42 japanese rooms in Kyoto, editor-picked by TableJourney. All cuisines in Kyoto | Japanese across every city.
Tousuiro Kiyamachi ★ 4.4
pontocho · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8014, Japan
Tofu-kaiseki on a Kamogawa riverside terrace, hidden down a narrow Kiyamachi alley in a preserved Taisho-era townhouse just steps from Pontocho.
Nanzenji Junsei ★ 4.3
northern-higashiyama · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8437, Japan
A long-running garden-side yudofu room beside Nanzen-ji, set on a 1,200-tsubo strolling-garden plot in Kyoto that changes with every season.
Sohonke Yudofu Okutan Nanzenji ★ 4.4
northern-higashiyama · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8435, Japan
The oldest tofu room in Kyoto, founded 1635 in the Nanzen-ji precinct. Pinewood block tables, charcoal braziers, and a single yudofu course.
Toseian ★ 4.2
kamigyo-nishijin · Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8378, Japan
A Nishijin yudofu room set in a former silk-warehouse machiya, opened in the 1970s. Quiet, courtyard-view tatami; locals know the Matsu Gozen set.
Omen Ginkakuji ★ 4.3
northern-higashiyama · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8413, Japan
A hand-cut udon counter beside Ginkaku-ji, opened in Kyoto in 1967. The Omen bowl pairs wheat noodles with sesame, vegetables and a dipping dashi.
Kane-yo ★ 4.3
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8064, Japan
Charcoal-grilled freshwater eel on Kyogoku Shotengai since the Taisho era. Lacquered chests, tatami rooms upstairs, the smoke spilling onto Sanjo.
Unagi Hirokawa ★ 4.4
arashiyama · Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8385, Japan
A Michelin-listed unagi specialist on the main Arashiyama lane since 1967, rebuilt 2009. Steamed-then-grilled Kanto-style, with a generations-deep tare.
Pontocho Izumoya ★ 4.3
pontocho · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8016, Japan
A Pontocho unagi room above the Kamogawa in Kyoto, founded 1916. Edomae-style grill-then-steam, with a kawayuka deck May to September.
Shigetsu ★ 4.5
arashiyama · Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8385, Japan
Bib Gourmand-listed shojin-ryori inside Tenryu-ji's precinct in Arashiyama. Three-course set lunches eaten facing the temple's Sogen garden.
Izusen Daiji-in ★ 4.4
kita-daitokuji · Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8231, Japan
Daitoku-ji shojin-ryori served in nested vermillion lacquer bowls modelled on a Buddhist begging bowl. Garden-view tatami inside the Daiji-in sub-temple.
Kyo Yakiniku Hiro Sanjo ★ 4.3
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8005, Japan
The Sanjo flagship of Kyoto's largest yakiniku family, run from a Kyoto Sanjo shopping-street site since 1997. Japanese black wagyu cuts grilled tableside.
Katsukura Sanjo Honten ★ 4.2
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8094, Japan
Tonkatsu born in Kyoto and exported nationally. The Sanjo flagship still grinds its own sesame for the dipping sauce; both loin and fillet plates.
Menami ★ 4.3
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8004, Japan
The grandmother of Kyoto obanzai counters. Daily-changing seasonal dishes set in clay pots along a tatami room since 1958, three minutes from Sanjo Station.
Mamehachi ★ 4.1
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8087, Japan
An obanzai counter five minutes from Hankyu Kawaramachi in Kyoto where the tofu plates outshine the rest. Daily set lunches, no reservations needed.
AWOMB Nishikiyamachi ★ 4.2
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8044, Japan
Hand-rolled sushi with obanzai sides arranged as a mosaic plate; the Nakagyo original of a now mini-chain. Visual showcase of seasonal Kyoto vegetables.
Kyoto Kushidokoro Azumaya Honten ★ 4.1
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8024, Japan
Yakitori and kushikatsu on a Kiyamachi second floor, the house tare on its 20th year of topping-up. Three dipping sauces, late-night counter trade.
Robin Pontocho ★ 4.2
pontocho · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8016, Japan
A modern kappo on Pontocho serving 10-course kaiseki anchored by Maizuru seafood and Tamba wagyu. Counter seats face the river through sliding shoji.
LURRA ★ 4.7
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8005, Japan
A 10-seat modern Japanese counter from chef Jacob Kear (ex-Noma) and Stuart Brioza. Open-fire technique meets Kyoto produce in a 12-course menu.
Katsukura Kyoto Station Porta ★ 4.1
kyoto-station · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8216, Japan
Katsukura's Kyoto Station basement outlet, perched in Porta's depachika. Born in Kyoto in 1992, this chain runs ground-sesame sauce and free-flow cabbage.
Kyo Yakiniku Hiro Kyoto Station Front ★ 4.2
kyoto-station · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8216, Japan
The Kyoto Station tower outlet of the Hiro yakiniku family, five minutes from the platforms. Japanese black wagyu, family-style charcoal grills, 200 seats.
Tori-ryori Sumiyaki Akari ★ 4.3
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8042, Japan
A yakitori counter on Teramachi in Kyoto using Omi-jidori and Kyoto-duck. Signature tsukune comes with a yolk-bath dip, all grilled over binchotan.
Sumibikushiyaki Torito ★ 4.2
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8044, Japan
A binchotan-grill yakitori counter near Karasuma in Kyoto. Specialises in rare cuts: furisode shoulder, sankaku-nankotsu cartilage and chicken hotpot sets.
Yakiyasai Isoya ★ 4.3
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8005, Japan
A vegetable-led counter on Kiyamachi in Kyoto, the chef-owner running his own farm in north Kyoto. Morning-picked Kyo-yasai, charcoal-grilled and lacquered.
Kotowari ★ 4.0
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8042, Japan
An obanzai counter near Hankyu Kawaramachi in Kyoto, with a daily-changing five-plate set built on seasonal Kyo-yasai. Cash-friendly weekday lunch.
Nomura Kyoto ★ 4.1
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8131, Japan
An obanzai showcase three minutes from Hankyu Karasuma in Kyoto. Pick plates from a glass case; the set comes with rice and miso for under 1,200 yen.
Inoue Arashiyama ★ 4.2
arashiyama · Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8384, Japan
A small obanzai room near the Arashiyama tram in Kyoto, dinner-only and locals-favoured. Yuba simmer, Kyo-yasai plates, the chef-owner runs the room solo.
Niyasai Onikai ★ 4.1
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8005, Japan
A vegetable-focused kappo counter on a Kawaramachi second floor in Kyoto. Daily-changing simmered Kyo-yasai across a 10-dish course with drink pairings.
Tempura Yoshikawa Counter ★ 4.4
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8093, Japan
The walk-in counter of the Yoshikawa tempura ryokan in Kyoto, an alternative to the full kaiseki room. Eight seats, garden window, lighter price tag.
Kikunoi Honten ★ 4.9
higashiyama · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0825, Japan
The defining three-Michelin-star kaiseki room in Kyoto. Third-generation Yoshihiro Murata runs Kikunoi Honten, a 1912 ryotei below Kodaiji.
Hyotei ★ 4.9
northern-higashiyama · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8437, Japan
An Edo-era teahouse at the gate of Nanzen-ji in Kyoto, restyled as a ryotei in 1837. Hyotei runs three Michelin stars and a 15th-generation kaiseki kitchen counter.
Kitcho Arashiyama Honten ★ 4.9
arashiyama · Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8385, Japan
Three-Michelin-star kaiseki on the Hozugawa river bend in Arashiyama, Kyoto, run by chef Kunio Tokuoka in a sukiya-style garden tatami room.
Mizai ★ 4.9
higashiyama · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0071, Japan
Hitoshi Ishihara opened Mizai in a corner of Maruyama Park, Kyoto, after years at Kitcho Arashiyama. One nightly seating, all guests served in sync.
Kichisen ★ 4.7
demachiyanagi · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0805, Japan
Chef Yoshimi Tanigawa's kaiseki room beside Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. Two Michelin stars in the current guide, formerly three. Monthly seasonal menus.
Gion Sasaki ★ 4.8
gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0811, Japan
Hiroshi Sasaki runs a teacher-and-apprentice kitchen on Komatsu-cho. Counter seats deliver a 12-course kaiseki with a freer hand than the old ryotei.
Kikunoi Roan ★ 4.7
pontocho · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8012, Japan
Murata's casual-counter spinoff on Kiyamachi, opened for Kikunoi's 60th anniversary. Two stars, easier reservations than Honten, river views in season.
Gion Nishikawa ★ 4.7
gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0825, Japan
Masayoshi Nishikawa earned a star a year after opening at 33 in Kyoto. A quiet sukiya counter on a Yasaka Shrine alley with two stars for over a decade.
Muromachi Wakuden ★ 4.5
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8106, Japan
The Muromachi outpost of the Wakuden group, set in a Karasuma machiya with open charcoal braziers in the dining room. One star and a classical hand.
Tempura Tenyu ★ 4.6
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8071, Japan
A nine-seat tempura counter in central Kyoto run by Tawaraya, the ryokan operating since the early 1700s. One Michelin star and what regulars call the lightest batter in town.
Tempura Endo Yasaka ★ 4.5
gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0811, Japan
Tempura in a converted teahouse near Yasaka Pagoda, Kyoto, an ochaya from the early 1900s. Sweetcorn tempura opens each course in early summer.
Kyo Tominokoji Yoshikawa ★ 4.5
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8093, Japan
A 1952 ryokan and tempura counter in Kyoto set around a sublime Japanese garden, downtown. One Michelin star, garden lunches across all four seasons.
Hassun ★ 4.4
gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0074, Japan
Named for the central kaiseki course, Hassun runs a quiet ryotei in Gion, Kyoto, a block south of Hanamikoji. One Michelin star, intimate counter only.
Kyoyamato ★ 4.3
gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0826, Japan
A Meiji-era kaiseki house on the Kodaiji grounds, established in Kyoto by the third-generation Yamato proprietor in 1949 and rooted in an 1877 Osaka original. The kind of slower, less-photographed ryotei.