Reply #43: Whichever you choose, make your reservations early! [View All]

[Lydia Leftcoast]

I was on a travel board the other day, and someone who was planning to go to Kyoto for the height of the autumn leaves (mid-November) said that there were NO hotel rooms to be had in all of Kyoto.

I checked the websites of a couple of hotels that I know of (including the one I'm staying at) and those hotels, at least, were booked solid.

I'm sure the same is true of cherry blossom season. The one time I experienced the cherry blossom season (in Tokyo, not in Kyoto), I was living there, and even in drab old Tokyo, the effect of cherry trees everywhere was stunning.

If you go to Kyoto in the spring, don't miss the Miyako Odori, which is a dance program presented by the city's geisha. It's worth it just to see the kimono. (I went just before cherry blossom season and stayed with a friend.)