A quaint hybrid ryokan right in the midst of the old quarter. Easy access to most touristy places, though a bit of a walk from the nearest train stop.

Would be nice to have breakfast served in our room like a regular ryokan, instead all guests have breakfast in the common dining room.

It was located in the heart of the beautiful traditional side of Kyoto, Gion, which was lovely right at the beginning. The staffs were nice and helpful. We have enjoyed our experience of staying in Ryokan. The place was clean and the bath tub was deep enough to have a great bath after a long day of traveling.

The pillows were pretty flat, which took a while to get used to it. The closest station may not be as close for people that don’t usually walk a lot during travel but it was totally fine for us. Other than that, everything was great and we would definitely stay in this place if we visit Kyoto again.

My family and I were extremely comfortable at this ryokan. The location was excellent; situated in a beautiful charming street of Kyoto, walking distance to shops and restaurants. The room is exactly what I wanted and expected from a ryokan. However, it was the staff that made our stay exceptional! We were greeted when we walked in. The front office staff approached us, asked us to sit in the lobby, where we handled the check-in transactions. I’ve never checked into a hotel while sitting comfortably. He continued to walk us to our room and explained where everything was. Extremely polite and personable. We added the breakfast to our stay and I’m so glad we did! The food was superb, a traditional Japanese meal. The presentation, the quality and the flavors were all to die for. The staff that was waiting on us were very attentive, polite and considerate. They explained what every dish was and how to enjoy it. When we checked out, they were equally as attentive and accommodating. The staff and stay over exceeded my expectations. I will return and refer my family and friends here (who are due to travel soon). Thank you Gion Ryokan Karaku!

There wasn’t anything not to like.

Great location, next to Yasaka shrine in the historic district of Kyoto, which gave us the opportunity to visit the area without the crowds of the day. The staff was very friendly and the accommodation was very clean! We stayed for one night with 3 kids (10, 6 and 1 year old) and they loved the experience which included the yukata for them as well (not for the one year old). We booked the accommodation including half board and the dinner was fantastic, quality, presentation and service was just perfect! We would have loved to have dinner at the room instead of the dining area, and enjoy a more private dinner though. For breakfast, the kids were not very enthusiastic with the menu offer (Japanese breakfast style) and the staff allowed us to bring pastries for them and have breakfast together. The overall experience was fantastic and we highly recommend it!

It was a very good experience. We really enjoyed our time there. The location is excellent. The Japanese dinner was very good — I definitely recommend it. The only thing I would mention is about breakfast: it was a traditional Japanese breakfast, which is great for the experience, but I would have appreciated a second option — something simpler like coffee with bread, or coffee and eggs — for those who aren’t used to Japanese breakfasts. Still, for the overall experience, it was wonderful. Sleeping in a ryokan was also a very special and memorable experience.

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Excellent location to wander the streets of goon and around the corner from the glorious Yasaka shrine and some lovely traditional cafes! The breakfast set was like nothing I’ve ever experienced - very impressed and highly recommend. A great selection of fresh, traditional. breakfast items which was presented immaculately. So glad we decided to try this! Kids were provided a kids breakfast set option too. Very responsive to food allergies too. Attentive staff who were very happy to help out with anything. I couldnt fault anything. I also loved that ryokan rooms were fitted with individual heating systems so you could control the temp of your room if needed.

All was excellent!

Our stay at Gion Ryokan Karaku was truly special and enriched our visit to old Kyoto. The location in the heart of the Gion district made it easy to explore the city’s historic streets, temples, and traditional culture, adding to the authenticity of our experience. One highlight of our stay was the Japanese breakfast, which was simply delightful—beautifully presented and full of flavour. I loved the blended Japanese rice, and always asked for seconds. We also truly appreciated that the ryokan catered for vegetarians, ensuring that everyone in our family could enjoy a wonderful meal. The warm hospitality and serene ambiance of the ryokan made our time there relaxing and memorable. We highly recommend it to anyone looking for a traditional yet comfortable stay in Kyoto. We would love to return one day!

It was good, no complaints.

Great hotel with friendly staff, a very ideal location for Kyoto sightseeing but yet on a calm back street so it's away from the crowds. Rooms were traditional and great for a Japanese traditional experience. Top floor rooms are the best, with hottubs and a view over the city. Can only recommend!

Only thing to note, is the distance to a convenient store and restaurants. Expect to have to walk 5-10 min before reaching anything.

Excellent location in Old quarter of Kyoto within walking distance of Kiyomizudera temple and just behind Yasaka shrine. Lots of lovely cafes surround the ryokan and a very scenic neighbourhood. Very spacious room for Japanese standards, was the largest room during our stay in Japan. Very helpful and welcoming staff and really enjoyed the traditional style with modern amenities. All in all an excellent stay. If we're slightly cheaper we would have stayed for more than 2 nights as was the best room we had during our holiday.

There was a buzzing noise at night from some machine we couldn't figure out how to switch off. We dis not use the air conditioner or air purifier so couldn't figure out the sound. But other than that, no complaints.

We stayed together with 2 other friends and everything was absolutely beautiful. The staff speaks English, so it was easy to communicate. The dinner and breakfast courses were amazing. There were detailed explanations of every course. One of our friends in the group is vegan and they adjusted their meals for her. The room was very spacious, the beds are made when we're at dinner as usual, all our luggage fit in the room, there were plenty of wardrobe space and we stayed very comfortably. You can wear the provided yukata to the dinner, and I did, which was a nice small experience for me on the side. The rooms and bathrooms are clean and bath, toilet and sink are in separate spaces; so it's not an issue for people staying together.

Not exactly something the inn can do about this but: We thought we could get to the location from Kyoto Station easily by bus, and normally on the map it looks like you can, but we underestimated our luggage. We didn't know we had to place luggage on another platform in buses in Japan and then there's a bit of walking distance and some slope on the way to the inn after the bus stop. So we chose taxi while going to our second location after our stay here (and the inn called taxi for us); which we should've done while getting there as well. So if you're getting from the Kyoto Station with luggage as well, we highly recommend taxi.