Where to Stay in Kyoto with Kids: How to Pick the Area

I’m not going to tell you I’ve slept in every family hotel in Kyoto. I’ve stayed in one, and I’ll tell you exactly what it cost and what it was like.

What I can do is something more useful. I spent fourteen years as an account manager looking after hotel portfolios for a large online travel agency. My job was knowing which hotels sat where in a destination, which side of a city actually sells, and why a well-located hotel still wasn’t getting booked. So this is how I’d choose a Kyoto base for a family — the area first, the hotel second, and in that order.

The short answer

• First trip, school-age kids, lots of sightseeing: central Kyoto or the Higashiyama side. Walkability beats everything else here.
• Arriving late, leaving early, or day-tripping a lot: Kyoto Station.
• Toddlers, or a longer stay: an apartment-style room, wherever it is. Space and a washing machine matter more than location.
• Second trip, or you want quiet: Arashiyama — but understand what you’re trading away.
• What we did: under 2 km from the old town, four nights, around €250 for a family of four in July 2023.

Why the area matters more in Kyoto than in most cities

Kyoto’s sights are not clustered. Higashiyama is in the eastern hills, Arashiyama is fifteen minutes west by train plus a walk, Fushimi Inari is five minutes south, and Kinkaku-ji is forty minutes north-west by bus and not on the train network at all.

That means any two of them in one day costs you an hour in transit minimum. With children, that hour is the difference between a good day and a bad one — which is why our whole Kyoto itinerary is built around one district per day. 4 Days in Kyoto with Kids

So the question isn’t “which hotel is nicest”. It’s which base makes the days you’ve planned shorter.

The four areas, and who each one is for

Central Kyoto and the Higashiyama side

Best for: first-time visitors doing a lot of sightseeing, with children who can walk.

This is what I’d pick again. Being close to the old town is what let us walk Higashiyama twice in one day — once after dark when the lanterns were lit and the streets were empty, once first thing the next morning as the shops opened. They are two completely different places, and you only get both if going back costs you nothing. Kyoto Old Town with kids

The trade-off: rooms tend to be smaller and prices higher for the same square metre, and the streets in the historic parts are sloping and uneven — fine walking, harder with a pushchair and luggage.

Kyoto Station

Best for: late arrivals, early departures, and trips with a lot of day trips in them.

Kyoto Station is where the Shinkansen arrives, where the buses to Kinkaku-ji leave from, and where the JR lines to Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari, Nara and Uji all start. If your Kyoto days involve leaving Kyoto — and ours did, three times — that’s worth a lot.

It’s also the easy answer when you’re arriving with luggage and tired children, because you’re not crossing the city to check in.

The trade-off: it isn’t the pretty part. You’ll be commuting into the Kyoto you came to see, and evenings out there aren’t the same.

Arashiyama

Best for: a second Kyoto trip, or families who want quiet over convenience.

Staying in Arashiyama puts you next to the bamboo grove at dawn, which is genuinely the only time it’s worth seeing — it’s a 500-metre path and it’s mobbed by mid-morning. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

The trade-off, and it’s a real one: you’re twenty minutes and a train ride from everything else, every single day. For a first trip with a packed itinerary, that adds up fast.

Apartment-style, anywhere

Best for: toddlers, longer stays, fussy eaters, or anyone who has ever tried to do laundry on holiday with children.

This is the category I’d push hardest for families, and it cuts across all the areas above. Japanese city hotel rooms are small — that’s not a criticism, it’s the norm — and a compact room works fine when you’re out all day and terrible when you’re not.

Apartment-style hotels give you separated space, a kitchen and usually a washing machine. Several chains in Japan are built specifically around this; MIMARU is the one that comes up most often for families and has locations across Kyoto. VERIFY — I haven’t stayed in one and neither have you, so this stays as “the category to look for” rather than a recommendation.

What we actually booked, and what it cost

Sakura Cross Hotel Kyoto Kiyomizu. Around €250 for four nights for two adults and two children, in July 2023 — roughly €62 a night for the family.

It’s a compact three-star business-style hotel, not a luxury stay, and the room was somewhere to sleep rather than somewhere to be. But it was under 2 km from the old town, spotlessly clean, and cheap enough that we could stay four nights instead of two.

That trade is the whole point of this page. More nights in a smaller room in the right neighbourhood beat fewer nights in a bigger room in the wrong one — every time, with children. Full review, including what I didn’t like: Sakura Cross Hotel Kyoto Kiyomizu review

That was a 2023 price. Kyoto rates have risen since — treat it as a reference point, not a quote.

Reading a Kyoto hotel listing, with a family

This is the part I know professionally, and it’s where most families lose money or end up disappointed.

• “Family room” means different things at different hotels. Check the actual bed configuration and the stated maximum occupancy on the listing rather than the room name. Two doubles, a double plus a sofa bed and a room with bunks are three very different holidays.
• Check the square metres, not the photos. Japanese listings usually state room size, and it’s the most honest number on the page. A wide-angle photo of a 15 m² room still shows a 15 m² room.
• Confirm children’s occupancy and any age policy directly. Whether a child counts toward occupancy, and whether they need their own bed, varies by property — and it’s the single most common reason a booking goes wrong at check-in.
• Look at where the hotel actually is, not the district it claims. Kyoto listings are generous with area names. Put the address into a map and measure the walk to the nearest station yourself.
• If a place you want has no availability on your dates, check again nearer the time. Inventory moves — rooms get released as cancellation deadlines pass, and a hotel that showed nothing in January often shows something in March.
• Luggage storage before check-in and after check-out is worth more than a lot of the amenities that get advertised, especially on arrival and departure days.

How many nights in Kyoto?

Four, if you want to do it at the pace children can manage — one district a day. Three works if you cut a district rather than compressing four days into three. Two means Higashiyama and one other thing, and being honest with yourself about that.

Our four days: the old town, Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari, Kinkaku-ji. The full itinerary is here.

Check what’s available on your dates. Pick the area first using the sections above, then filter — it’s a much faster way to book than scrolling a list of hotels.

This page contains affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We paid for our own stay in Kyoto and were not hosted.

Planning the rest of Kyoto

• 4 Days in Kyoto with Kids
• Kyoto Old Town with kids
• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
• Iwatayama Monkey Park
• Fushimi Inari with kids
• Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion
• One day in Uji

Frequently asked questions about staying in Kyoto with kids

What is the best area to stay in Kyoto with kids?

Central Kyoto or the Higashiyama side for a first trip with school-age children, because it puts you within walking distance of the old town and lets you visit it twice in a day — once after dark and once early. Kyoto Station is the better choice if you are arriving late, leaving early or taking several day trips, since the Shinkansen, the JR lines and the buses to Kinkaku-ji all start there.

Is it better to stay near Kyoto Station or in Gion?

It depends on how much of your trip leaves Kyoto. Kyoto Station is the transport hub for day trips to Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari, Nara and Uji, and is easiest on arrival and departure days. Gion and Higashiyama put you in the part of the city you came to see and make evening walks possible, but rooms tend to be smaller and the streets are sloping and uneven with a pushchair.

Should you stay in Arashiyama with children?

Only on a second trip, or if quiet matters more to you than convenience. Staying there does mean you can reach the bamboo grove at dawn, which is the only time it is worth seeing. The trade-off is being a train ride from the rest of Kyoto every day, which on a packed first-time itinerary costs more than the early mornings are worth.

Are Kyoto hotel rooms small for a family of four?

Generally yes, by European standards. Compact rooms are the norm in Japanese city hotels and they work well if you are out all day and using the room only to sleep and shower. If you have a toddler who naps, or you are staying more than a few nights, look for apartment-style accommodation with separated space and a washing machine instead.

How much does a family hotel in Kyoto cost?

We paid around €250 for four nights for two adults and two children in July 2023, at a compact three-star hotel under 2 km from the old town — roughly €62 a night for the family. Kyoto rates have risen since, and prices swing sharply between cherry blossom season, autumn and the rest of the year, so check current rates for your dates.

How many nights should you stay in Kyoto with kids?

Four, if you want to see the city at a pace children can manage, doing one district a day. Three works if you drop a district rather than compressing the same plan into fewer days. Two is enough for the old town and one other area, and worth being honest with yourself about.