Culture, refinement and strategic retreats
The former imperial capital, ideal for executive committees, strategic retreats and exceptional cultural incentives.
Kansai International Airport (KIX): about 75 minutes to Kyoto Station on the Haruka limited express, or 90 minutes to 2 hours by private coach depending on traffic. This is the main international gateway.
Osaka Itami Airport (ITM): domestic flights only, about 50–60 minutes by coach to Kyoto Station. Convenient for arrivals via Tokyo or on a domestic connection.
From Tokyo: the Nozomi Shinkansen links Tokyo Station and Kyoto Station in about 2h15, with very frequent departures. For groups we reserve whole cars and send luggage separately by courier (usually next-day delivery), so participants travel light.
On the ground: Kyoto is compact with narrow streets; we use appropriately sized coaches, taxi convoys for small groups, and avoid Higashiyama's congested roads at peak sightseeing hours.
ICC Kyoto (Kyoto International Conference Center), in Takaragaike in the north of the city, is the benchmark international venue: a large main hall, Event Hall, Annex Hall and Japanese garden, about 20 minutes from Kyoto Station by subway. It has hosted major international conferences, including the 1997 conference that adopted the Kyoto Protocol. Miyako Messe, in Okazaki near Heian Shrine, covers trade fairs and exhibitions.
For seminars and conventions of 50 to 300 people, major hotels — The Westin Miyako Kyoto, Hyatt Regency Kyoto, Rihga Royal Hotel Kyoto, Hotel Granvia Kyoto, Kyoto Brighton Hotel — offer ballrooms and function rooms suited to plenaries and gala dinners. Newer luxury hotels (Four Seasons, The Thousand Kyoto) suit executive committees. Very large capacity is more limited than in Tokyo or Osaka: above 300 participants in residence, we often split the group between two nearby hotels or combine Kyoto with Osaka.
Kyoto of temples and stone-paved lanes (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodai-ji, Yasaka). Luxury hotels at the foot of the hills, ideal for executive committees.
The district of teahouses and geiko. Ryotei dinners, properly arranged maiko encounters and small-group guided walks.
The shopping and dining center, with Pontocho alley and its summer kawayuka terraces over the Kamo River. Convenient for walkable sub-group dinners.
The logistics hub: Shinkansen, the Haruka express to Kansai Airport and large business hotels. The best choice for large groups or programs combined with Osaka.
Bamboo grove, Hozu River and Tenryu-ji temple in the west of the city. Perfect for an incentive day or a retreat at a riverside ryokan.
Kyoto
フォーチュンガーデン京都
Fortune Garden Kyoto occupies the former headquarters of Shimadzu Corporation, designed by Goichi Takeda and completed in 1927, converted in 2012 into a restaurant and event venue. The rooms are arranged around an inner bamboo garden with a carp pond. Five rooms of 65 to 227 m² plus a rooftop (closed in summer) host meetings, gala dinners and launches, for up to 180 theatre-style and 170 standing in the Continental Room. The venue openly markets meetings, seminars and exhibitions with a dedicated planner, and the ground-floor French bistro (110 seats) has private rooms for 4 to 10.
Max. capacity 180 pax
Ambience · KyotoKyoto
国立京都国際会館
Japan's first national international conference center (1966), ICC Kyoto hosts medical congresses, summits and general assemblies in a setting like no other: four connected buildings on the shore of Lake Takaragaike, surrounded by a 20,000 m² Japanese garden. The complex combines the Main Hall (1,840 seats), the 3,000 m² Event Hall (up to 2,500 theater-style), the New Hall (2,000 m²), the Annex Hall (1,500 m²) and more than 70 meeting rooms. Used in full, it can accommodate events with over 10,000 participants. For planners, it offers both international-grade congress infrastructure and a setting that lets you build the garden, tea house and banquets into the program. The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike is a 5-minute walk away.
Max. capacity 2,500 pax · 8 hotels
Ambience · KyotoKyoto
京都市勧業館 みやこめっせ
Miyakomesse is the main exhibition hall in central Kyoto, located in the Okazaki cultural district next to Heian Shrine, the Kyoto City Museum of Art and ROHM Theatre. Three halls (4,000 m², 3,800 m² and 1,480 m²) and a special hall total about 9,650 m². Hall 3 (4,000 m²) seats up to 4,000 theater-style and can be split in two. Conference rooms are small (the largest is 182 m² for 120 people), so they work as breakout or support rooms rather than a plenary. The venue suits trade shows, exhibitions, large gala dinners and product launches. For congresses with many parallel sessions, ICC Kyoto is the better fit.
Max. capacity 4,000 pax · 5 hotels
Higashiyama
A historic grand hotel (1890) set against the Higashiyama hills, home to the largest banquet hall in Kyoto Prefecture: Mizuho, 1,650 m² and up to 2,000 theater-style. The place where Kyoto hosts state dinners and major conventions.
Kawaramachi
A 321-room grand hotel in central Kyoto (Kawaramachi-Oike), connected to the subway. Its 1,227 m² main hall seats up to 1,500 theater-style, supported by a dozen banquet spaces: one of downtown's most complete convention tools.
Nijo Castle
A 287-room hotel opposite Nijo Castle, with a main hall of about 1,000 m² (up to 1,400 theater-style) and around ten banquet spaces. Ideal for linking a convention to a private evening at Nijo Castle.
Kyoto Station
A 541-room hotel built into Kyoto Station, with one of the city's largest banquet halls (Genji, 1,200 m², up to 1,400 theater-style) and 15 banquet spaces. The most logistically efficient choice for a convention in Kyoto.
Takaragaike
The reference hotel for ICC Kyoto congresses, a 5-minute walk from the center. Circular architecture amid the Takaragaike forest, 310 rooms and seven banquet spaces including the Prince Hall (1,140 m², up to 1,400 theater-style).
Kyoto Station
A fully renovated 489-room hotel a few minutes from Kyoto Station, with around twenty banquet spaces and a main hall of about 1,000 m² (up to 1,000 theater-style). A pragmatic convention tool at a reasonable rate.
Kawaramachi
A 301-room hotel opened in 2019 at the Kawaramachi-Sanjo crossroads, between Pontocho, Nishiki Market and the Kamo River. Contemporary design, a lively lounge and restaurant: an energetic base for a younger group or an urban incentive.
Kyoto Station
An upper-tier (PREMIER) business hotel 4 minutes from Kyoto Station, with about 205 rooms. A safe, economical option for ICC Kyoto delegates and traveling teams.
Ambience · KyotoHigashiyama (Gojō)
An upscale 158-room hotel opened in 2023 near the Kamo River, 1 min from Kiyomizu-Gojo Station. Kyoto's first DoubleTree, with contemporary Japanese design, 46 tatami rooms, a public bath and OPEN, an 84-seat restaurant and bar.
Kyoto Station
A 320-room hotel on the Shinkansen side of Kyoto Station, with a function space on the 2nd floor for about 100 guests. An efficient base for delegates attending a congress at ICC Kyoto.
Higashiyama
A 157-room hotel in the heart of Gion, between Yasaka Shrine and Kennin-ji Temple. A calm, well-kept address for housing a mid-size group in historic Kyoto, with a communal bath and attentive service.
Kyoto Station
A 136-room business hotel 3 minutes from Kyoto Station. A practical, well-run base for seminar or congress delegates at ICC Kyoto, with direct Shinkansen access.
14 restaurants
Higashiyama · ザ ソウドウ 東山 京都
The former residence of painter Takeuchi Seiho, built in 1929 at the foot of the Yasaka pagoda and converted in 2003 into a restaurant and event venue, on an estate of about 6,600 m². It now houses KURO KYOTO, seasonal Japanese cuisine created with Tokyo's Kurogi, the Sushi Azabu Higashiyama counter, and a bar with a terrace facing the pagoda.
Groups up to 144 paxBanquets: ¥10,000 to ¥30,000 per person, free-flow drinks included
Nara · 菊水楼
A ryotei founded in 1891 in front of the first torii of Kasuga Taisha shrine in Nara, on the former site of Kofuku-ji's Kozen-in. The wooden building, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, keeps coffered ceilings and parts salvaged from temples. Seasonal kaiseki in private rooms: ¥16,500 at lunch and ¥22,000 at dinner, tax and service included.
Groups up to 100 paxKaiseki: ¥16,500 per person at lunch, ¥22,000 at dinner
Kiyamachi-Nijo · がんこ 高瀬川二条苑
A large restaurant set in a historic residence on the Takase River, near Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae station, arranged around a Japanese garden with flowing water. Kaiseki and sukiyaki are served in a dozen private rooms, from intimate spaces to a large banquet hall.
Groups up to 88 paxKaiseki banquets: ¥9,000 to ¥30,000 per person
Nanzen-ji (Okazaki) · 南禅寺順正
A yudofu house in front of Nanzen-ji Temple, on grounds that include the Junsei Shoin, an 1839 medical school listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, and a strolling garden of about 4,000 m² lit up in the evening. Hot-pot tofu, yuba and soy-centred kaiseki menus are served.
Groups up to 88 paxYudofu sets: ¥3,850 to ¥9,350 per person
Kiyamachi-Sanjo (Kamo River) · モリタ屋 木屋町店
A sukiyaki house founded in 1869 by a Kyoto butcher, set on the Kamo River in a sukiya-style building at the end of a stone-paved lane just north of Sanjo. Selected kuroge wagyu as sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, oil-yaki or steak, rooms facing the garden or the river and, in summer, a large kawayuka terrace.
Groups up to 65 paxSukiyaki / shabu-shabu: ¥7,700 to ¥17,600 per person
Higashiyama · 菊乃井 本店
Three Michelin Stars 2026
The Murata family's ryotei at the foot of the Higashiyama hills, a benchmark of Kyoto kaiseki holding three stars in the 2026 Michelin Guide, as it has in every Kyoto edition since the first in 2010. Tatami rooms, an inner garden and exceptional tableware make it a complete immersion in ryotei culture.
Groups up to 40 paxLunch: ¥16,500 to ¥110,000 per person
Tokyo · Kyoto · Osaka · Fukuoka
A master calligrapher introduces the group to shodo: holding the brush, stroke order, then writing a kanji chosen to express a team value.
60 to 90 minutes · 6–150 pax
Kyoto
An introduction to kodo, the Japanese art of 'listening' to incense, followed by a workshop where each participant blends their own fragrance from aromatic woods and spices and leaves with a scented sachet.
About 2 hours · 4–30 pax
From ¥31,500 per person
Kyoto
A seasonal kaiseki dinner served in a private room of a traditional Kyoto ryotei, with each course, its tableware and its meaning explained through an interpreter.
About 2.5 hours · 4–60 pax
From ¥42,500 per person
Kyoto
Professional kimono dressing for the whole group, men and women, followed by a walk and photo session in the historic lanes of Higashiyama, with a guide and an optional photographer.
About 2 hours · 4–60 pax
From ¥24,000 per person
Kyoto
In a historic Kyoto house, a lacquer craftsman introduces the group to traditional kintsugi: mending a ceramic piece with urushi lacquer, then highlighting the crack with gold powder.
About 2 hours · 4–30 pax
From ¥39,000 per person
Kyoto
In a Kyoto blacksmith's workshop, each participant heats, hammers and shapes the blade of their own knife, then leaves with it, engraved with their name.
About 3 hours · 2–24 pax
From ¥45,500 per person
7 days · Tokyo · Kyoto
This 7-day executive committee trip combines three nights in Tokyo and three nights in Kyoto: business meetings and company visits subject to availability in Tokyo, then strategy sessions and private cultural experiences in Kyoto. Designed for 8 to 25 executives, it includes private transfers, Green Car Shinkansen, interpreters and a dedicated coordinator available at all times. Arrival at Haneda or Narita, departure from Kansai International Airport.
From €8,900 per person, excluding flights
8 days · Tokyo · Hakuba · Kyoto · Okinawa
This 8-day trip for top performers brings together four sides of Japan: Tokyo, the Japanese Alps in Hakuba, Kyoto and Okinawa's west coast. Transfers are realistic: Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano then coach to Hakuba, Shinkansen and Thunderbird train via Tsuruga to Kyoto, and a domestic flight from Itami to Naha in about 2 hours. Designed for winter, from mid-December to March, with skiing in Hakuba and mild weather in Okinawa, for 15 to 60 participants.
From €9,600 per person, excluding international flights
5 days · Tokyo · Kyoto · Osaka
This 5-day incentive follows the thread of Japanese video games from Tokyo to Osaka, by way of Kyoto, Nintendo's home town. It combines a talk with a Japanese industry professional, the gaming floor of Shibuya Parco, game centres, a retro stop in Akihabara, an inter-team esports tournament, a game-soundtrack karaoke night and a day at Super Nintendo World before a gala evening in Osaka. Built for 20 to 100 people from a publisher, a studio, a tech company or an esports team.
From €3,900 per person, excluding flights
5 days · Osaka · Kyoto
This 5-day journey follows Kansai cooking from city to city: Osaka and its starred Kitashinchi counters, a pressed-sushi class and the Sakai knife makers; Kobe, 25 minutes away by train, for a Kobe beef lunch at THE ORIENT in the former foreign settlement; and Kyoto, with a Fushimi sake brewery and a kaiseki dinner at three-Michelin-star Kikunoi Honten. Designed for 10 to 30 guests, with 2 nights in Osaka and 2 nights in Kyoto.
From €7,400 per person, excluding flights
3 days · Kyoto
This Kyoto executive retreat brings a leadership team of 8 to 30 people together for 3 days, combining confidential working sessions in a luxury hotel with private cultural experiences. Mornings are dedicated to strategy, afternoons to immersion: zen garden, tea ceremony and kaiseki dinner. Kyoto is about 2 hours 15 minutes from Tokyo by Shinkansen and 75 minutes from Kansai International Airport.
From €4,900 per person, excluding flights
4 days · Kyoto
This 4-day Kyoto-based incentive has guests practice Japanese culture rather than watch it: kimono dressing in Higashiyama, artisan workshops (ceramics, yuzen dyeing, kintsugi) and zazen with a monk. A day in Nara, about an hour away by coach, covers Tōdai-ji, the deer park and a kaiseki lunch at Kikusuiro, an 1891 ryotei facing the first torii of Kasuga Taisha. The stay closes with a gala dinner with maiko at The Sodoh Higashiyama, for 20 to 100 participants.
From €3,200 per person, excluding flights
6 days · Tokyo · Kyoto · Osaka
This 6-day luxury incentive program travels through Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka for 10 to 40 guests: 5-star hotels, Green Car Shinkansen, private access and exceptional tables booked in small groups. It suits a high-end incentive, a top-client club or an executive trip with partners. Arrival at Haneda or Narita, departure from Kansai International Airport.
From €7,900 per person, excluding flights
4 days · Nagoya · Kyoto
This 4-day incentive starts with two nights in Nagoya, the former seat of the Owari Tokugawa, then reaches Kyoto in 35 minutes by Shinkansen for a night focused on culture. For 30 to 120 participants, it brings together the Hommaru Palace of Nagoya Castle, Atsuta Shrine, a dinner at Ryōtei Kawabun, the city's oldest restaurant, a gala at THE CONDER HOUSE, then Fushimi sake, an evening with maiko and a tea ceremony in Kyoto.
From €2,900 per person, excluding flights
4 days · Tokyo · Kyoto
This 4-day Japan incentive trip combines two nights in Tokyo and one night in Kyoto, linked by the Nozomi Shinkansen in about 2 hours 15 minutes. Designed for sales challenge winners or top partners, from 30 to 150 guests, it includes a Tokyo Bay cruise, a team treasure hunt in Kyoto and a private tea ceremony. Luggage travels separately, train cars are reserved and bilingual staff accompany the group throughout.
From €3,400 per person, excluding flights
Yes, up to around 300 participants in residence with good preparation. Beyond that, we split the group between two nearby hotels or accommodate part of it in Osaka, 15 minutes away by Shinkansen. Cultural activities always run in sub-groups of 10 to 25 people.
May, October and early November offer the best balance of weather and availability. Cherry blossom (early April) and autumn leaves (mid-November to early December) are spectacular but in very high demand, requiring booking 12 months ahead. January and February are ideal for a quiet executive committee.
Yes, through a partner teahouse or ryotei, following the district's customs. The performance usually includes dance, conversation and traditional games during dinner. We brief participants on etiquette beforehand; unauthorized photography in Gion's streets must be avoided.
Via Kansai International Airport, about 75 minutes from Kyoto Station on the Haruka express or 90 minutes to 2 hours by private coach. Alternatively, fly into Tokyo (Haneda or Narita) and take the Shinkansen, about 2h15 to Kyoto.
In peak season (cherry blossom, autumn leaves), Kyoto hotel rates can exceed Tokyo's, and the city's accommodation tax was raised in 2026 for the most expensive rooms. In winter and early summer, Kyoto becomes competitive again. We routinely compare several date options in our proposals.
Receptions at Nijo Castle or Daigo-ji, shojin ryori at Tenryu-ji, night visits and historic houses: what a group can really arrange in Kyoto, with the rules and lead times.
Learn more →
Capacities, airport access, nearby hotels and booking lead times: a comparison of Japan's major convention centres for a corporate convention, congress or trade show.
Learn more →
Which Kyoto hotels can host a seminar of 30 to 2,000 people, how to block 100 rooms, what the new 2026 accommodation tax costs, and when Otsu or Osaka make more sense.
Learn more →Event brief
A few details are enough for a first proposal. A dedicated project manager replies within 48 business hours.
