My husband and I had a wonderful one-night stay at Hiiragiya. Yes, it is pricey, but you are paying for an experience (and excellent food). Upon check-in, we were given a tour of the room and some tea to enjoy in our little sitting room overlooking the garden. Dinner was a traditional Kaiseki 12-course meal served in our room at... More

Come here with high expectations, as every other Japanese person you meet gets slack-jawed when you tell them you're staying here. But herein lies a fatal flaw: our perception of luxury is very different from that of the Japanese. Review after review of every expensive ryokan on trip advisor reads like some variation of "I spent usd$500 a night to... More

We learned from our Japanese friend later that this is one of the 4 remaining original traditional Japanese Ryokan there are! Stay here if you want an authentic Kyoto experience for at least one night, which was what we did, since that's all we could afford. This is not a place for you to be an obnoxious foreign tourist who... More

Stayed here in July 2010, and have been meaning to write this review. Details still crisp. Travel Specialist pushed this for "unique Japanese" experience as part of trip through Japan, Singapore and Bali (see related reviews). May have been a great idea in theory, but was not great in practice. One night there was very very expensive and not worth... More

Great location. Friendly staff. Very relaxed. Although the food is good it is heavy--try to book without dinner one night. Highly recommended although pricey.

This is an incredibly expensive Ryokan in the center of Kyoto. We payed about 500$ per person (!) to share one room with our friends for one night, including dinner and breakfast. The room was nice but not as big as expected and had a beautiful little garden outside. The service was very friendly indeed. Don't miss to take a... More

Hiiragiya is a place you need to do some research before you visit. Don't come here if you need a lot of light in the bathroom to do your makeup, don't come here if you need a regular height desk to do your email..... Do come here if you crave curtsey and kindness, if you need to really relax and... More

My wife and I stayed at this Japanese inn for 2 nights almost a year ago. After staying in more than 10 deluxe hotels since then,it seems unfair not to write about this great inn. It is very expensive, but the service and atmosphere are just unbelievable. It cost us $1200 a night for a corner room .( Japanese breakfast... More

Staying here was the one of the best things that I've ever done. Food, service, atmosphere and over all experience was nothing short of perfection.