Via Inn Prime Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit
Two minutes from the Hachijo West exit, with check-in open until 5 a.m.
About this hotel
Via Inn Prime Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit belongs to the JR West group and sits on the Hachijo side of Kyoto Station, the south side where the shinkansen platforms are. The hotel gives about two minutes on foot from the Hachijo West exit and from the Kintetsu Kyoto exit: take the stairs at the Hachijo West exit down to street level, cross at the crossing and go straight, with a 7-Eleven on your left. From the subway it is a few minutes more. The 465 non-smoking rooms are compact, 17 m² for doubles and twins and 21 m² for the superior twin, which has its bath and toilet separate. Check-in opens at 15:00 and stays open until 5:00 the next morning, and check-out is at 10:00. Breakfast is a paid Japanese buffet of about 80 dishes, with Kyoto obanzai and a live cooking station. There is a coin laundry and ice machines on the lower floors. There is no parking on site; the hotel works with the Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit Parking, about two minutes from the Avanti basement.
- About two minutes on foot from the Hachijo West exit of JR Kyoto Station
- Check-in from 15:00 until 5:00, check-out at 10:00
- Paid Japanese breakfast buffet of about 80 dishes
- 465 non-smoking rooms, 17 to 21 m²
- Coin laundry
- No on-site parking, partner car park near Avanti
Our take
Check-in here stays open until 5:00 in the morning, which tells you who the hotel is built for: travellers off the last shinkansen into Kyoto, or a delayed connection, who need a bed two minutes from the platform. I would book it for exactly that. The walk from the Hachijo West exit is short and simple, down the stairs, across the road and straight on past the 7-Eleven, and you never cross the station to the Karasuma side. Rooms are small, 17 m² for a double or twin, so two large suitcases leave little floor; the 21 m² superior twin is worth it for a couple on a long trip. Check-out at 10:00 is earlier than many Kyoto hotels. Drivers should note that the parking is a partner car park, not the hotel's own.
- Coming off a shinkansen, follow signs for the Hachijo West exit: the hotel is on the south side, so you never need the Karasuma central concourse.
- Check-in is possible until 5:00, so a late train or a missed connection does not cost you the room.
- Breakfast is served from 6:30, early enough for most morning shinkansen departures to Tokyo or Hiroshima.
- Use the coin laundry midway through a long Japan Rail Pass trip rather than carrying a week of clothes.
- With a car, the hotel's arrangement is with Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit Parking, reached from the Avanti basement, not a lot at the hotel.
Why we love it
- About two minutes on foot from the Hachijo West exit, the shinkansen side
- Check-in open until 5:00 for the last trains and delays
- Coin laundry for travellers on a long rail pass trip
Why guests love itI would book Via Inn Prime for a short stop between two trains: an arrival on a late shinkansen, a day in Kyoto, an early departure. The Hachijo West exit is about two minutes away, check-in stays open until 5:00, and breakfast starts at 6:30. It is a hotel of 465 small rooms, 17 m² for most doubles and twins, which suits one or two travellers with carry-on luggage better than a family with large cases. The superior twin, at 21 m², has the bath and toilet separate. The coin laundry helps on long trips, and guests in our data rate it 8.6 out of 10 across 1,780 reviews. It is not marked barrier-free, and there is no on-site parking, so travellers with reduced mobility or a car should look at other options.