Where to Stay in Kyoto for New Year 2026/27: Temple Bells, the First Shrine Visit, Five Areas, 12 Hotels and the Accommodation Tax

No one pays to be recommended here, and we say when a free or cheaper option wins. Our promise →

Kyoto’s New Year is quiet and ritual rather than a party. There is no countdown crowd to book around. What the city has is the midnight temple bells, hatsumode (the first shrine visit of the year) and a fire at Yasaka Shrine that burns through the night. The trains matter more here than in most cities, because last year the city subway, the buses, JR West and Hankyu did not run overnight on New Year’s Eve, and only Keihan did. Since 1 March 2026 the city’s accommodation tax has also been higher in its middle and upper bands, so the room rate changes the bill.

This guide covers what each temple, shrine and railway had published when we looked on 29 and 30 October 2026, five areas matched to the kind of night you want, 12 hotels, the accommodation tax and what to book first. For the rest of your trip, where to stay in Kyoto covers the city in general, and our Tokyo New Year guide does the same job for the capital. The hotels are researched picks, chosen for location, what each property publishes and consistent guest feedback, and each was checked as operating in October 2026. No hotel pays to appear here.

The short answer

Not sure which area? Rank these areas for your trip: pick what matters and see the reasons.

31 December 2026 to 3 January 2027: what is published

Kyoto City Tourism Association already lists the temple bells for 31 December 2026. Where a temple’s own page still describes last year, we say so and give it as last year’s.

Temple bells

• Chion-in. The bell weighs about 70 tonnes and is rung by 17 monks. The Tourism Association’s 2026 list says ringing starts at 10:20pm, visitors may watch only, application is in advance, and it costs 3,000 yen, free for elementary school children and under. The temple’s own page still carried last year’s terms: online applications from 2pm on 1 December for four groups of 500, a separate cash sale of 400 tickets at its Yuzen-en office from 8 to 24 December, about 30 minutes inside per group, no re-entry and no applications on the day. We found no 2026/27 sale dates, so check from 1 December. The free alternative is the trial ringing on Sunday 27 December at 2pm in the bell tower, which the temple has posted. Last year’s page said it needed no application, and the city’s list says numbers may be limited if it is crowded.
• Kodai-ji. The list gives 11:45pm for the ringing, with numbered tickets for the first 108 groups handed out from 10pm, and says visitors can also do hatsumode there from 10pm to 2am. The temple’s own pages showed only its autumn night opening when we looked.
• Where you can ring. The Tourism Association lists, for 31 December, Hyakumanben Chion-ji (11:30pm to 12:30am, after a 10:30pm service), Eikan-do (11pm to 12:30am, for people in the queue), Shinnyo-do (11:45pm, four or five people per strike) and Mibu-dera (11:30pm, about ten people per strike). Tenryu-ji hands out numbers for the first 108 groups from 11:30pm and does not have parking. Myoman-ji has moved its bell to 3pm to 5pm. These pages show what each temple told the city, so confirm on the temple’s own site in December.
• Kiyomizu-dera. Its annual calendar for 2026 lists 108 bells on 31 December and gives no times or ticket terms. Its ordinary hours are 6am to 6pm, so we do not know whether it opens late that night.

The first shrine visit

• Yasaka Shrine. Its New Year page says the okera-mairi runs from about 7:30pm on 31 December to about 5am on 1 January. The sacred fire is lit at the shrine at 7pm after the year-end ceremony and transferred to lanterns in the grounds, and visitors carry some of it home on a rope. The shrine says it is open 24 hours for worship. The page is not dated, so treat the timings as the usual pattern. On 1 January the Okera ceremony is at 5am, and on 3 January there is a Noh performance at 9am and a poetry-card ceremony at 1pm.
• Fushimi Inari Taisha. Its homepage still showed last year’s arrangements: prayers on 31 December from 8:30am to 2:30pm, and on 1 January from midnight to 5:30pm, paused from 5am to 7am for the ceremony. Stalls open from 31 December to 5 January, the shrine’s car parks close from 30 December to 6 January, and it asks visitors to check public transport first. The shrine’s December rites page lists a year-end purification at 3pm on 31 December, followed by a service as the year turns.
• Heian Jingu. Its annual rites list the year-end purification at 3pm and a service at 4pm on 31 December, and a ceremony at 6am on 1 January. We found no special New Year hours, and its ordinary hours from November to February are 6am to 5pm, so we do not expect an all-night opening.
• Crowds. Kyoto City says the busiest times are just after the gates open and the morning of 1 January, and asks people to spread their visits beyond the first three days. Its comfort-forecast pages and live cameras cover Fushimi Inari and the Yasaka area. They were broadcasting from 26 December to 12 January last year.

Trains on the night

Nothing for 2026/27 had been posted by Kyoto City Transportation Bureau or Keihan on 30 October, so this is last year’s, taken from the Tourism Association’s summary of each operator’s announcement.

• Keihan. Last year it ran all night from 6pm on 31 December to 7am on 1 January on its main line, Oto line, Nakanoshima line, Katano line and Uji line, but not the Otsu lines. That main line serves Gion-Shijo, Sanjo and Fushimi-Inari.
• Not overnight. The city subway and buses, JR West, Hankyu, Eizan and Randen did not run overnight, and the subway and buses did not push back their last trains. The subway ran Saturday and holiday timetables from 27 December to 4 January, and the buses ran holiday timetables from 28 December to 4 January. The two tourist express buses ran daily from 27 December to 4 January.
• Closures. We found no official list of Kyoto shop or restaurant closures for this year, so check each place before you plan a meal around it.

The rules that decide where you sleep

• Walk, or Keihan. If last year’s pattern holds, only Keihan runs after midnight, so Gion, Sanjo, Shijo and Fushimi Inari are the places where getting home is easy. Kyoto Station is JR and subway, and neither ran overnight.
• Apply early for Chion-in. Last year its applications opened on 1 December. The bell is viewing only, so if you want to strike a bell, pick one from the queue-based list above.
• Numbered tickets come late. Kodai-ji and Tenryu-ji hand out numbers on the night, so the hotel’s distance matters more than the date you book.
• Late entry. Ask each hotel how it admits guests after midnight. Ryokan Yachiyo says it has no curfew and asks you to tell the front desk. Len’s reception closes at 10pm.
• First visit, then sleep. Fushimi Inari’s first hours and the morning of 1 January are the crowded ones, so a visit after the first rush is calmer.

Gion and Higashiyama: Yasaka Shrine and Chion-in

This is the area for the fire at Yasaka Shrine and a walk after dinner, and Chion-in’s bell and Kodai-ji are in the same part of Higashiyama. Keihan’s all-night service stops at Gion-Shijo. Our Gion guide covers the streets and the manners.

Where to stay in Gion and Higashiyama

How the hotel links work: a hotel’s name goes to its own website. “Check rates” opens it on Booking.com through our partner Stay22, which pays us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.

• SOWAKA, splurge. At 480 Kiyoi-cho, just below Yasaka’s torii gate by its address, with 23 individually designed rooms around a courtyard, and a restaurant, Gion Loka, in the same building. Choose it for a courtyard hotel at the shrine’s gate. Watch out: its pages publish no New Year plan or minimum stay, so ask. Check rates on Booking.com →
• OMO5 Kyoto Gion by Hoshino Resorts, comfortable. At 288 Gionmachi Kitagawa, with 36 rooms, a kitchenette in every room, a position the hotel calls steps from Yasaka Shrine and, by its count, about five minutes on foot from Keihan Gion-Shijo Exit 7 and eight from Hankyu Kawaramachi. Choose it to be steps from Yasaka at a middle price. Watch out: its page publishes no New Year terms. Check rates on Booking.com →

Kawaramachi and Shijo: the all-night line

Kawaramachi, Sanjo and Shijo put you between the Kamo river and the shops, with Keihan’s Sanjo and Gion-Shijo stations and Hankyu’s Kawaramachi all close. It is the practical base if you want a bell, a late walk and a bed without a taxi, and Yasaka is across the river. Where to stay in Kyoto covers the same streets for the rest of the year.

Where to stay in Kawaramachi and Shijo

• Cross Hotel Kyoto, comfortable. At 71-1 Daikokucho, four minutes’ walk from Keihan Sanjo and the Tozai subway line’s Sanjo Keihan station (Exit 6) by the hotel’s count, four from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae and seven from Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi. Rooms start at 25 square metres, and the hotel has no car park of its own. Choose it to be four minutes from the Keihan platform. Watch out: its pages publish no New Year terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
• OMO5 Kyoto Sanjo by Hoshino Resorts, good value. At 434-1 Ebisu-cho on Kawaramachi-dori, with 122 rooms, two minutes’ walk from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Exit 3 and a minute from the Kawaramachi Sanjo bus stop. Check-in uses a QR code at an automated machine. Choose it for a mid-price room on the main street. Watch out: its page publishes no New Year terms, so ask how it handles late arrivals. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Len Kyoto Kawaramachi, budget. At 709-3 Uematsucho, about eight minutes from Hankyu Kawaramachi by its own count, with dormitories and private rooms, a cafe and a bar, and a common room and kitchen open 24 hours. Its page lists dormitory beds from 1,800 yen a night, which is not a New Year rate. Choose it to spend the money on the night itself. Watch out: reception runs 8am to 10pm and check-in 4pm to 10pm, and on 8 October 2026 it posted a warning about suspicious messages sent to guests, so confirm any payment request with the hostel or your booking site. Check rates on Booking.com →

Kyoto Station: the easy arrival

Kyoto Station is where the Shinkansen and the airport trains arrive. It is not on Keihan, and the Karasuma subway and JR did not run overnight last year. Fushimi Inari is two stops and five minutes away on the JR Nara line, according to the shrine, so the first visit is easy from here after the rush. See Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen, flight or bus for the journey.

Where to stay near Kyoto Station

• Hotel Granvia Kyoto, comfortable. Inside the station building. Its 2026-2027 New Year page lists an Inari shrine on the fifth floor open from 7am to 8pm on 1 to 3 January (9am to 1pm on the 3rd), a countdown by a violin and guitar duo for guests only in the second-floor lobby from 11:30pm to 12:15am on 31 December, and a first-sunrise viewing for guests on the 15th floor at 7am on 1 January. A room-only New Year plan is listed from 28,547 yen a person for two sharing, and plans with breakfast and with lounge access from 35,757 and 72,714 yen. Choose it for a New Year inside one building. Watch out: those are “from” prices per person for two sharing, so compare them with the room-only rate for your dates. Check rates on Booking.com →
• THE THOUSAND KYOTO, comfortable to splurge. At 570 Higashi Shiokoji-cho, about two minutes’ walk east of the station’s Central Gate, with a hot bath, a bedrock bath and a dry sauna (men only). Choose it for a spa and a two-minute walk from the platforms. Watch out: its pages list no New Year terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Kyoto Tower Hotel, good value. At 721-1 Higashishiokoji-cho at the base of Kyoto Tower, two minutes from the station’s Karasuma exit, with large baths and room types for up to eight guests. Choose it for a plain base at the station. Watch out: it has posted a notice about unauthorised access and phishing messages, so confirm any payment request with the hotel, and it lists no New Year terms. Check rates on Booking.com →

Fushimi Inari: the first visit

Fushimi Inari Taisha is next to JR Inari station and five minutes’ walk from Keihan Fushimi-Inari, and the Keihan main line ran all night last year. The shrine’s car parks close from 30 December to 6 January, so a hotel within walking distance spares you that. There are few hotels in the immediate area, so the choice is a small one.

Where to stay near Fushimi Inari

• SO Kyoto Fushimi Inari, good value. At 24-5 Fukakusa Haraigawa-cho, five minutes from JR Inari and three from Keihan Fushimi-Inari by the hotel’s count, and five minutes’ walk from the shrine. Its 30-square-metre twin room has MUJI furniture and a washer-dryer. Check-in is unattended, with a QR code, and there is no parking. Choose it for the shortest walk to the shrine. Watch out: staff are in the area, not at a desk, and its page publishes no New Year terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Urban Hotel Kyoto, good value. At 4-59 Fukakusa Nishiura-cho, with 199 rooms, about ten minutes on foot from the shrine and from JR Inari, and about five from Keihan Ryukokudai-mae Fukakusa station, the hotel says. Parking is available. Choose it for a larger hotel with parking. Watch out: its page publishes no New Year terms, and the walk to the shrine is ten minutes, not two. Check rates on Booking.com →

Okazaki and Nanzen-ji: a calm base

Okazaki and Nanzen-ji sit at the eastern edge of the city, near Heian Jingu and the Keage station on the Tozai line. It is a residential area with gardens and few late restaurants, which suits a night when you are not in the crowds. The subway did not run overnight last year, so plan on a taxi or a walk for the late hours.

Where to stay in Okazaki and Nanzen-ji

• The Westin Miyako Kyoto, splurge. Two minutes’ walk from Keage station by the hotel’s count, with a free bus from the Hachijo exit of Kyoto Station. For New Year it lists menus at its restaurants for 31 December to 3 January and sells osechi boxes for 2027. Choose it for a large hotel with a spa. Watch out: the New Year pages we read cover dining, not a stay plan, so ask about rooms. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Ryokan Yachiyo, comfortable, ryokan. At 34 Nanzenji Fukuchi-cho, with 16 rooms (seven in the main building and nine in the annex), Nanzen-ji at its door and Keage station five minutes’ walk away. Meals are optional, with room-only, breakfast and dinner plans. It says it has no curfew and asks guests to tell the front desk if they will be late. Choose it for a garden ryokan and a late return with no curfew. Watch out: its pages show no New Year plan, and the area has few convenience stores or late restaurants. Check rates on Booking.com →

Kyoto’s accommodation tax

The tax is charged per person per night, by the room-only price, which the city defines as the room and service charge, excluding meals and consumption tax. It applies to hotels, ryokan, simple lodgings and unlicensed lets. It is collected by the accommodation, so ask whether a booking site’s total already includes it.

As our arithmetic, a room-only rate of 40,000 yen a night for two is 20,000 yen per person, so 1,000 yen each, 2,000 yen a night and 4,000 yen for the two nights of 31 December and 1 January. Before March the same room would have been in a 500-yen band. Pupils on school trips and their escorts are exempt. For the bills in other cities, see hotel taxes around the world and Japan’s tourist taxes.

How to book Kyoto for New Year

• Do the dated things first. Chion-in’s applications opened on 1 December last year, so look then. Hotel plans, such as Granvia’s, are already listed.
• Check the minimum stay. Most hotels here publish none for New Year, and Granvia’s plan covers 31 December and 1 January. Ask before you book.
• Count the tax. A room that crosses 20,000 yen per person carries 1,000 yen each, not 400.
• Keep free cancellation. The train notices and several temple terms had not been posted when we looked.
• Compare totals. Our hotel booking sites compared goes through where to book. For autumn or spring, see our Kyoto autumn leaves guide.

All 12 at a glance

Before you go

• Before you fly, sort out mobile data (the best eSIM for Japan) and cover (travel insurance for Japan), and see the Japan tickets worth booking in advance.
• On arrival, a day pass for the subway and buses costs 1,100 yen for an adult on the city’s own page. For what to do, see things to do in Kyoto and three slow days in Kyoto.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Kyoto City Tourism Association: temple bells in Kyoto, 31 December 2026
• Chion-in: New Year’s Eve bell page, with last year’s terms and trial ringing, 27 December 2026
• Kiyomizu-dera: annual events 2026 and opening hours
• Tenryu-ji: annual events
• Yasaka Shrine: New Year events, annual events and visiting
• Fushimi Inari Taisha: official site, with last year’s New Year hours, December rites and access
• Heian Jingu: annual rites and visiting hours
• Kyoto City Tourism Association: New Year in Kyoto 2025-2026
• Kyoto City Tourism Association: trains and buses at New Year 2025-2026
• Kyoto City Transportation Bureau: New Year timetables, 8 December 2025
• Keihan: New Year 2025-26 timetable, 12 December 2025 (archived copy)
• Kyoto City: accommodation tax
• Kyoto City Bus & Subway: Subway & Bus 1-Day Pass
• Hotel Granvia Kyoto: 2026-2027 year-end and New Year information
• The Westin Miyako Kyoto: New Year 2027 osechi
• Official websites of each hotel named above, checked in October 2026

Dates, rules, prices and hotel terms change, and several 2026/27 notices were not yet published when we checked; where we describe last year’s arrangements we say so. Every hotel detail here was checked in October 2026; confirm minimum stays, rates and cancellation terms with the hotel before booking. These are researched picks, not reviews. This article contains affiliate links: hotel rates on Booking.com and other booking sites through Stay22, and tours, transfers and eSIMs through our partners; if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No hotel pays to be included.

← Back to Gently Yonder