Fufu Kyoto newly opened in April of 2021 near the Higashiyama area. It's within spitting distance of Nanzenji Temple, Eikando (Zenrin-ji) Temple, Heian Jingu Shrine and Philosopher's Path, and is less than a 10-minute drive from Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji Temple, Yasaka Jinja Shrine and the Gion district. Location wise, it's in a decent area - arguably not as enticing as Park Hyatt but arguably more convenient than RC, FS and Aman, although it sort of depends on what you intend to do during your time in Kyoto. For us, it was perfect as we intended to check out the Fall foliage at Eikando (Zenrin-ji) Temple, which is considered among the top locations in Kyoto for viewing the Autumn leaves. We also had Teppanyaki dinner at the Yasaka Restaurant in the Park Hyatt - it's a short taxi ride away. As is the case with Fufu's other properties, Fufu Kyoto attempts to straddle the fence between a boutique luxury hotel and a Japanese ryokan. As is the case with their other properties (we've previously stayed at Fufu Nikko and Fufu Kawaguchiko), they manage to pull it off... for the most part.


Fufu Kyoto outside entrance

First, a few words about Fufu.. it's a luxury resort brand that is owned and operated by Kato Pleasure Group (KPG), in partnership with real estate giant Hulic. KPG has been around for a while, owning and operating various restaurants, leisure facilities and hotels. They had already dipped their toes in the luxury space prior to the JV with Hulic; Fufu Atami was founded in 2004 and Hakone Suishoen has been around since 2007. Hulic built Atami Kaihourou during the bubble years, so they also had some experience with developing and managing higher end properties. Interesting side note: KPG runs a large chain of love hotels in Japan, although it's been spun off as a subsidiary due to the stigma attached to such establishments.


Fufu Kyoto - Japanese garden

We've stayed at three KPG properties prior to Kyoto: Fufu Kawaguchiko and Hakone Suishoen, which we liked a lot, and the recently opened Fufu Nikko, which we absolutely adored (and is, hands-down, the new #1 choice in Nikko.) We enjoyed our stay at Fufu Kyoto but were not quite blown away like we were at Nikko. Perhaps because there are no shortage of compelling options in Kyoto. Or maybe we're becoming more nit-picky with age. While there are a few rough edges that Fufu Kyoto (and Fufu itself) still needs to be worked out, overall we felt it does deserves consideration among certain luxury travelers visiting Kyoto.


Fufu Kyoto - Fufu Luxury Premium Suite

As is the case with other Fufu properties, Fufu Kyoto is a fusion of a ryokan and small boutique hotel. With 40 guest rooms, it's on the large side as far as luxury ryokans go (Tawaraya and Hiiragiya have 18 and 28 rooms, respectively), and has even more rooms than Hoshinoya (25), Aman (26) and Suiran (39.) Only the Okura Kyoto Okazaki Bettei (60), Park Hyatt (70), FS (123) and RC (134) can take in more overnight guests. Aesthetics wise, Fufu Kyoto is very similar to other Fufu properties. Architecturally, it's modern (rather than traditional) Japanese both inside and out, although the furnishings are Western - wooden rather than tatami flooring, beds rather than futon and sofas and dining table/chairs instead of floor seats. Decor is minimalist Japan, with touches such as shoji (sliding rice paper door, window divider or room divider) trimmings in numerous places. It's less cluttered than Fufu Kawaguchiko, which is more cluttered in a way that makes the latter feel more claustrophobic by comparison.


Fufu Kyoto - Fufu Luxury Premium Suite

Other aspects that are hotel (rather than ryokan) like: shoes don't come off as soon as you enter Fufu Kyoto, and - while there is a pretty garden that can be viewed from the reception lobby as well as the restaurant - it's not one of the central features of this property like it is at many top ryokans. One thing that's different from many ryokans (and Fufu's other properties) is that you can book a room without meals, which is a nice option given the abundance of incredible dining opportunities in and around Kyoto.


Fufu Luxury Premium Suite bedroom

One major difference between Fufu Kyoto and just about any other top property in the city is the fact that every single room has its own Onsen (hot springs) bath. Most other hotels and ryokans that do offer Onsen only have them in their higher category rooms (Suiran), or require guests to go to the on-site communal bathing facility (Aman Kyoto).. and that's if they offer Onsen at all (Hoshinoya, PH, RC, FS, Tawaraya, Hiiragiya.) Kyoto is not known for being an Onsen haven, so this is a huge Fufu advantage. It should be noted, however, that it's not of the "kakenagashi" variety (where the hot springs water is constantly poured into the bathtub and overflows without being reused.) At Fufu Kyoto, they truck in the Onsen water each day from the Fushimi area, and route the Onsen to the rooms via a method called "circulation filtration" - a form of reusing the water after disinfecting it. If you want a pure, gensen kakenagashi Onsen luxury ryokan experience, you're best off heading to places like Arima Onsen or Kurama, or even further afield (Kinosaki Onsen, Kaga Onsen, etc.)


Fufu Kyoto - Fufu Luxury Premium Suite

We booked their top room type, the Fufu Luxury Premium Suite, which offers 91mē of indoor space that has a separate bedroom/living room and a nice view of the nearby mountains. I also had a chance to inspect a lower category room - the Comfort Twin room, which was 42mē in size - comparable to a standard or deluxe room in most international brand hotels in Japan. It's obviously much smaller, but still had an Onsen bath, all of the tech and most of the amenities found in the Luxury Premium Suite. What was missing was any view to speak of - the "windows" were covered by a sliding shoji, and when I slid the shoji aside, there was a mosaic-ed window that I couldn't see out of. This was most likely due to the window immediately facing an adjacent building, meaning they block off the view both ways for privacy's sake. Whether it's a deal-breaker or not depends on your own priorities. There's also a semi partition between the bedroom and living area, which is generally a good thing but not in such a small room like the Comfort Twin. For members of this forum I'd recommend you seek out at least the Fufu Luxury Corner Suite, which splits the size difference between the Comfort Twin and Luxury Premium Suite at 73mē. As an aside, the room category naming at all Fufu properties (plus Hakone Suishoen) are now consistent, meaning that the Fufu Luxury Premium Suite is the top room category everywhere.


Fufu Kyoto - Fufu Luxury Premium Suite's Onsen (hot springs) bath

We choose a package sans dinner, but one that did include a Japanese breakfast served in our own room; it was among the best breakfast meals we've had in a ryokan. It was not the run-of-the-mill stuff that's found in many ryokans ("himono" sun-dried then grilled fish, boiled tofu, etc.) Fufu actually makes a creative attempt at offering something distinctly Japanese without being exactly the same as other breakfasts. For instance, rather than offer up the typical red miso soup, they prepared a white miso soup with yuba (tofu skin), and it was very tasty (I generally don't like white miso, by the way.) And for dessert, rather than simply providing few slices of fruit like 90% of Japanese breakfasts, they provided a sweet and tangy fruit jelly (with real fruit mixed in.)


Japanese breakfast served in our Suite at Fufu Kyoto

Overall, Fufu has done a good job in enabling a ryokan-style experience while offering hotel-like amenities (and flexibility) that will allow most people to be comfortable in staying multiple nights at the property. There are a few drawbacks, however. For starters, there is no direct phone line to Fufu Kyoto itself; it might exist somewhere, but it's not published on their website nor could I find it even after calling their central reservations office and asking for the number. The agent said that they'd route me to the appropriate personnel depending on what I was requesting. Seems very impersonal to me. Additionally (and very curiously), their main corporate line does not offer the option to choose an English agent - all of the explanations are in Japanese, so you'd have no idea what option to select to get to the right person. When I mentioned it to the agent, she said "foreigners can simply press 1 or 2, then ask for an English-speaking agent, and we'll route the call to someone that speaks English." To me, that's a major hack job and woefully inadequate for a luxury property that aims to compete with the very best hotels and ryokans in Kyoto, if not all of Japan. Finally, there is no gym, no pool and no laundry service. I mentioned to the Fufu Kyoto manager that the lack of laundry service might put off foreign travelers that intend to stay in Kyoto for most than a few nights, especially ones that have the disposable yen to stay at a luxury property. I'm not sure if I believe him or not, but he told me that "they're in discussions with a few establishments that they could potentially outsource this service to." Given everything else that's right about Fufu, I would hope they manage to iron out the kinks to make it more foreigner friendly. Since the majority of their properties (Nara, Nikko, Kyoto, Hakone) were established during Japan's COVID lockdown, I'm guessing that KPG had no need to develop a system that's geared towards accommodating a large number of foreign guests. As an aside, the GM at Fufu Kyoto said they hoped to have 20% of their guests be foreigners, which is inverted from Park Hyatt, where - according to the GM there - 80% of their customers are non-Japanese during the first half of November.

A note about prices - in spite of the luxury boom in Kyoto, it still appears that demand far outstrips supply. Room rates are nowhere near as inflated as the U.S. and Europe, but it's apparent that top properties can command a big chunk of change. We compared prices of comparable Suites when we were booking at Fufu Kyoto, and it was slightly less expensive than Aman, PH, Suiran, FS or RC (Hoshinoya was booked full), although I don't think the difference was enough to influence customer preferences, IMO. In any case, if you feel that Fufu is a ripoff, you'll probably feel the same way about any other competing hotel in Kyoto and are better served by staying in a lesser property like Okura or Hyatt Regency or even the Granvia, or in Osaka (StR is a solid choice), where room rates are significantly cheaper. Besides, Kyoto has so many attractions that I'd encourage visitors to get out and stay out as much as physically possible... and perhaps splurging instead at a top Onsen ryokan in more rural areas of the country.

A few Fall foliage photos during our visit to Kyoto last week. These are from Eikando (Zenrin-ji) Temple, which is a 10 minute walk from Fufu Kyoto. We visited at the tail end of the season, so the Autumn leaves weren't as vibrant as the last time we were there, but we still enjoyed our time at Eikando.