The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto ranks #21 on our 2026 list of the best honeymoon hotels in the world. The case below explains why — the hotel itself, the standard it operates at, what it does specifically for couples on a milestone trip, and the alternatives we tested it against.
“On the Kamogawa river facing the Higashiyama mountains — 134 rooms, the Mizuki kaiseki restaurant with one Michelin star, and the only urban Ritz-Carlton with onsen tradition.”
The hotel itself
On the blossom-fringed banks of the Kamogawa river at Nijo-Ohashi, facing the Higashiyama mountains. 134 rooms with distinctive Japanese motifs, Michelin-starred Mizuki tempura kitchen, and one of the deepest urban-hotel onsen-tradition spas in Asia.
"On the Kamogawa river facing the Higashiyama mountains — 134 rooms, the Mizuki kaiseki restaurant with one Michelin star, and the only urban Ritz-Carlton with onsen tradition."
The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto opened on 14 February 2014 on the western bank of the Kamogawa river at Nijo-Ohashi — one of the most identifiable urban locations in Kyoto, with the Higashiyama mountains forming the eastern horizon and the Imperial Palace gardens five minutes' walk to the north. The site was previously occupied by the Hotel Fujita Kyoto, demolished in 2010 to make way for the new Ritz-Carlton — Kyoto's first super-luxury international-brand urban hotel and a property that immediately reset the city's hotel ceiling on opening. The architectural register, by Peter Marino with Tokyo's Nikken Sekkei, references Meiji-era Japanese architecture rendered at a contemporary luxury scale: a low-rise three-storey street-facing block with a double-pitched copper-clad roof, deep eaves, and floor-to-ceiling glass facing the river.
Why it works for a honeymoon
A city honeymoon is the riskiest format and the one that pays off the most for the right couple. The hotel needs to do what a destination resort does — give you the reason to stay in — without losing the case for the city outside. The best urban honeymoon hotels have the Michelin restaurant inside the building, the spa that erases the morning's flight, and the staff that get the table at the city's hardest restaurant for tonight.
This is one of the hotels that does not need a brand to argue for itself. The owners — sometimes a family, sometimes a single founder, sometimes a regional operator with one or two properties — built this place to a standard the larger groups have tried and failed to replicate. The case below is the honeymoon-specific argument.
There are 134 guest rooms and suites — generous standard inventory by Kyoto luxury-hotel standards. The standard Deluxe Room runs to 50 square metres with floor-to-ceiling windows facing either the river (east, with Higashiyama mountain views beyond) or the property's central Japanese garden. The Suite Yuhaen and Suite Tsukimi run from 80 to 120 square metres; the Suite Kamogawa, on the third floor with full river-and-Higashiyama views, runs to 280 square metres with two bedrooms, a private dining room for ten, and a private terrace facing the river. The Ritz-Carlton Suite — at 305 square metres — is the most expansive hotel suite in Kyoto. Every room features hand-loomed Tatami textile inserts, hand-thrown ceramic bath products, and the brand's signature 24-hour Ritz-Carlton butler service.
Mizuki — the property's signature tempura, sushi, kaiseki, and teppanyaki dining venues — is a four-restaurant complex on the lower level. The Tempura Mizuki kitchen holds one Michelin star and runs the most considered hotel tempura programme in Japan. The Kaiseki Mizuki kitchen offers a working multi-course Kyoto-kaiseki programme; the Sushi Mizuki and Teppanyaki Mizuki kitchens round out the Japanese-cuisine offer. La Locanda — the property's Italian dining room facing the river — runs a contemporary Northern Italian kitchen under a chef trained in Piedmont. The Lobby Lounge serves the property's afternoon-tea programme; The Pierre — the property's evening cocktail bar named for the late Pierre Cardin who collaborated with Marino on the original interior commission — runs an Old World cocktail and Japanese-whiskey programme that is the city's most considered hotel bar.
Where it ranks against rivals
For a 2026 honeymoon at this level, the most direct comparisons are Six Senses Laamu in Maldives (#20 on this list), Mandarin Oriental Bangkok in Bangkok (#22 on this list), Cheval Blanc Paris in Paris (#19 on this list). The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto earns the higher rank for one or two specific reasons we explain in the verdict above. The other properties are not lesser hotels — in some cases the answer for your particular trip is the runner-up, and the city-specific page below has the full local ranking.
Practical: getting in
Address: Japan, 〒604-0902 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Hokodenchō, ５４３ 鴨川二条大橋畔. Honeymoon-suited categories book six to nine months ahead in shoulder season, twelve months ahead in peak. The full review at the hotel page has current rates, room categories worth paying up for, and the dining and spa programmes worth booking pre-arrival. Use our honeymoon occasion page for the broader context.