Ryokan in Kyoto

Only one of the five reviewed Kyoto inns has hot-spring water: Sumiya Kiho-an, in the wooded hills of Yunohana Onsen about 8km from JR Kameoka Station, itself about 20 minutes from Kyoto Station by train. The other four fill wooden tubs in the room instead: koyamaki at Tawaraya and Hiiragiya, hinoki at Kanamean Nishitomiya, hinoki or hiba at Hoshinoya Kyoto. Three are in central Nakagyo: Tawaraya, which calls itself Kyoto's oldest standing ryokan (Hōei era, 1704–11), and Hiiragiya (since 1818) face each other across Fuyacho-dori, and Kanamean Nishitomiya (since 1873) stands on Tominokōji street. Hoshinoya Kyoto is reached by a 10–20 minute boat ride up the Arashiyama gorge.

Tawaraya (luxury) is the pick for design and calm: 18 sukiya rooms, no two alike, soap, bedding and pyjamas made for the inn, and gentle Kyoto kaiseki served in the room, at about ¥164,000–357,000 a night for two with two meals; only ten rooms are sold online, so phone for the others, and the polished stairs are slippery. Hiiragiya (luxury), across the street, is the pick for service (4.95 out of 5 on Japan's leading luxury booking site) and Kyoto kaiseki, from about ¥73,000 per person, though the old building has thin walls and the smallest rooms lack their own bath. Kanamean Nishitomiya (luxury), with eight rooms, is the pick for dinner: a kitchen tour, then Michelin-starred kaiseki in a private room, at about ¥71,500–99,000 per person plus a 10% service charge, but its hinoki tubs run very hot and ground-floor rooms hear footsteps. Hoshinoya Kyoto (luxury) is built around quiet, with no TV, steep stairs and no lift, and meals booked separately from the room. Sumiya Kiho-an (classic) is the only onsen option and the only classic-tier inn, with kamado-cooked rice and monthly Kyoto kaiseki its strongest point, though some rooms are dated.