Izuyasu Traditional Kyoto Inn Serving Kyoto Cuisine

A lovely traditional room and a relaxing private bath, The staff were friendly and attentive. The breakfast was superb.

Wonderful proprietors and staff. We separately booked a dinner with them (highly recommend) and the owner is the head chef. He's very passionate about cooking and it showed in this wonderful 7-course meal, as well as in the delicious kaiseki breakfast that is included with the room rate. Bathing arrangement is much easier than it originally sounded from their email, and all in all a very memorable stay with kind and welcoming hosts.

This place was absolutely incredible. Every detail of my stay was extremely thought through by the hotel staff. I had no idea how personal the experience would be or that the property would have such a rich history. The owner is the chef, and he cooked the dinners in front of us, explained several Japanese culinary traditions, showed us the artwork collection on the property, and gave us the history of his hotel and his family. The food was top-notch, traditional, and different each night and morning (great for seafood lovers!). I don't speak any Japanese unfortunately, but there are enough English speaking staff members on-site to provide translations for everything. My recommendation for staying here is that guests plan their stays in Kyoto around spending a significant amount of time at Izuyasu in the evenings to fully appreciate the experience. For those looking to stay here but also experience night life in Kyoto, I recommend splitting the trip between Izuyasu and another simpler hotel (unless cost is no object). Note that Izuyasu has an 11 PM - 7AM curfew. My only suggestion for improvement is that the hotel add an explanation on their guest book about how massage payments work. I was unaware that I was supposed to pay the massage therapist directly, rather than through the hotel, and I was lucky that I had enough cash on-hand.

I had a phenomenal experience of a traditional ryokan in Kyoto, minutes walk from Kyoto main station. The property and staff are impeccable, I’ve not slept so well in weeks nor woken feeling so refreshed. The one of three on-site onsen I relaxed in were perfect following much exploring of sights in Kyoto and set me up for another full day of sightseeing. When I come back to Kyoto I will stay here again without doubt or hesitation.

My wife and I spent 5 nights here, and had two Kaiseki evening meals, and breakfast each morning. We agree that the experience was the highlight of our two weeks’ time in Japan. We stayed in one of the smaller room (Yuki) but it was sufficiently large and comfortable to lay out our suitcases and still move around without difficulty. Our room has a private half bath. There were three private baths (ofuro) - some that are large enough for two to wash and then soak together. We were asked each day when we wanted to use the ofuro, and had no difficulty spending an extended time enjoying the experience of the ofuro - usually before dinner. We have stayed at other ryokans, but this was the most enjoyable. The staff were attentive without being intrusive. The smallest request was remembered and acted upon. The breakfasts were varied and delicious, and the Kaiseki, prepared by the owner/chef, were works of art as well as being delicious. Some of the staff are European, who clearly love Japanese culture. They were able to explain subtleties that we might have missed had we stayed in a ryokan without fluent English speakers. We are already planning our return to Kyoto in large part because we want to enjoy again the hospitality of Izuyasu. Recommend making reservations for dinner since seating is limited.

I recently stayed at the Izuyasu ryokan for 2 nights with 3 friends in the Ki superior room. We had an excellent time during our stay in this traditional inn. We were provided with yukata to wear while we were there. We enjoyed the Japanese breakfasts served at the inn, but did not do the kaiseki dinner so that we would have additional time to explore the city as there is an 11:00 PM curfew as a courtesy to the other guests. The staff were very accomodating to any requests that we had and I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for this experience while in Kyoto.

This was a warm and friendly experience in a traditional Ryokan, but with all the modern conveniences, including electronics chargers and air conditioning. It was delight to enter the cool and serene spaces from the sticky hot city streets. The staff was lovely and the room was too.