Aman Kyoto

Aman Kyoto is a forest retreat inside the city, 26 rooms, suites and pavilions set across roughly 32 hectares of moss and maple in the northern hills near Kinkaku-ji. It holds two MICHELIN Keys and a genuine natural hot spring. There is no swimming pool, and you will be taxi-dependent.

"Twenty six pavilions in a mossy private forest near Kinkaku-ji, with natural onsen bathing, Kerry Hill architecture and deliberately almost no facilities."

Aggregate 9.3/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Hotel status, room product and Michelin ratings were verified against official sources and the current Michelin Guide in July 2026.

What makes Aman Kyoto special?

The land came first, and it is still the best thing here. Decades ago a textile magnate assembled this site in the Takagamine hills intending to build a museum of obi and kimono art. The project was abandoned, and the terraces, stone paths and stepping stones he had already laid lay forgotten under moss until Aman found them. Kerry Hill Architects built the pavilions into those existing terraces rather than clearing them, which is why the property reads as a garden that happens to contain a hotel. Aman calls the roughly 32 hectares of moss, maple and cedar a secret garden, and for once the phrase is close to the truth. The scale is the second point. Twenty-six rooms, suites and pavilions across about 80 acres is a ratio no city hotel can match, and the architecture is a minimalist reading of the ryokan: timber, stone and shadow rather than ornament. Third, this is a real hot spring. Mineral-rich water rises near the resort and feeds traditional men's and women's onsen bathhouses. Two MICHELIN Keys recognise the hotel, not its kitchens, which hold no star.

Which room should you book?

Aman Kyoto has 26 rooms, suites and pavilions, dispersed through the forest rather than stacked in a single building. Kerry Hill Architects designed them in a minimalist ryokan idiom: low horizontal lines, timber, deep eaves and large windows onto moss and maple. The free-standing pavilions are the standout, set alone among the trees on the old terraces, which buys a level of privacy almost nothing else in Kyoto offers. Because the accommodation is spread across roughly 32 hectares of forest and garden, getting from your room to dinner means a walk outdoors in whatever weather Kyoto is having, which is glorious in November and less so in the June rains. Anyone with limited mobility should raise it before booking, because the site is terraced and linked by stone paths and steps. Hot spring bathing happens in the traditional men's and women's onsen bathhouses, and the spa alongside them has only three treatment rooms, which is small for a property at this price.

Where should you eat and drink?

Two restaurants, and neither holds a MICHELIN star. Taka-An is the signature: Japanese haute cuisine in kaiseki form, built on seasonal local produce, with private dining rooms available. The Living Pavilion by Aman is the all-day room, arranged around a central fireplace and serving Kyoto obanzai-style home cooking alongside Western dishes and afternoon tea. There is also Senkutsu, a tea house on the grounds used for tea ceremony. Two outlets is thin for a stay of several nights, and it is one of the property's most consistent criticisms: reviewers repeatedly describe the food and service as good rather than Aman-standard, and note that the main dining room is small. The remoteness compounds it. With no complimentary shuttle and nothing walkable nearby, eating out means a taxi in each direction, so most guests end up eating in most nights and working through a short menu. If dining variety matters more to you than seclusion, a city-centre address will serve you better.

What is the spa and pool like?

The Aman Spa is built on a genuine natural hot spring: mineral-rich water springs near the resort and is central to the spa's philosophy, with traditional men's and women's onsen bathhouses. That is the strength. The weakness is scale. The spa has just three treatment rooms, alongside aroma oil treatments, shiatsu, acupuncture, yoga and facials, and there is no swimming pool at all. Guests say this plainly in reviews: paying Aman rates at a property with no pool and a small spa is a value question, and it is the complaint that recurs most often after the remoteness. If you want both a hot spring and a lap pool in Kyoto, no hotel on this list gives you both. Four Seasons Kyoto has the 20 metre pool and a bathhouse; Aman has the spring and the forest.

Where is Aman Kyoto, and how do you get there?

Aman Kyoto is in Takagamine, the wooded northern hills of Kita ward, at the foot of Hidari Daimonji mountain and close to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. It is inside the city limits and nowhere near the middle of it. Understand what that means day to day. Kyoto Station is about 30 minutes by car, per Aman. Osaka Itami is a one-hour drive, and Kansai International Airport is a two-hour drive or a 90-minute express train to Kyoto Station followed by a car transfer, all official figures. Gion and Higashiyama sit approximately 30 minutes away by car. The nearest train station is roughly a 30-minute walk and the nearest bus stop 15 to 20 minutes, and there is no complimentary shuttle from Kyoto Station, so you are on taxis for everything. Kinkaku-ji is a short drive. Choose this address if you want forest silence and are willing to pay for the cabs.

What do guests consistently say?

Guests split sharply on Aman Kyoto, and the fault line is value rather than quality. The praise is close to unanimous on the setting: the moss gardens, the terraced forest, the silence and the architecture are what people come away describing, and the onsen bathhouses get consistently warm reviews. The criticism is equally consistent. Reviewers on TripAdvisor complain about paying Aman rates at a property with no pool, a very small spa and limited public space, and several call the facilities thin for the money. Food and service draw the same verdict: good, not Aman-standard, from only two outlets and a small main dining room. The remoteness divides people too. Guests who wanted a retreat love it; guests who wanted to see Kyoto found themselves in taxis all day with a 30-minute walk to the nearest station. Both groups are describing the same hotel accurately.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

Three drawbacks, and they are well documented. First, it is very remote for a city stay. The nearest train station is roughly a 30-minute walk, the nearest bus stop 15 to 20 minutes, and there is no complimentary shuttle from Kyoto Station, so you are taxi-dependent for every meal and every temple. Budget for that in both money and time. Second, the facilities are thin for the price: no swimming pool, a spa with only three treatment rooms and limited public space, which multiple guests call poor value at the rate charged. Third, dining is limited to two outlets, and reviewers repeatedly describe the food and service as good rather than Aman-standard, in a small main dining room. None of this is a quality failure. It is a question of what you are buying: 32 hectares of forest and 26 keys, not a full-service resort.