Tawaraya Ryokan: Traditional Luxury in Kyoto

Stay Tawaraya Ryokan features just 18 comfortable rooms. These are small but elegantly decorated in Japanese architecture. Both the sitting area and the main room overlook a private, enclosed zen garden, screened by sliding doors, covered with shoji screens that allow soft, warm light fall on the floors covered in tatami mats. A large, low lacquered table fills the centre of the main room. Along one wall is a tokonoma, or alcove with hanging scroll and the finest ikebana for contemplation.

ChildCare Families with children are welcome to stay at Tawaraya Ryokan but there are no specific facilities for children. However, with personal service, families are very well looked after.

Dine Meals at the Tawaraya are Michelin star quality and both breakfast and dinner are included in the room cost. The day begins with a morning cocktail served by your butler at your bed. Breakfast comes in different courses using some of the freshest and choicest ingredients. Evening Kaiseki is a 5-12 course service and may include Fugo (Japan’s deadly pufferfish) and succulent slices of a whale – all served on ancient lacquerware. This is followed with a relaxing bath and the choicest sake. 

Meals at the Tawaraya are Michelin star quality and both breakfast (European or Japanese) and dinner are included in the room cost. The day begins with a morning cocktail served by your butler at your bed followed by breakfast. Kaiseki dinner is a 5-12 course service and includes noodles, sashimi, two soups, a tiny fish served on leaves in a basket, rice, octopus, pickles, three vegetable courses, fruit and tea – all served on ancient lacquerware. There is also a fine choice of sake. 

Relax The Tawaraya Ryokan is well stocked with historical artefacts and meticulously curated references to the city so you can learn a lot about Kyoto. There are two libraries (one Japanese and one English) with an impressive collection of books specialising in Japanese art and design. Spa treatments are also available for guests wanting to indulge in a bit of pampering.

Experience The concierge at the Tawaraya are very helpful and will provide the most accurate information of where to go and what to do. In the surrounds is the popular entertainment district of Gion, an area of Kyoto preserved in the style of the Edo period. Set on a hill above Gion, is Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto’s most famous Buddhist temple. To the west is the 17th-century Nijo Castle, built by the founder of the Edo period and further afield is Arashiyama, bamboo forest and a world-class scenic spot.