RC HOTEL KYOTO YASAKA, Kyoto

Rc Hotel Kyoto Yasaka occupies a renovated 50-year-old concrete apartment block in the Higashiyama district. The building retains its original structure, with exposed concrete walls and steel doors giving rooms an industrial loft style. Guests have access to a shared lounge, a garden, and a rooftop terrace with clear sightlines to Hōkan-ji Temple.

Each air-conditioned room includes a private bathroom, a fridge, and a desk. The Superior Double Room and Twin Room with View offer direct sightlines to Hōkan-ji Temple from the window. Rooms are spacious by Kyoto standards, with a dehumidifier, a clothesline, and a CD player, but no television.

The inn sits 600 metres from Kiyomizu-dera Temple and a 16-minute walk from Samurai Kembu Kyoto. Heian Shrine is 2 km away and Kyoto International Manga Museum is 2.3 km from the property. The hotel is on a narrow pedestrian street closed to traffic on weekends and holidays, so guests should expect to walk their luggage uphill from the nearest bus stop.

The rooftop terrace provides a view of Hōkan-ji Temple (Yasaka Pagoda) and the Kyoto skyline, accessible by stairs. Guests frequently use this space at sunrise and sunset to photograph the pagoda without crowds. The rooftop currently has no bar or seating beyond basic benches, though its unobstructed vista is the hotel's main draw.

Breakfast consists of a single slice of toast with jam and one cup of coffee, served in the shared lounge. The adjacent Kéfu Stand coffee truck offers a 15% discount to guests showing their room key. The basement houses coin-operated laundry machines, and staff can help arrange luggage forwarding to the next destination.

Location: 600 m from Kiyomizu-dera Temple, next to Yasaka Pagoda

Rooms: Spacious Superior Double and Twin Rooms with pagoda views

Rooftop: Free-access terrace with sunset views of Hōkan-ji Temple

Design: Renovated 1950s concrete apartment block with industrial loft style

Services: Coin laundry, luggage forwarding, coffee truck discount

Dining: In-room fridge and simple toast-and-jam breakfast