Prevailing belief? Taxis in Kyoto are cheap, especially if fare is split between 2-3 people. Even if you're deep into a bunch of side streets you can just call one to you with Uber Taxi.

The Westin has good connectivity via the Subway but I would never write off Kyoto taxis. You'll spend twice as long getting between areas by transit if the only service between them is buses and they're not close.

Uber Taxi also great if you want to get taken directly to/from some random restaurant since you can just put the pin.