THE HOTEL HIGASHIYAMA KYOTO TOKYU, A Pan Pacific Hotel

An Ebisucho address on Sanjo-dori places this five-star Pan Pacific property at the quieter northern edge of Higashiyama, steps from the Shirakawa canal and within a ten-minute walk of Chion-in temple's towering sanmon gate.

Rooms carry the full Pan Pacific specification: deep soaking tubs, bidet toilets, and tea service alongside a fitness centre and spa with facial and body treatments. The on-site coffee house doubles as an informal lobby lounge rather than a formal dining room, steering guests toward Higashiyama's dense concentration of kaiseki restaurants nearby.

The location rewards walkers: Maruyama Park sits six minutes south and the Ninenzaka stone-paved lane another four beyond that, while Keihan Sanjo station is an eight-minute walk for connections to Osaka.