Heihachi Tea House Inn — Hotel in Kyoto

Heihachi Tea House is a true gem in Kyoto. The actual hotel is stunning, with an amazing central garden with ponds and trees leading you to your traditional ryokan style rooms. The rooms themselves have gorgeous views of the adjacent river through floor-to-ceiling windows. When you enter through the amazing tree archway at the front, you immediately feel transported to another world or era. The room is traditional Japanese style with tatami mat floors and a coffee table with floor cushions for sitting. They convert this space into your sleeping space while you're gone for dinner so that you have the traditional futon mattresses waiting for you after dinner. The beds were super comfy and cozy. There is air conditioning in the room, as well as a private toilet and sink. The shower is at the shared bath house (onsen) a few steps from the rooms. The onsen is super nice, with a sauna and hot tub in a relaxing setting. The onsen is separated by gender so there is one for men and one for women. We were the only other guests we saw during our time there.

As for the service, everyone could not have been nicer and more hospitable. As soon as we got off the bus (there's a convenient stop directly in front of the hotel) the owner's wife was waiting for us at the entryway and welcomed us with a big smile. Even though we were a little early for our check-in time, they still got things ready for us quickly so that we didn't have to wait too long. When they guided to us our room, they sat down with us for a few minutes to explain all of the amenities and how everything would work. The person who guided us through this intro did not know a ton of English but was still able to use Google Translate and a lot of patience with us to help us out. Even when it started raining while we were in the bath house, they came and left umbrellas outside the bath house for us to use on the short walk back to our hotel room!

The dinner and breakfast services were incredible - you can choose your meal time within a window they provide and someone will come to your hotel room to pick you up and guide you to the meal room. The meal room was a private space directly below our hotel room with another gorgeous view, and each course of the 10-course meal was brought to us by hotel staff. Food was amazing, interesting, and very filling. One of the highest quality meals we had in Japan!

This might not be the place for you if you want immediate access to Kyoto's tourist areas, but it's an incredible option for rest and relaxation when you're there. Thank you...

We had an amazing experience visiting this ryokan.

Family owned and operated for 400 years/ 20 generations. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful despite my husband and I not knowing the language.

We had an authentic 10 course Japanese dinner and a large breakfast using seasonal fish and ingredients.

I have extremely bad food allergies and they were able to accommodate and make me feel safe.

There are separate bathing areas that also had a sauna and hot bath. Rooms are set up like traditional ryokan

Inn is located next to public bus stop making it easy to move around.

Overall...

Super easy to find. Right outside the bus stop- 15/20 mins from Kyoto. We stayed one night.

Room - great view of the river, soothing sounds. Private dinning room. Lovely 10 course traditional Japanese dinner and Japanese breakfast. Good selection of drinks available.

Service- superb, couldn’t do more for you. Very helpful and friendly. During our dinner the owners wife even paid a visit. Very interesting history to the Inn.

Onsen- our room was a shared onsen but no-one else was there so had it all to ourselves(separate male / female). Very relaxing.

Honestly a highlight...