Nakasendo Trail Accommodation: Our Complete Guide to 19 Hotels, Inns and Guesthouses (Kyoto to Tokyo)
From budget business hotels to tatami rooms in the mountains, here is every place we stayed on the Nakasendo trail from Kyoto to Tokyo. This is our complete accommodation guide with our honest reviews, what we paid, and what we would do differently.
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After many days of research before starting the Nakasendo, and after experiencing each hotel, we are sharing our honest reviews of each accommodation from our Nakasendo trip between Kyoto and Tokyo in March and April 2025, along with the alternatives we considered while planning our trip. We hope this helps you understand what each place is like and makes it easier to plan your own visit, whether you’re only visiting Japan or planning to walk the entire Nakasendo!
Here’s how we’ll go over each accommodation:
The basics: address with a Google Maps link, booking link, nearest station, how we got there, date stayed, price, and, more importantly, would we stay again?
What it's like: the room, facilities, atmosphere. What surprised us (good or bad).
Food & breakfast: what was included, what's nearby, any recommendations.
Practical notes: booking quirks, payment, language, anything you, the reader, need to know that isn't on the listing.
Best for: one sentence on who this suits most.
Alternatives: just in case this hotel isn’t available, or you want to experience something different.
Some links in this guide are affiliate links with our partner Opodo. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The hotel sits in the city centre, right next to Honnoji Temple, a famous (or rather, infamous) historical site in Kyoto. Our double room was small but clean and comfortable, which is exactly what you want at this price. Amenities are minimal but cover the essentials: shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hand wash, tea, a kettle, and a fridge. The hotel has a clean, well-kept feel throughout. Because it is near a popular shopping and nightlife area, we caught some noise from tourists in the evening, but nothing serious. It quietened down quickly enough.
Food and breakfast
Breakfast at Yayoiken near the hotel.
There is no breakfast included, but the location is ideal for eating out. The Sanjo and Teramachi covered shopping arcades are a short walk away, with plenty of restaurants and convenience stores for any budget. Read our day 1 article for more information.
Practical notes
The staff were genuinely helpful. When we needed to book a local taxi for a later part of the trip in Hosokute, they offered to let us use the hotel phone. That kind of small gesture goes a long way on a long walk. Easy to book online; no unusual requirements.
Walkers starting the Nakasendo from Kyoto who want a clean, affordable base near Sanjo Ohashi without spending much on accommodation in a city where costs add up quickly.
Complete Nakasendo bundle that includes tracks, accommodation guide, and our journal. Unlock the rest of this article by purchasing this bundle as a one-off or subscribing to Tomie's Cuisine.
