While your Guide was staying in Osaka, I went up to Kyoto for a long-weekend of exploring the temples amongst the eastern hills of the city. The Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu was an ideal base for the weekend. I livestreamed Brain Tech Support from the lobby lounge, trekked around the hills, relaxed by the rooftop bonfire at night, and enjoyed an amenity you rarely see at hotels: a meditation room. Let’s explore a detailed review of my stay at the Nohga Kiyomizu…
The pagoda at Houkan-ji on the path down from Kiyomizu-dera to the Gion. Your Guide standing in the mossy garden at Nanzen-ji (recording a video). Gift-wrapped boxes of cinnamony baked yatsuhashi wafers. Kannon bodhisattva statues inside Sanjusangendo.
These are a tiny fraction of the reasons to stay in the Higashiyama neighborhood if its your first (or 40th) visit to Kyoto.
How is the Nohga Kiyomizu for working remotely?
For internet speeds, this is one of the best hotels I’ve worked from in the past three years. Nearly triple digit WIFI in the room, with a room-specific network. Over triple digits in the lobby where there’s a large table with ample plugs (and a bakery) to work from.
Is there a big desk in the room?
I’m a fan of the Nohga hotels–the Nohga in Ueno is an ideal base in Tokyo as well. They’re designed phenomenally well and understand what travelers need and where they need it. The one minus for me is the lack of a desk in the room. There are different options for rooms, including spacious suites. From what I saw, it looked like only the suites had tables to work from in the room.
How much did it cost?
For two nights, including taxes, the double room cost $118 US per night using the discounts I got through booking on Agoda <<affiliate link. To compare: the cheapest room at the nearby Hyatt Regency is around $259 USD per night (and does not have a meditation room).
A magazine waiting for you in your room at the Nohga explains the origin of nearly everything around the hotel. Some items are sourced from recycled materials unique to Kyoto (like the staff’s pocket-squares made from kimono cuttings). Others were created specifically for the hotel, like the tea cups in your room. Even the tissue holder on the vanity has a story: it’s made from a wooden sake cup used in traditional ceremonies and capped with a ceramic cover crafted by local pottery shop Kaikado.
A Kyoto hotel with a rooftop terrace and a meditation room and a bakery in the lobby, on the edge of the Gion?
There’s also a gym–that alone is rare Kyoto hotel amenity. It’s an easy walk from Kiyomizudera and Sanjusangendo (two of my favorite temples to visit). For the price, the Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu is excellent value for a Kyoto hotel.
I booked it when I first signed up to Agoda, so I got an extra deal on the price. Of all of the hotel sites, I find that Agoda delivers actual deals in Japan, especially if you line up the time-limited discount codes and sign-up bonuses. The links to Agoda are affiliate links but don’t add anything to the cost. Using them helps support the blog and I only share links to places I would stay at again. If you’d like to book see more details on the hotel, you can do that here: Nohga Hotel Kiyomizu
Or search Kyoto hotels to see how it compares:
Designed in collaboration with the monks of Japan’s oldest Zen temple, nearby Kenninji, the Nohga’s meditation room is reservable for private use at the front desk. The suikinkutsu in the alcove at the front of the room was made by Shinya Taniguchi. The rough surface is meant to evoke meteorites and volcanic rock. Water drips from the small vessel on top into the larger one, creating an echo like water droplets in a deep underground cave. It serves the purpose of meditation bell and timer.
After working on your mental fitness in the meditation room, if you need to get ready for the trails around Higashiyama, book the Nohga’s gym at the front desk. It’s small but intended as a private gym. Everything was brand new and you’ve got enough equipment there to get a good workout in. If you need workout ideas for hotel gyms, check-out my posts on travel workouts.
And then, after the workout, visit the bakery in the lobby…
The lobby of the Nohga Kiyomizu has three features I wish were standard in all hotels (and, let’s be honest, any building): 1) A large table with easy-to-access power outlets and lights for creating. 2) A bar serving coffee and local wine. 3) A bakery with freshly made donuts and loaves of bread displayed like precious pieces of art.
How is breakfast at the Nohga Kiyomizu?
For around 2400 yen ($16 US) you basically get a choice of eggs accompanied by coffee, juice, a salad and an unlimited bread and pastry buffet. And the pastry buffet is more substantial than I could capture in a photo. It’s extensive. And if you want an entire loaf of bread for your breakfast, that’s available.
If you have a packed day ahead of you, it might be difficult to lounge around during breakfast, but if you have the time, the restaurant is comfortable and lit well. Enjoy a few loaves of bread with your morning coffee.
How to get there
Address: 4-450-1 Gojobashi-Higashi Higashiyama-ku Kyoto-city, Kyoto
Train tip: The Keihan train line from Osaka stops at Kiyomizu-Gojo, a seven minute walk away from the Nohga. If you don’t like transfers, that could give you a direct train ride from Osaka, but be careful which train you take–the rapid and limited express don’t stop at Kiyomizu-Gojo on the Keihan line. Express is your best option.
When I go to Kyoto, I do a lot of walking. At the end of the day, after walking for hours, it’s nice to sit down. We may as well sit down with a cocktail by the rooftop bonfire and watch the sun wrap-up its work day.
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