Tawaraya
B · 7.2 / 10right inn, right place
An 18-room Kyoto institution founded in 1707 that KI-NRT names the one to try among the city's inns, and the top choice if you cannot leave the cities. The appeal is in the depth, the layers of detail, history and omotenashi that reveal themselves the closer you look, while plenty of other inns offer better views, baths and food. You stay for the cultural experience, knowing that the kaiseki is good and no more, that there is no onsen, and that a first visit will probably get you the base room.
Scores
Food 3.5 / 5
Both kaiseki dinner and breakfast are still served in your own room by your attendant, as many inns no longer do. KI-NRT, comparing it with the top ryokans he has eaten at, found the cooking above average but not exceptional, with flavors on the bland side (Kyoto flavors are subtle), neither creative nor memorable, and a breakfast spread not as varied as at other top inns. Some dishes are superb, but he would not stay here for the food.
Bath 1.5 / 5
There is no onsen at Tawaraya. Your room has a wooden bathtub, and that is the extent of the bathing here; KI-NRT counts onsen baths among the things many other inns offer that Tawaraya does not, and says it is mostly for culture and not for bathing.
Service 4.5 / 5
The service is elegant, dignified and personal, and the staff are not particularly chatty, a plus or a minus depending on what you want; for KI-NRT it was just right. He had braced for some snobbery as a first-timer and met none, and few properties in his experience rival Tawaraya's omotenashi. Your attendant serves both meals in your room and, if you ask, will explain the history and meaning of everything on display. Valet parking is free.
Room 3.5 / 5
KI-NRT's first-visit room, Kotobuki, was meticulously kept and big enough for two, but a dual-purpose all-tatami room like a lesser ryokan's (futons replace the table and chairs at night), with one sink, nowhere to hide the luggage and only a tiny study; he would have paid for a better one. Room details are published nowhere and the best rooms go to repeat guests, though first-timers can now pick their own. Ground-floor rooms have a small garden.
Place 4.5 / 5
Tawaraya has stood in central Kyoto since 1707, with no grand entrance or big lobby and no view beyond its immaculate gardens. The narrow doorway opens onto a wooden maze of corridors that whisks you back to the Edo era, past hanging scrolls, Muromachi-period screens, old books and ikebana, and the artwork changes monthly with the seasons. KI-NRT did not see a speck of dust anywhere, so old here never means shabby. Hiiragiya is across the street.
Getting there
- Kyoto Stn — 0h15, 0 transfers. ~15 min by taxi from JR Kyoto Stn to central Nakagyo.
- Osaka — 0h50, 1 transfer. Osaka to Kyoto ~30 min Shinkansen/special rapid, then ~15 min taxi.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #1 · TripAdvisor 5★ (September 2021) · #40 · #470 · #502 · #727 (thread mentions)