Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto

The Hotel

Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto opened on 1 October 2016 at 445-3 Myohoin Maekawacho — the most architecturally serious modern hotel arrival in Kyoto until Aman Kyoto's 2019 opening. The site was historically the residence of Taira no Shigemori, a 12th-century imperial-court figure, and contained the Shakusui-en (写水園) pond garden — a working Heian-period stroll garden with an 800-year continuous history. The Four Seasons developed the property in partnership with the local heritage authority, with a strict mandate to preserve the garden in its entirety and to integrate the new hotel buildings around the historic pond rather than replace it. The architectural register, by Kume Sekkei of Tokyo with interiors by HBA, leans contemporary-Japanese: low-rise pavilions arranged around the central pond, traditional Hinoki cypress detailing, and floor-to-ceiling glass on every garden-facing elevation.

There are 123 hotel rooms and 57 private branded residences (the residences can be rented through the property as serviced apartments — they are the most generous family-and-extended-stay product in Kyoto). The standard Deluxe Room runs to 50 square metres with a private terrace facing the garden or a Higashiyama mountain view; the Premier Garden Room runs to 60 square metres with full pond-facing terraces; the Premier Garden Suite runs to 100 square metres. The Imperial Suite, on the top floor of the West Wing, runs to 240 square metres with two bedrooms, a private dining room, and a wraparound terrace overlooking the entire Shakusui-en garden. Every garden-facing room offers an uninterrupted view across the pond — the most photographed hotel-bedroom view in any Japanese city.

Brasserie — the property's signature dining room, set on the garden's western edge with full pond-facing glass — runs a contemporary French kitchen with strong Japanese-produce sourcing; the dining room is the most considered hotel French restaurant in Kyoto and the city's most reliable working brunch programme on Sunday. Sushi Wakon, the property's intimate Japanese counter, runs an omakase programme by a chef trained at the three-Michelin-starred Sushi Saito of Tokyo. The Lounge serves the property's daily afternoon tea programme; the Bar — the property's intimate evening cocktail venue — runs the brand's signature cocktail-and-Japanese-whisky programme. The on-property tea house, set on the eastern edge of the garden in a restored 17th-century tea pavilion, runs daily traditional tea-ceremony programmes for hotel guests.

The Spa at Four Seasons — set across the property's underground level — runs eight treatment rooms with the brand's signature programme adapted for traditional Japanese herbal applications. The 20-metre indoor swimming pool sits adjacent to the Spa with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the garden's western edge; the fitness centre is open 24 hours. The Kids for All Seasons programme runs daily through Japanese school holidays and is the most considered family-programme of any Kyoto five-star. The Higashiyama position is the practical advantage: the Sanjusangen-do temple is two minutes' walk; the Kyoto National Museum is three minutes; Kiyomizu-dera is fifteen minutes' walk; the Gion district is ten minutes by car. Kyoto Station is six minutes by car. For Kyoto luxury at the historic-garden-anchored, family-friendly, Forbes-recognised level, the Four Seasons is the most considered booking against the Ritz-Carlton.

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Also Great for Family in Kyoto