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Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto is a 52-room hotel on the Higashiyama hillside above Kiyomizu-dera, and it is the only hotel in Kyoto with its own Noh stage — a timber skeleton of yellow cedar and Kyoto cypress standing on stilts over a reflecting pool, framing real trees where a traditional stage would have a painted pine. It opened on 1 August 2024 as Banyan Group's first property in Japan, it was designed by Kengo Kuma, and it has natural hot-spring baths, including in-room onsen in three tiers of rooms. It holds a Michelin Key.
Where it is
The hotel is on the eastern hills, in the historic district that contains Kiyomizu-dera, Kodai-ji and Yasaka Shrine — the part of Kyoto most visitors come for. It is about 15 minutes by car from Kyoto Station and seven from Gion Shijo. Kiyomizu-dera and Yasaka Shrine are both inside a 15-minute walk, and Shijo Street about 20.
The site is a slope with 12 metres of fall between its lowest and highest point, and Kengo Kuma's answer was two mid-rise volumes set into it, with the gardens stepped between them and the old masonry wall of the ryokan that previously stood here preserved as part of the base of the building. The bamboo grove that hides the hot spring was kept, not planted.
The Noh stage — the reason this hotel exists as it does
The design idea is yūgen — the quiet, mysterious beauty that sits at the centre of Noh, the 14th-century theatre form that grew up in Kyoto. Building a roofed structure was not permitted on the site the stage occupies, so Kuma left the timber frame exposed, reaching skyward, and let the stage look out onto real trees instead of the traditional painted pine backdrop.
It is reached through the terrace of the Ryozen restaurant on the second floor, above a bamboo grove. Performances are staged there. No other hotel in the city has one.
The design
Kuma's hand is most obvious in the triple-height lobby, where timber is treated four different ways — charred into decorative columns, laid in a chequerboard of alternating grain across the floor, turned into lattice screens backed with washi paper, and carved in the traditional naguri pattern that also appears, gilded, on the headboards of the suites.
The entrance canopy is held up without columns: resin-jointed beams cantilever it so it appears to float. Three tiers of deep slatted eaves break up the mass of the building against the hillside. Interiors were by Yukio Hashimoto, and they are restrained in material and generous in light.
The rooms
Fifty-two rooms. They are built around tatami, shoji and wood, but adapted: the horigotatsu seating is raised so you can sit Western-style and work at it, and the shoji enclosing the tub conceals its timber lattice behind layers of washi paper. Floors run from wooden planks into tatami, and every room has a bathtub in aromatic Hiba cypress.
The layout that matters most is the Onsen Retreat category — around 55 square metres in three zones: a horigotatsu with zaisu chairs at the entry, the sleeping area beyond, and a sofa at the window looking onto a private courtyard garden. To the side, double sinks, two lit mirrors, a walk-in shower and the cypress tub, with bath salts in yuzu, green tea and roasted tea. Three tiers of rooms have their own onsen; the rest use the public baths.
The onsen
The baths are fed by a genuine natural hot spring, and this was the first international hotel in the area to have one. They are separated by gender, with indoor and outdoor bathing, and the outdoor pool is screened by a stone wall and planting.
There is also a Wellbeing Sanctuary for private practice, stocked with mats and bands rather than machines.
Eating here
Ryozen, the Japanese restaurant, runs from breakfast through to dinner and leads out to the terrace by the Noh stage. Dinner is a banquet-style kaiseki of around seven courses built on seasonal and local ingredients; the Japanese breakfast is ten small dishes alongside rice, miso soup and steamed soybean custard. Bar Ryozen sits behind rough stone walls and is the evening room.
Check availability and current rates for Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto →
What it costs
Rates vary by season and room type — ask us for a current quote for your dates.
August is the cheapest month and April — cherry blossom — is roughly double, which is the pattern across Kyoto. Rooms with their own onsen sit above the entry categories, so decide early whether the private tub is worth it to you; in a hotel where the public baths are this good and this quiet, it is a genuine choice rather than an obvious upgrade.
Because the hotel is new and the Noh stage is unique to it, the property is not comparable on price to older Kyoto hotels in the same band — you are paying for Kengo Kuma, the hot spring and the stage. If that combination is what you want, there is nothing else in the city like it.
What to know before you book
Two honest notes. This is a hillside hotel in a residential historic district, so taxis rather than the subway handle most of the city — the trade is that the eastern temples are on foot. And it is a new building on an old slope: guests who want the worn-in feel of a century-old ryokan should look at one; guests who want modern comfort, a private onsen and a real hot spring in the same trip should book here.
Frequently asked questions
Does Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto have a Noh stage?
Yes — it is the only hotel in Kyoto with one. The timber stage, designed by Kengo Kuma, stands above a reflecting pool and is reached from the Ryozen restaurant terrace.
Does it have a natural hot spring?
Yes. The gender-separated onsen baths use a genuine natural hot spring, and three tiers of rooms have their own private in-room onsen.
How many rooms does the hotel have?
Fifty-two.
How far is it from Kiyomizu-dera?
Both Kiyomizu-dera and Yasaka Shrine are within a 15-minute walk. Kyoto Station is about 15 minutes by car and Gion Shijo about seven.
BLISS TRAVEL has arranged private journeys across Asia since 2005 and is licensed by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (licence 352969).
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We run this region as a private journey — our own vehicles and guides, and dates that are yours rather than a coach schedule. Choose a length and we build the rest around it.
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Sources: Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto (official) · Kengo Kuma & Associates · Kiyomizu-dera (Japan Guide)
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Putting Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto into your itinerary
The hotel sits on the Higashiyama hillside above Kiyomizu-dera, with Kodai-ji and Yasaka Shrine within a fifteen-minute walk and Gion close by.
1 day — Kiyomizu-dera, Kodai-ji and Yasaka Shrine, walking the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka lanes
2 days — add Gion, Maruyama Park and the Shijo riverbank, with dinner in Pontocho
3 days — add Arashiyama's bamboo grove and Tenryu-ji, and Fushimi Inari Taisha
We can arrange this as a private itinerary, with a car and a private guide. WhatsApp us.
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