We had a nice stay at this ryokan, but it was extremely "touristy" as opposed to genuine. Service was good and food was ok but nothing was excellent. The house is beautiful and in a great spot for visiting some nice temples and the philosophers walk along the small river branch. Nice for couples that the bath is private and thus can be gender shared. Everything very clean. However, in total, this was extraordinarily priced (both the lodging and the food) for what it was.

Yoshida sanso is a magical place and the proprietors are wonderful people. Also, you can walk to the Philosophers Path which is one of the most beautiful walks in Kyoto. The food was incredible, I highly recommend trying their dinner and breakfast, though we only had the breakfast. Be sure to arrive on time to allow yourself plenty of time to experience and enjoy the property.

Yoshida sanso is a magical place and the proprietors are wonderful people. Also, you can walk to the Philosophers Path which is one of the most beautiful walks in Kyoto. The food was incredible, I highly recommend trying their dinner and breakfast, though we only had the breakfast. Be sure to arrive on time to allow yourself plenty of time to experience and enjoy the property.

Excellent experience all around. Highly recommended.

An experience of a lifetime, impossible to rate on a computer. It was warm, wonderful, authentic, clean, caring, delicious food and one of the most special and meaningful stay of our entire Japan vacation, top 3 lifetime.

Beautiful traditional Japanese ryokan! A very unique experience with some of the best dining found in Japan.

Unforgettable experience — a dream of a hotel! Most highly recommended

love the location, the view. All the staff is very kind, especially the Japanese style breakfast, definitely made my day. the last day we booked a shuttle service to the Kansai Airport, they helped us to storage luggage till late afternoon and served us their delicious Japanese coffee in the small but cozy tea house. that's very warm and thank you very much.

love the location, the view. All the staff is very kind, especially the Japanese style breakfast, definitely made my day. the last day we booked a shuttle service to the Kansai Airport, they helped us to storage luggage till late afternoon and served us their delicious Japanese coffee in the small but cozy tea house. thats very warm and thank you very much.

Calm, peaceful and relax, warm welcome, friendly and good service.

This 'hotel' is not like anywhere else I have ever stayed. The service was so personal, with private dining rooms etc., that most of the time it felt like the entire focus of the place was on you alone. Altogether a unique experience.

This hotel is not like anywhere else I have ever stayed. The service was so personal, with private dining rooms etc., that most of the time it felt like the entire focus of the place was on you alone. Altogether a unique experience.

It was truly an amazing experience for the 2 of us and our 7-year old kid. This mansion used to be the home of a prince and was mentioned in one of the documentary books of Kyoto. It should be one of those top-serviced Ryokens in town. We were assigned for literally a "house" with 40 years of history and own front garden and gate, spacious living of about 2,000 sq. feet of room, comfortable trad. Japanese futon style, all necessary amenities (even come with iron & ironing board and kimono dressing). A special gratitude to all the smiling staff & their hospitality at the mansion, especially Tomoko, who explained everything well to us. At breakfast time, we were treated a private room and a full set delicious trad. Japanese style breakfast, and Japanese times daily newspaper, which was supplemented with complimentary coffee/tea in their relaxing tea shop, caused us certain delay in activity schedule because it was just so luring to stay a little longer in the mansion for the good mood and ambiance.... There are parking space as well in case you drive. The only thing you need to be aware is that since the surrounding is nature, you just can't avoid the chance of having "special" visitors such as the naughty spider which was attracted by our room lights and came visiting on the first night of arrival.... therefore my kid's comment would be different from us because he would opt for no insects in the future.

It was truly an amazing experience for the 2 of us and our 7-year old kid. This mansion used to be the home of a prince and was mentioned in one of the documentary books of Kyoto. It should be one of those top-serviced Ryokens in town. We were assigned for literally a house with 40 years of history and own front garden and gate, spacious living of about 2,000 sq. feet of room, comfortable trad. Japanese futon style, all necessary amenities (even come with iron & ironing board and kimono dressing). A special gratitude to all the smiling staff & their hospitality at the mansion, especially Tomoko, who explained everything well to us. At breakfast time, we were treated a private room and a full set delicious trad. Japanese style breakfast, and Japanese times daily newspaper, which was supplemented with complimentary coffee/tea in their relaxing tea shop, caused us certain delay in activity schedule because it was just so luring to stay a little longer in the mansion for the good mood and ambiance.... There are parking space as well in case you drive. The only thing you need to be aware is that since the surrounding is nature, you just cant avoid the chance of having special visitors such as the naughty spider which was attracted by our room lights and came visiting on the first night of arrival.... therefore my kids comment would be different from us because he would opt for no insects in the future.

we spent two nights here. Found the staff incredibly kind and helpful. They went out of their way to make sure everything went smoothly for us. One of them wrote out for us in Japanese all of the sights we wanted to go to so that we could show taxi drivers the Japanese names of the locations. It turned out to be incredibly helpful and made our brief stay very smooth. We also had the traditional Japanese dinner one of our nights at the ryokan. it was amazing. We had never had anything like it. The owner was lovely and introduced herself during our dinner. The room was very comfortable, decorated in the traditional Japanese style. We had big windows that opened up to a lovely garden view with the hills in the distance. We would highly recommend. It was a wonderful experience all around.

If you are in Kyoto this is a must. The staff is friendly, the grounds are immaculate and the food is wonderful. The best accomidation in Kyoto by far!

We felt like guests in a bygone era. The food was authentic. Staff were very friendly. Sleeping on the futon bed was quite comfortable and the tub was welcome after a day of touring. It's in a quiet residential area a bit out of town. Taxis were called and arrived after a short wait.

We felt like guests in a bygone era. The food was authentic. Staff were very friendly. Sleeping on the futon bed was quite comfortable and the tub was welcome after a day of touring. Its in a quiet residential area a bit out of town. Taxis were called and arrived after a short wait.

I loved staying here. Having breakfast in a private room overlooking the lovely gardens was great. It was a little run down in places partly I assume to retain its older character. The staff were friendly but only one spoke much English. You will not have a private bathroom and toilet and must share. The windows of our room rattled when the wind blew and kept waking us up. When there you always feel the need to be quiet as the walls are thin. But all in all a lovely place.

I have always wanted to stay in a Ryokan, and the experience exceeded my expectations. Hosts were warm, welcoming, and very helpful.

Accommodations are traditional but perhaps could be updated. We stayed in the hanare, which is a separate building from the main house. The food was terrific and the people were wonderful. You are made to feel like either visiting family or royalty. The Japanese gardens are beautiful. The surrounding neighborhood is quiet. The property itself is serene.

We stayed at the Yoshida-Sanso for one night after spending 3 nights at the Westin in Kyoto. Obviously a very different experience from a Western hotel, but very happy we did it and highly recommend to others. We arrived in the evening around 6pm and immediately went to enjoy our multi-course dinner that was included in the price of our hotel room. My friend is a vegan and they were able to accommodate her with a delicious meal as well since we gave them advanced notice. Our room was spacious, and we shared a bathroom with another room that was on the same floor. It was not an issue at all, as we never seemed to need to use the bathroom at the same time. Breakfast the next morning was just as elaborate and delicious as dinner the night before. After breakfast we walked a short 10 minutes to the Philosopher’s Path and enjoyed the beautiful cherry blossoms that were blooming. We made a quick stop at the Silver Pavilion. The staff spoke relatively good English and one woman was almost fluent as she spent a few years in NYC. All were very attentive and helpful. Overall, the Yoshida-sanso was a great, unique experience and I would highly recommend for anyone who is looking to change up the traditional Western hotel stay.

We stayed at the Yoshida-Sanso for one night after spending 3 nights at the Westin in Kyoto. Obviously a very different experience from a Western hotel, but very happy we did it and highly recommend to others. We arrived in the evening around 6pm and immediately went to enjoy our multi-course dinner that was included in the price of our hotel room. My friend is a vegan and they were able to accommodate her with a delicious meal as well since we gave them advanced notice.Our room was spacious, and we shared a bathroom with another room that was on the same floor. It was not an issue at all, as we never seemed to need to use the bathroom at the same time.Breakfast the next morning was just as elaborate and delicious as dinner the night before. After breakfast we walked a short 10 minutes to the Philosopher’s Path and enjoyed the beautiful cherry blossoms that were blooming. We made a quick stop at the Silver Pavilion.The staff spoke relatively good English and one woman was almost fluent as she spent a few years in NYC. All were very attentive and helpful.Overall, the Yoshida-sanso was a great, unique experience and I would highly recommend for anyone who is looking to change up the traditional Western hotel stay.

Shared bathroom was not a problem at all but the fact that the bathrooms are not in the guestrooms was a bit inconvenient. But excellent services by the staff who make you feel at home and the fact that this actually was a home (to a member of Japanese royal family) gives it a truly unique experience.

This is a great opportunity to stay in a historically important and beautiful house/ryokan. The house is full of interesting original architectural details and the garden is excellent. The neighborhood is quiet but there are bus routes nearby and subway lines are also a (longish) walk away. They're happy to call taxis for you as well. We were the only guests there at the time and received great, attentive service.

This is a great opportunity to stay in a historically important and beautiful house/ryokan. The house is full of interesting original architectural details and the garden is excellent. The neighborhood is quiet but there are bus routes nearby and subway lines are also a (longish) walk away. Theyre happy to call taxis for you as well. We were the only guests there at the time and received great, attentive service.

Amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience in beautiful traditional Ryokan

We had enjoyed a Kaiseki dinner here with a group in May, 2010, and wanted to come back to Kyoto and spend more time. We stayed in the Hanare (the Satsuki Cottage, a separate, traditional Japanese building) for five nights. You sleep on futons, they fill up the wood bath every afternoon, and you can wear your Yukata to dinner. They fed us a Kaiseki (chef's whim) breakfast each morning and a Kaiseki dinner each evening. Every meal was different! The staff were incredibly attentive and polite, and we twice got to chat with the owner, Kyoko Nakamura, who was so gracious. We even got to meet the chef! You are removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, it's easy to grab a taxi, walk to a bus line, or do what we did most days and walk the kilometer or two to the nearest temple.

My wife and I wanted to stay at a traditonal Japanese hotel and we found Ryokan-Yoshida sanso to be the perfect accomodation. This ryokan combines modern conveniences such wifi internet connection and flat screen tv with the traditional Japanese features such futon beds and in-room onsen. I would highly recommend to reserve the room with a meal plan since the hotel is located in a residential area with no nearby restaurants.