The Junei Hotel Kyoto Imperial Palace West

If there’s a unifying thread to all the Japanese hotels in Tablet’s selection, it has to be quality. Rarely, in this country, can a hotel — or anything else — get by on salesmanship alone. Craft is held in high regard here, and the result is a specific kind of boon for travelers: here, you occasionally find a hotel that’s quite simply much, much better than it needs to be. Which brings us around to the Junei Hotel Kyoto Imperial Palace West.

As may be evident from the name, it’s located just to the west of Kyoto’s impressive Imperial Palace; it’s about the same distance to the north of the picturesque Nijo Castle. The hotel’s own imposing façade hints at fortifications as well, and suggests something rather grand inside — it’s a surprise, then, to find that the Junei contains a mere eight rooms.

Those eight rooms, again, are more impressive than they need to be. They’re quite large, for one thing, and come most of the trappings of the high-end ryokan experience, from Shigaraki ceramic soaking tubs with hydrogen-enriched water to guest pajamas and Kiyomizu-style tea sets. Lavish Shidashi bento-style meals and impressive tea, sake and sweets round out the package — in some ways a stay at Junei feels like a stay at the Imperial Palace itself.