hand-picked hotels around the world. · browse by destination or travel style.

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto

Hotel

From $550 Rates shown are approximate and for guidance only, based on recent starting prices.

Minimum stay
1 night
Location
Higashiyama, Kyoto, Japan
Type
Hotel

Amenities

  • AC
  • Bar
  • Garden
  • Gym
  • Restaurant
  • Spa
  • Wi-Fi

Experiences

  • Cultural Experiences
  • Massage
  • Meditation
  • Wellness Rituals
  • Yoga

Why we love

  • Iconic Architecture
  • Japanese Craftmanship
  • Noh Theatre
  • Onsen Experiences

“A contemporary Kyoto stay with a Noh stage, hot springs and centuries-old traditions close at hand.”

Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto brings contemporary luxury into one of Kyoto’s most historic districts, with architecture by Kengo Kuma conceived around the surrounding forest and hillside. Its most distinctive feature is a dedicated Noh stage designed by Kuma, the only authentic stage of its kind within a Kyoto hotel, alongside natural hot springs and 52 rooms with contemporary Japanese interiors. Craftsmanship, onsen bathing and cultural programming give the property a strong identity beyond that of a conventional international hotel.

Similar accommodations

Sowaka

Hotel

Asia, Japan

From $1,050

Sowaka is a 23-room luxury hotel in Gion, Kyoto’s historic geisha district, a two-minute walk from Yasaka Shrine. Its main building is a restored ryotei from the Taisho era, built in the sukiya style and more than a century old, joined by a modern annex added in 2019. The renovation kept the decorated ceilings and windows, patterned timber, clay walls and sliding paper screens, while each room is individually designed, some with tatami and garden views. Dining centers on seasonal kaiseki-inspired cooking at Gion Loka, and the hotel also has a bar and a courtyard garden lounge. The name comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “may happiness be with you.”

K5

Hotel

Asia, Japan

From $457

K5 is a 20-room hotel in Nihonbashi Kabutocho, Tokyo’s original financial district, set in a 1923 neoclassical building that once served as an annex to Japan’s first bank. Stockholm-based Claesson Koivisto Rune led the conversion, leaving the concrete structure exposed and pairing it with parquet floors, washi lamps, Kvadrat textiles and furniture designed specifically for the hotel. Most rooms measure around 40 square meters, with high ceilings, large windows and a central column veiled in indigo fabric. Downstairs, Caveman serves Nordic-Japanese cooking from the team behind Kabi, Switch Coffee doubles as a plant shop, Ao mixes tea-based cocktails in a red library, and the basement holds Brooklyn Brewery’s first beer hall outside New York.

Park Hyatt Tokyo

Hotel

Asia, Japan

From $920

Park Hyatt Tokyo occupies the top floors of the Shinjuku Park Tower, designed by Kenzo Tange, and when it opened in 1994 it was the first Park Hyatt in Asia. Guests ride up to a lobby on the 41st floor, and the 171 rooms and suites look out over the city, with Yoyogi Park below and, on clear days, Mount Fuji in the distance. The hotel became famous worldwide through Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, and the New York Bar on the 52nd floor, with live jazz every night, is still its best-known room. After a renovation of 19 months, it reopened in December 2025, keeping the spirit of its original design. Days can end with a swim in the glass-roofed pool high above Shinjuku, a treatment at the spa or dinner at the New York Grill or Kozue, its Japanese restaurant.

The Shinmonzen

Hotel

Asia, Japan

From $890

The Shinmonzen is a nine-suite boutique hotel on one of Gion’s most beautiful preserved streets. Conceived over more than a decade with Tadao Ando and a circle of artists and craftspeople, it borrows the intimacy and ritual of a traditional ryokan without recreating one literally. Contemporary art, Japanese craftsmanship and architecture are given equal importance, making the property as much a cultural project as a hotel.