first time to stay in a hotel and would recommend it for sure.

We stayed for one night on Saturday in December. It is a hotel that we chose where new things and prices are worthwhile. It was a walk from Omiya Station in Hankyu, both on the way and on the way back. The bus stop of Horikawa Gojo is the nearest, but it may be surprisingly convenient to use a taxi from Kyoto Station. It is also far from Gojo Station of the subway. There are many convenience stores by the hotel. I think it is good to have breakfast at a delicious bakery. Check-in response is normal. The receptionist and payment are different. It may be possible to rent because the bicycle was in the front lobby, but I don't particularly inquired. The room is a corner room on the 6 floor. The size of the room seems to be the same on the floor. The room is large and the bed is about the queen size. This is perfect, but it is not an environment where you can work remotely because there is no electricity on the table, and it is difficult to drink tea. The air conditioner is by the door and it takes a considerable time to warm the whole room, and the corner of the room remains cold. I'm grateful that there are at least two chairs because they are used for two people, but it's not. The window is unusual and cloudy glass. It may be because the outside of the window is the grave of the temple. I don't say it because it was a price on Saturday, but I think it's good to relax in a little more room. You might stay next time.

It's a nice hotel with a good location, easy enough to find from the train station. The rooms are clean and cozy. What was disappointing was the service at front desk. Not friendly or welcoming at all as compared to our stay in other cities like Osaka. We were even shuned away for breakfast as we wore the traditional Yukatas that were provided by the hotel, as the front desk said we couldn't wear it at the breakfast lounge and had to either go back up to change or we could take a small box of bread and pastries (that were cold) and we could eat in our rooms instead.

Came here with family during the Sakura season. It's easy to get to the onset hotel. After arriving at the Ogoto Onsen JR station, towards the south exit you will find a cell phone attached to a board with explanation how to use the phone to call one of the onsen hotels. After the call, their shuttle bus will then come and pick you up between 2pm to 6pm I think. The hotel staff in general are very welcoming. Our family scored a deal with their penthouse suite with private indoor and outdoor onsen. Four of us stayed in the suite and the price is only slightly more than four of us staying in 2 regular rooms. It also came with a beautiful fruit platter for you to enjoy. The suite is very spacious with 2 separate toilets. The bath area has 2 sinks, a shower stall as well as a japanese style bathing area connected to the 2 onsen baths (indoor one is a hinoki wood tub and the outdoor one is a stone one. The outdoor onsen does have a slight privacy issue as there are some residential buildings in a distance. While my mom was a bit too modest to use the outdoor one (which I am not and fully enjoyed it), she did take full advantage of the indoor private onsen. Of course the hotel also has a public onsen for the guests. In fact they have two. One in each towers. I used the one on the top floor in the morning and it was a bless seeing the sunrise while soaking in the hot onsen water. Our package also included both dinner and breakfast that were served at their private dining room. Both meals were done in kaiseki style. We were particularly impressed by their dinner. Not only was it cooked with high quality ingredients and with beautiful presentation, they did not skimp on the quantity as well. Often after eating dinner at other onsen hotel, I would not feel full and actually felt a bit hungry later at night, at Yumotokan the courses kept coming and I was completely stuffed at the end. In fact I did not finish the rice even though it was so yummy (cooked from scratch in front of us with a flamed mini-stove). All in all, a very satisfactory experience. I can recommend anyone who comes to Kyoto/Osaka and wants an excursion and experiences the traditional Japanese onsen.