apatinage

Hello, I posted this about a 1/2 hour ago ( or at least I thought I did) but I don't see it...

For all those who have been to Kyoto, which hotel would be better for convenience and sightseeing?

Thanks

kja

The Granvia is attached to the main JR rail station in Kyoto, so it is convenient for some local and intercity transportation, but not particularly near to many of the major tourist destinations in Kyoto. From the Fujita's web-site map, it appears to be nearer to interesting districts of the city, and nearer to interesting shops and restaurants. It also appears to be reasonably close to a subway station and to a Keihan line train station, so you should be able to access public transportation easily.

Mara

I agree with kja - I stayed about two blocks south of Oike on Kawaramachi - there are numerous bus routes which can take you to many of the sights.....I felt it was more appealing than the Kyoto Station area even though I did go there to eat a couple of times.

DonTopaz

skater -- Definitely the Fujita is better for sightseeing. I stayed there in 05, and it had excellent on-foot access to Gion, Ponto-cho, shopping, and many other places in Kyoto. The Granvia is convenient primarily for taking the train, but there's little of interest in the area of the train station.

hawaiiantraveler

apatinage,

My vote goes to the Granvia. We found this hotel very convenient for sightseeing and shopping in Kyoto.

First of all a main bus station is right in front of the hotel, so you can catch any bus to anywhere in Kyoto right out your front door.

The station also has a info center and bus ticket purchasing area where you can ask all the questions you want on where to go, what to see and how to get there.

The major taxi stand(with over 10 rows of taxi's) is right in front of the hotel.

The subway is right under the hotel and takes you to the Gion area in two stops(about two minutes).

The main post office is across the street for easy access to freindly ATM machines.

If you have any daytrips you want to make(Nara, Osaka, Kobe, etc.) the train station is right downstairs.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the over 80 restaurants, no that wasn't a typo, over 80 restaurants in the complex that is ths Hotel Granvia.

The hotel is connected to the JR Station which also has a 15+ story Isetan store with a Portal shopping mall. I think there are more than 400 shops in the mall alone. The place is huge and one of the major shopping and eating areas in Kyoto. So saying there isn't much in the area is not correct. Here is a link to the hotel:

https://www.granvia-kyoto.co.jp/e/index.html

The taxi back from the Gion area at night was less than 10 US if even that and we only did it because it was raining one night.

Kyoto is a small compact city in a bowl shaped valley (estimate maybe 2 1/2 miles wide by 4 mile long) so transportation by using the bus, subway and taxi systems are very easy and cheap.

Just another view .

Aloha!

OJudy

I agree with hawaiiantraveler. We stayed at the Granvia in September and it was better than we could have ever imagined. A hotel in a train station??? No way -- you gotta be kidding!!! But it not just a train station. It is an city in itself with every convenience you could ever want. Transportation was a breeze with the subways, trains, taxis and buses right outside the door. But actually, we spent a lot of time walking around the nearby neighborhoods and discovered a lot of hidden treasures not mentioned in the guidebooks.

That said... I am not at all familiar with the Fujita, so I can't compare the two.

laurieco

I also vote for the Granvia. We stayed there 3 years ago and will be staying there again in March. If you're arriving in Kyoto on the train, you can't beat the convenience. The train and bus station is right downstairs as hawaiiantraveler stated, and give you easy access to all historical sights in and around Kyoto. We went sightseeing every day and out to dinner every night and had no trouble using the buses to get where we wanted, Also, as already mentioned, there are tons of stores and restaurants below the hotel and the aforementioned Isetan Dept. Store has a fabulous food hall where you can pick up anything to go. Great when you are catching the Shinkansen to another city and want to bring your lunch.

When are you going? I made my reservation for the Granvia for late March two days ago and only 2 hotel sites had rooms, and only 3 rooms at that. The agent told me hardly anything was left for Kyoto for late March and April so if you're going then, make up your mind and reserve something ASAP!

apatinage

I am headed to Kyoto on March 15th. I already had a reservation at the Fujita , but I really wanted to cover all bases, so I also made a reservation with the Granvia this weekend. I think I am going to go with the Granvia as the photos of the hotel are absolutely gorgeous and I want to take a couple of side trips to Hiroshima, Osaka and Kobe