EHON HOUSE in Uji Kyoto

Beside the Uji River in southern Kyoto Prefecture, EHON HOUSE occupies a quiet residential pocket of Uji — roughly 30 minutes by Kintetsu or JR line from central Kyoto, and within walking distance of Byodoin Temple, the 11th-century Phoenix Hall that appears on the ten-yen coin.

The four-star property offers free parking, making it one of the more practical bases for families driving the Kansai corridor between Nara and Kyoto without navigating city-centre garage fees. Family rooms and free Wi-Fi are standard across the house.

Uji itself is Japan's second-most celebrated matcha growing district after Nishio, and the riverside streets immediately around the hotel are lined with tea merchants operating single-origin tastings — a detail most Kyoto-city itineraries miss entirely.