Yoshikawa
B · 7 / 10right inn, right place
A small Kyoto inn wrapped around a famed tempura restaurant, and the tempura kaiseki dinner is the event, served in a private room with the owner okami-san among the servers. The one member who has stayed recommends it but found it not quite as special as Nishimuraya in Kinosaki, missing the hot springs and village feel a city inn can't offer. It is best thought of as a dinner with a lovely garden-view room attached.
Scores
Food 4.5 / 5
The tempura is what the inn is known for, and the member who stayed found it wonderful, very light, crispy and flavorful, with a sauce or two he had never had with tempura before. His Tempura Kaiseki with Chiya beef was served in a private room and the quality was high throughout, and the chef came in first to present the ingredients on a huge platter (for all the guests, it turned out). KI-NRT has dined at the famed restaurant but never stayed.
Bath 1.5 / 5
There is no onsen and no bathhouse. Each of the seven rooms has a hinoki indoor tub of plain heated water, and according to the inn's own room list that is the whole of the bathing here. The one member who has stayed never mentions it.
Service 4 / 5
Welcome and service were warm and personable, and there were two servers at dinner, one of them the owner okami-san.
Room 3.5 / 5
The Wagtail (Sekirei) room was spacious with a lovely view of the garden, and that is all the one member who has stayed had to say about it.
Place 3.5 / 5
Yoshikawa is in downtown Kyoto near some shopping centers, about a 20 minute walk from Nijo Castle and close by the famed Hiiragiya and Tawaraya ryokans. The reception area is small next to Nishimuraya's much larger one with amenities, and the member who stayed missed the village feel he had enjoyed in Kinosaki.
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.