PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Opened in 1997 and owned by the Japan Railways group (holders of a Japan Rail Pass get discounts), this hotel boasts Kyoto's most convenient location for travelers arriving by train: It's right atop the futuristic-looking Kyoto Station. Only a minute's walk from city buses and trains, it's a good base for exploring Kyoto, Nara, and beyond. The dimly lit hotel lobby is on the second floor, removed from the foot traffic of the station but still buzzing with activity. A guest-relations desk helps with everything from sightseeing to restaurant reservations (a huge plus given the inconvenience of the local tourist office), and although there's no business center, behind the guest-relations desk are a workstation and computer with Internet access for hotel guests (for a fee). If you can, avoid the least expensive rooms -- they have rather unexciting views of the station's glass roof. Otherwise, modern rooms on higher floors facing north have great Kyoto views. Hotel packages are available that include cooking classes, a visit to the inner sanctums of a Shinto shrine, or the opportunity to spend the evening with a geisha. Facilities: 11 restaurants; bar; 2 lounges; health club w/indoor pool, fitness gym, and sauna (fee: ¥1,050/$8.75/£4.40); concierge; shopping arcade (in same building); salon; room service (6am-midnight); in-room massage; same-day laundry/dry-cleaning service; nonsmoking rooms; executive-level rooms.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Japan, 9th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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