Second entry in the hotel series, and this time we’re in Kyoto. Comfort Hotel ERA Kyoto Toji is a Choice Hotels property that opened in 2021 and was relaunched under the ERA brand in September 2023 — 182 rooms across 8 floors, sitting in the quiet streets south of Kyoto Station, right by the famous Toji Temple and its five-story pagoda.
It’s now my default recommendation for Kyoto, for one headline reason that anyone who has traveled in Japan will immediately understand: the rooms are big.
The location: one train stop — or a short walk — from Kyoto Station
The hotel’s doorstep is Kintetsu Toji Station, a 3-minute walk away. From there it’s exactly one stop to Kyoto Station (about 4 minutes on the Kintetsu line) — and if you’re traveling light, Kyoto Station itself is close enough to reach on foot in roughly 20 minutes.
Buses along the main roads cover the rest of the city conveniently, which in Kyoto matters: the bus network reaches most of the temples and districts you actually came for, and the stops near the hotel make it an easy routine.
You also get a landmark for free: the hotel is essentially next door to Toji Temple, the UNESCO World Heritage site with Kyoto’s tallest pagoda. An evening walk around the temple grounds when the crowds are gone is the kind of thing you can’t buy back later.
The rooms: genuinely big (for Japan)
Let’s put numbers on it: standard doubles here run around 15 m², and the twin rooms about 23 m² — which in a country where budget hotel rooms are routinely half that feels almost decadent. The photo below is the room type I stayed in (a triple):
One of the triple rooms at Comfort Hotel ERA Kyoto Toji. Photo from the
hotel’s official website (Choice Hotels Japan).
Three proper beds, space to actually open three suitcases, and the comfortable beds and decent bathrooms the reviews keep mentioning. For solo travelers: book the twin or triple instead of squeezing into a 12 m² double — the price gap is smaller than the comfort gap.
The neighborhood
South of Kyoto Station is quiet at night — this is a residential side of the city, not a nightlife district. But “quiet” doesn’t mean “inconvenient”: within a few minutes’ walk you’ll find izakayas for dinner, convenience stores for breakfast supplies, and fast food when you’re done pretending. It’s the balance I want after a day of temple-hopping: calm for sleeping, everything edible within reach.
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Verdict
Comfort Hotel ERA Kyoto Toji is the easy answer if you want: a spacious room by Japanese standards, one-stop access to Kyoto Station, a quiet street with food and convenience around the corner, and prices that undercut the stationside hotels. For temple-heavy itineraries, the Toji Temple location is a quiet bonus. I’ll keep this post updated if anything changes.