Hotel Review: Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa

Premium hotels with four- and five star ratings are an exception and a rare treat for my. But for my last three nights in Kyoto, I wanted to to experience some peace and quiet in relative luxury before my cramped flight home and a busy work week… so I booked into this lovely central Kyoto hotel. Here is my full review, as always, fully paid by myself, fully unbiased.

About Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa

The Gate Hotel Takasegawa is a large five-star managed ( and possibly owned) by Hulic, a Tokyo-based real estate development company. They manage a small number of hotels under the brands of “The Gate” and “The View” and a few high-end ryokan.

The hotel is located between Downtown Kyoto and Pontocho, in an enviable position, with sweeping views over Kyoto from its higher floors. The modern large main hotel is by far the highest building in Pontocho, and can be seen from afar – and offers sweeping views across the Kamo River to Higashiyama. The new building dwarfs the 1920’s primary school – apparently the first concrete building of Kyoto – that makes the spiritual backbone of this hotel. Most guest rooms are in the modern, airy and architecturally inoffensive mid-rise. The old primary school is very nicely integrated into the complex, which also has some airy public spaces with a lawn and some small shops and cafes.

In many ways, the Gate Hotel Takasegawa is a modern city hotel with ample public space (open to everyone) but few Japanese touches at first look. There is no Japanese garden, the shops and cafes ( Blue Bottle, Seiko etc. ) are international less, traditional Kyoto, and this makes the hotel not very typical of Kyoto. However, this is one of very few hotels along this busy section of Takasegawa River, a very scenic throughfare between the Kamo River and Pontocho and the busy Kawaramachi Shopping Street, and in terms of location, extremely hard to beat.

I chose the Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa over other premium hotels because it was close to my school – a ten-minute stroll along the scenic Takasegawa River – and I managed to secure a good rate at the time of booking, around seven months in advance.

Location of Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa

Frankly, this hotel has one of the most enviable locations in Kyoto: Right in the centre between busy Kawaramachi-dori (shopping!) and the historic Pontocho Hanamachi (Dining, bars). For the very happening and busy location, it is quiet, and has excellent public transport connections by Hankyu Line, Metro, Kyoto Bus and Keihan Railway. There really is hardly anywhere you can’t get by a short walk and connecting to public transport from the hotel.

This area of central Kyoto is one of the best to stay in if you are new to Kyoto and want to go sightseeing at the famous Kyoto places – Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, Ryoanji to the West, Higashiyama temples to the East, Fushimi Inari – and take day trips to Uji, Nara and Osaka.

Overall hotel experience

I booked my stay around seven months in advance and got a fairly good rate, and I could not wait to get out of my previous accommodation in Saiin (okay area, didn’t like the guesthouse much), so I pitched up with my luggage a few hours before Check-in time.

From the ground, you almost wouldn’t know there is a hotel when you enter the large plaza with a lawn and a few smaller shops. There is a tiny reception desk on the ground floor, along with a library for hotel guest. Since I could not check-in yet, I did not get much further, so I left my luggage with reception and went to do my homework at the Blue Bottle Cafe in the hotel building (pricey, music a bit loud but stylish and light).

When I returned in the late afternoon, I went to the main reception which is on the top floor and affords a wonderful view over Higashiyama and its temples. My rooms was ready and my luggage had been brought to my room. My room was next to the hotel lounge, a large plush room with comfy sofas, book shelves, and a limited free self-service for hot and cold drinks. A perfect place to do my homework. There was coffee from a decent machine (similar to the conbini ones), tea, cola, ginger ale, wine… and some free snacks like rice crackers. There was a staffed bar, too, and you could other food, but these services had to be paid for.

It was still cold in February, but there was a terrace with a fire pit and marshmallows for roasting – a nice touch that not just kids loved.

Other than that, I did not really use many other facilities – there was a bar next to reception on the 8th floor, with a better terrace, a fitness gym, a multipurpose tatami room – but no pool or even spa or communal bath, which I sorely missed, especially since I only had a shower in my room.

My Room

The room I booked was a “Modest” Room in the main building, and it is a so-called semi double, compact in size, with a 140cm wide bed. The room layout was very strange – U-shaped, starting with a small entrance area with the toilet and shower in a single room, a sink in the narrow corridor. This led to a nice work area with a Vitra Desk, complete with monitor and keyboard, and a very comfortable Herman Miller desk chair facing a huge window.

The design was pared down, almost bland, and sparsely furnished. Aside from a cracking desk setup, the furnishings looked a bit cheap (foiled fibreboard, any one?). I did love the classy designer desk setup.

The room was practical, but not exactly beautiful. And lots of scuffs on the walls. And a carpet that looked a bit worn.

Did I love staying here? Oh yes, even though this looked more like a study with a bed in , it was very comfortable, nice bed linen, daily room cleaning with the option to keep towels and sheet. I had a half decent views through humongous windows that opened, and blackout curtains at night.

There was a small tray with a kettle, tea and coffee which I used up in no time, because I was so sick one day I barely left the room.

Altogether, although the room wasn’t perfect, I grew to like its odd layout that let a lot of air and light in, and I really grew to love it.

When you entered the room, you would not be able to see the sleeping area, and from the sleeping area, you could only see the desk partially, It was a bit like having really separate areas for sleep and work.

The bathroom was small, with a shower only and no partition between shower and toilet. This would not have bothered me at all had there been a spa with bathing facilities.

Any rest would have to be on the bed as there was no armchair or sofa in the room. I have no problem with that. Also, there wasn’t a lot of shelf space to just park some things – I would either have to put everything into the wardrobe, which had a lot of hanging space, or into small drawers. So I ended up with a lot of my stuff on the floor.

I also have to add that I got quite sick for one day, so I I spent a lot more time than I intended in bed, and the rooms was looking a lot messier than it would normally look, not did I manage to take any decent photos. However, I can vouch that this room was not a bad place to be sick in – very comfortable,r estful and quiet. I did run out of tea at some point, but there was a convenience store less than 5 minutes away would I have needed anything, and of course, there would have been the option of (reaonably priced) room service, too.

Special treats

I made good use of a guest lounge next door to my room, which was basically always open and provided coffee, tea and a small selection of soft drinks and snacks from the early afternoon onwards. It also had an outside terrace (no view) and some very comfy furniture and bookshelves – this was certainly a lovely common area, and so was the small ground floor library and a spacious branch of Blue Bottle Coffee. The hotel offers tour of the Elementary School building, but too few, and in Japanese only, to hotel guests.

Although the hotel felt a bit impersonal, staff were very friendly and professional whenever I approached them. They helped me make reservations for a restaurant that would accept reservations by phone only, and held my luggage on the day of departure and arrival, and called a taxi for me… and helped me carry my stuff to the taxi. Maybe that’s normal for hotels of a certain category, it certainly was very nice.

What to do in the area

This hotel is so central, Kyoto is your oyster! You can easily reach several stations served by several train companies for trips to Arashiyama, Osaka, Uji, Nara – and you can reach some of Higashiyama’s temples and shrines (Chion-in, Shoren-in, Yasaka-jinja) by a leisurely stroll of less than 30 minutes.

However, with this downtown location, you are less than a minute from Kyoto’s shops – Maruzen Books, Kyoto Loft and perpetual tourist favourites Uniqlo and Don Quijote are barely three minutes on foot away. It’s 5-10 minutes to my favourite Kyoto Shop, Kyukyodo, and the shops of Teramachi-dori, including many clothing and drug stores.

Alternative Accommodation nearby

This area of central Kyoto is one of the best to stay in if you are new to Kyoto and want to go sightseeing and do day trips to Uji, Nara, Osaka and beyond. It is a busy area full of shops, restaurants and bars – and thankfully, hotels, too.

I have yet to find budget accommodation in this area without making any sort of compromise – since it’s so central and convenient. This is an expensive area. The best I think, if you are on a tight budget, is the mid-range Kyoto chain of M’s Hotels, with a Hotel Gran M’s near City Hall, or the very decent Hotel Musse on KAwaramachi. About 15min walk up the road, in the quieter section of the Teramachi area, is Guesthouse HIVE with small private rooms and shared bathrooms. Expect to pay 50-100 Euro per room per night for these, depending on season.

Close by on Kawaramachi-dori is the mid-range Hotel Resol Kyoto Kawaramachi. Resol Hotels are mid-range yet elegant, but I still have not managed to stay in one.

As far as luxury accommodation in this area is concerned, there isn’t really anything I’d rather stay -there are two huge luxury hotels further north towards City Hall, a Hilton and an Okura Hotel, but I would stay here again and again if my budget allows.

Overall: Would I stay there again?

On the whole, the Gate Hotel Takasegawa by HULIC really delivered on a comfortable stay with services one would expect from a four star hotel. On the whole, it felt a little bit impersonal, and it is not a traditional “Japanese” experience, but it would be perfect for those who want to stay somewhere quiet yet be in the centre of things.

The hotel is extremely comfortable and practical, and suited me well as a solo traveller on a study trip, but I probably wouldn’t choose this on a romantic break. It did somewhat classier than the equally nice and well – located Gion Shinmonso I had stayed in the year before, having paid the same but for two people and in high season. I would definitely stay here again on a Kyoto trip if I wanted to sightsee extensively and shop in the evenings, rather than travel slowly. So, on the whole I recommend staying here, especially if you are on a tight schedule and don’t mind the slight corporate style of the roos.

Hotel Details

Name: THE GATE HOTEL Kyoto Takasegawa by HULIC

Address: Japan, 〒604-8023 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Bizenjimacho, 310-2

Telephone: +81752568955

Web Site: https://www.gate-hotel.jp/kyoto

How to get there: Hankyu Line to Kyoto Kawaramachi or bus to Shijo Kawaramachi, then walk 2-4min.

The Small Print

I visited Kyoto in February 2026, and I stayed at Gate Hotel Takasegawa for four days.

As always, I was paying my own way, so nothing you see here was sponsored, and I did not receive compensation, discounts, or special treatment in exchange for writing it. All my own honest and unbiased opinion. I paid 68000 JPY (approximately 360 Euro) for three nights in a “Modest” Room, booked through Booking.com about six months in advance.

This post does contain affiliate links to Booking.com and Agoda.com. If you book a hotel using my affiliate links, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please refer to my blog’s Terms and Conditions for further information.

This post reflects my personal opinion and experience and is not a statement of fact about any places or accommodation mentioned in this post. I am not a specialist in incense so please forgive me for any inaccuracies that may have crept in here. I always appreciate honest feedback and corrections.