RTWSTARALLIANCE

We went by car. Maybe our Japan experts can give local public transport options if available. The Castle nolonger stands. It was destroyed hundreds of years ago. Oda Nobunaga is legendary. The sites here are not so much so do not make great effort. But if you have a chance a replica of the supposed Donjon (tensyu) was made for the Sevilla Expo 92 in Spain. It found a home here after the expo. It was pretty amazing and apparently scenes from the latest Taiga Drama were shot here. The colors are amazing. The top fifth and sixth floors of the castle are shown here along with interior rooms. Also interesting may be the Shiga Prefectural Azuchi Castle Archaeological Museum. We did not make it there. Enjoy!

RTWSTARALLIANCE

This trip was the highlight of our day. My wife's father is from Shiga and I have always wanted to visit this town. From Kyoto Station you can take the JR Tokai (Biwako line) line to Oumihachiman. From there it is a very easy taxi ride to Hachiman bori. Cross over the river to see Hachiman Shrine. There is also a cable car system which we did not try. I highly recommend walking around the town side also. Shiga is a pretty properous area I am told and the houses reflect that given this is the "countryside". Ok. Back to some interesting stuff. When you get off the taxi on the main road you cross a bridge. But if you stay on the road side and go down the steps to the left you will go down towards the small river. Many samurai scenes are shot here and you will get some amazing pics. You will see many people drawing the scene. Keep on walking and you will come upon a restaurant Hamagura. It will be right in front of you if you continue walking along the riverbank. This is lunch. The curry and hayashi rice is amazing. The price was around 1050 yen each. The food is very good and comes with a very small salad. Each dish has a little Omi beef. Some of the other dishes looked amazing. I could easily do back.

Cross the bridge. Explore the Shrine area and note to your left a pastry shop Harie Club. In the back there is a cafe which serves the pastry and tea. The place was packed and we could not wait. But missed that place. On the right as you are crossing the bridge is another spot. As you enter this place Taneya to the left they have a confectionary freshly made red bean inside with mochi outside. They are making these aka cooking in front of you. They look like a dumpling. Yum but hot!

Once again take the time to walk around on the town side. It was very interesting and we found a very interesting local stores which sell the Omi beef. Boy that looked good. We walked over to my father high school which has a great baseball team. Enjoy!

Thunderroad

Very belatedly getting around to saying how nice it was to meet you folks and to more generally praise the Westin in the wake of our four-night stay (combo of points and $$ nights) in early November.

My wife and I were lucky enough to get a suite, but assuming a regular room is half the size of a suite that certainly would be fine. We'd requested a suite/room with a city view, but instead wound up with a view of the hills on the other side of the hotel; that was very nice, in fact.

As a Plat, nice complimentary breakfast and drinks in a pleasant lounge with a good view of the city and surround hillside. And for a really big breakfast spread, you can go to the regular restaurant.

We weren't sure exactly what to expect, given the mixed reviews here and on Tripadvisor, so the hotel was a pleasant surprise. The rooms are quite nice; by no means faded or dated in our view, despite what some folks have suggested. Yes, there is a glitch re lack of available wall sockets, but it's easy enough to unplug something in order to plug in a laptop or phone power cord.

Service was very fine. A bit of a hiccup in terms of figuring out the computer to print out our boarding passes, but no big deal.

This is a rather large hotel, so perhaps some people are turned off by it being on the busy side and lacking in much Japanese character. But again, the staff are quite friendly, efficient and gracious in that Japanese way, which does lend the hotel a bit of character.

One aspect of the hotel that doesn't get enough positive play, I think, is that it is walking distance from the Philosopher's Path, the hillside walking area with lots of temples, restaurants and cute little shops and neighborhoods. More generally, it is very near a hillside area where one can go for other nice walks and even small hikes. We liked the Philosopher's Path and the hills much nicer than wandering through the heavily touristed center of town (not that we disliked that part of town). So I'd actually put the hotel's location down as a big plus.

Overall, then, a very good hotel in a great location. We'd definitely stay there again if returning to Kyoto.

StationaryTraveller

The Westin Miyako Kyoto

Stay Period - 2010.9.12 ~ 2010.9.19
Room - Junior Suite & Luxury Suite

- Normal room condition
- Platinum Benefit is a breakfast and Happy Hour
- Extensive and beautiful Japanese garden ^
- Free shuttle bus to Kyoto Station ^
- From Kyoto Station To The hotel by taxi ¥ 1.700
- LCD TV and laptop connection is not possible
- Suite Category
Junior Suite - 17
Luxury Suite - 12
Imperial Suite - 1
Higashiyama Suite - 1
- Starwood Privilege Card (F&B card) is available

Starwood Privilege Card
The fee varies by country. Valid for 1 year


Approximately 100 photos and the reviews written in Korean
To see the reviews you need a very fast internet speeds

The Westin Miyako Kyoto - Junior Suite & Luxury Suite

w0r1dtrave1er

This P is looking forward to a Fri-Sun stay here Feb 3-5.

Pre-paid the cheapest rate ¥11900. Not worried about upgrades, I only want to sleep well [heavenly] and Zen out in the middle of a two-week, busy work trip.

This Kyoto trip is a little gift to myself, I'll eat noodles the rest of my trip and save my per diem for this.

Hope all is well.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

That is the correct attitude and I hope the Westin treats you well. Enjoy!

Thunderroad

+1

Check out the Philosopher's Path if you want a pleasant, interesting, relaxing stroll.

w0r1dtrave1er

Looks like the Japanese rooms are wide open. They just started running a promotional pre-paid rate for this weekend. If it's offered, should I take it?

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I've never tried the traditional Japanese style rooms which are supposed to be in the rear of the Hotel. But I like modern. If prepaid is cheaper and you know you are going then take it. I am sure you can always change up your room type. Hope I understood your comment. Enjoy!

JackieC2

Is this hotel worth 22,400 yen for a room with two single beds or should I look elsewhere?

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Not in my opinion absent a guarantee on the upgrade.

JackieC2

No status with starwood anymore so no upgrade. Thanks, I'll look elsewhere.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

You may want to reach out to the Hotel. But that price is more than I would want to pay. At that rate you can find more central located hotels for being a tourist. I think most of us select the Westin based not only on price but status benefits. Check prices please. You will love Kyoto regardless of where you stay!

slocouple

Check prices or points redemptions at the ANA -- it's a nice hotel, and doesn't take a lot of Priority Club points, if you have some of those.

nldogbert

Agreeing with the others, I will look elsewhere. It is not worth that money. I was there on points, and only got upgraded (if it was one) to the SPG room. As a gold, no internet and only 1 bottle of free water in the room. Other than that no further recognition.

Cheers!