Kyō no Yado Gekkōan — Attraction in Kyoto

Immediately upon arrival we were greeted by our hosts Shiomi, Shinzo and another individual whose name we cannot recall since our interactions with him were limited. Shinzo – the general manager for this ryokan had provided us with possibly the most hospitable stay at any hotel we had ever been to. We came to stay at Kyonoyado Gekkouan for our honeymoon and were pleasantly surprised with the amazing hospitality and would love to come back to stay again to explore more of Kyoto since we only had 3 days to explore before heading to our next destination.

When we arrived – slightly before 3 – the three hosts had sat us down in the living room of the inn where Shinzo, the general manager explained to us the rich history of the city of Kyoto and the history of the inn itself. In addition to providing us with the history of the city – he provided us with maps and drew out an itinerary for us to see some of the best historical sites and temples in the area. This was extremely helpful since we, as foreigners to Japan who wanted to truly immerse ourselves in the culture, were very unaware of which sites would be the best to check out during our short stay in Kyoto.

He had couple maps of the Kyoto to give us – one close up to show us where all the closest convenience stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and shopping centers were and another map to show us the temples that we’d have to venture out by train to see. He was extremely helpful in drawing out a path that would ensure that we would maximize our time in Kyoto and it really did help us in getting a better idea as to what we wanted to see. We felt that even in our short stay in Kyoto that we really got a good taste of the history – but were also impressed by the service provided within our inn. After going over the maps and history, Shinzo added my husband on whatsapp and provided him with a detailed summary of every location that he had spoke to us about in addition to the optimal routes to take for each location via text.

We had purchased breakfast and dinner at the ryokan for our whole stay. The food was delicious and there was so much of it that we almost couldn’t finish any of the meals (but we did for the most part since the food was so good).

Since it was our honeymoon, Shinzo and his staff had decided to surprise us and upgrade one of our dinners to a 3 star Michelin rated restaurant – Hyoki, a branch of Hyotei which is one of the three major ryotei in Kyoto with 3 Michelin stars which turned out to be an amazing experience given that Michelin star experiences in the US are very difficult to reserve as they are very pricey and in most cases booked for months.

Every detail of the service was amazing – when cleaning our rooms, they had rearranged our chargers and wires, folded the clothes that we had loaded into the in suite laundry machine and made sure that they arranged our beds prior to us sleeping so that they could make sure we had everything we needed before leaving us after dinner.

On our last day, they held onto our bags after check out so that we could go explore one more piece of Kyoto before leaving. It was a rainy day so they allowed us to borrow their umbrellas. When we returned to pick up our luggage and to return the umbrellas they lent us to venture off into Tokyo from Kyoto, they actually provided us with 2 new umbrellas free of charge so that we would not get wet in the rain during our long trip to Tokyo and offered to call us a cab which we did not need since we had plans to take the shinkansen into Tokyo anyway.

Overall an amazing and hospitable experience. The attention to the smallest of details really set them apart from any other hotel that I’ve ever stayed at and I am truly grateful for the hospitality and all the information that they provided for us about Kyoto. We cannot wait to return to Kyoto and stay with them again one day. Definitely one of the best parts of our...

Hands down one of the best hotels in Japan. If you're vegetarian or vegan, and want to experience in-room Kaiseki, this is the place to go. Everything is done to the finest level, and the service is impeccable. Hospitality by Shin and Shohei totally exceeded our expectation. You will be so well taken care of, that the whole experience is beyond 5-stars hotels. Definitely stay at least 2 nights to enjoy a full experience of the beautiful room and delightful treats by Shin and Shohei.

You'll be checked in inside your suite. If you're open to travel suggestions, Shin will guide you in details as which street with drawings on the map. We discovered the most beautiful temple in Kyoto (yet almost no tourist) thanks to Shin.

The suite is carefully curated with arts and amenities, and almost everything about the room has a story behind. The cups and the sake bottle label are beautifully matched with the room's painting! There're many thoughtful details in the room to be discovered. And Shin will be happy to tell you the stories behind.

Shin and Shohei have this magical ability to service the room in front of you yet you will not notice immediately. The first night we checked in, a technician was scheduled to come in and fix something. Shin and Shohei showed up together with the technician. While Shin kept us entertained with Kyoto stories, Shohei was taking care of the technician's work. After they left, I found that the bathroom (which was only used lightly once) was cleaned up with used hand towel removed, and toilet paper folded! I have never seen this level of service in any hotel. 5-star hotels wish they could be this good, but only a small team and dedication to hospitality like Kyonoyado Gekkou-an can achieve this level of service.

We had Japanese style breakfast, prepared in Shojin style (Japanese zen vegetable cooking). Even as a meat-eater, I enjoy this vegan breakfast very much. Shin made extra effort to arrange vegetarian Kaiseki for my partner. The traditional (with fish) Kaiseki I had was truly amazing (both in taste and art form). Yet the vegetarian one looks so beautiful that for a moment I wish I was a vegetarian!

Thank you Shin and Shohei for giving us an...

Truly the most perfect first impression of Japan as the first lodging of our trip. We were greeted with utmost kindness and were given an in-depth overview of the amenities as well as the deep meaning behind the location we were staying in. Shin and Shohei stayed with us to plan our entire 3 day itinerary in Kyoto for two hours—Recommending hidden gems and sights to see in different nearby regions. Their english was very good and we got to share some good laughs (Shin is an amazing artist who illustrated how to pay respects at a shrine hehe) on top of learning a lot! We definitely felt welcomed and cared for! Additionally after their recommendation Shin sent over the amazing curation of places with full descriptions of what each place was as well as a Google maps link to every location on WeChat. Every night when we returned we were greeted with the tidiest space and a tea with sweets pairing. I also had the chance to run into Shohei on a morning walk as I was killing time as my husband slept and he recommended a nearby temple I could walk to during my morning explorations that was super lovely to check out!

The room itself was beautiful and is certified for the best sleep for good reason. There was an amazing mix of traditional and modern details. The Garden Room included a washing/drying machine in one (if I knew about how efficient this was I definitely would have packed less beforehand!), a kotatsu in the living room, heated tatami floors, a refrigerator, a automated toilet, and amazing customizable lighting settings for the bedroom for sleep mode, a morning wake-up lighting mode, or dimmed relaxation mode. Most importantly the star of the room was the bath tub!!! Every night I took a bath in the comfort of the private tub and looked out at the private garden in the quiet Kyoto ambiance. It is insanely relaxing—especially when it rained and the ambiance was so soothing. Cherry on top is that in the garden we got to witness an exciting surprise with a bamboo flowering that happens once every 120 years!!

Many thank yous for the amazing care and attention to detail. We will never forget this experience and hope to be...