Rakusen: a Kyoto garden estate for 14

By Icy, Founder & CEO of The081

Licensed Real Estate Broker (License No. 15131) | Registered Accommodation Manager (MLIT No. F03122) | Operating in Kyoto since 2019

In short

• Rakusen is in Umegahata, Ukyō-ku, in northwest Kyoto. It takes one group at a time and sleeps up to 14.

• Each of the 7 bedrooms has its own toilet, bathroom and open-air bath with a view; 4 have a double bed and 3 have two single beds.

• The 1,500㎡ Japanese garden, a separate tea house and a treehouse are not shared with any other guests.

• The dining room seats 24 at 6 tables. The kitchen has commercial equipment and is used only by a booked private chef.

• There is parking for 10 cars. By road, Ninna-ji is about 2.2 km away, Kinkaku-ji about 4.6 km and Kyoto Station about 10 km.

Every one of Rakusen's seven bedrooms has its own bathroom and its own open-air tub. Fourteen people can all bathe in the evening without waiting for anyone.

The house takes one group at a time, so the house, the garden and the tea house are yours for the whole stay. Below is the kind of group it suits, then how far it is from Umegahata to the rest of northwest Kyoto.

Seven suites for fourteen people

With a multi-generation family, several families travelling together or a small company retreat, the first question is who sleeps where. At Rakusen all seven bedrooms are self-contained suites with a toilet, a bathroom and an open-air bath, so nobody crosses another person's room to wash. Four have a double bed; three have two single beds each.

Children have a playroom of their own. While the adults talk in the dining room, the children have somewhere else to be.

Garden, tea house and dining room

The 1,500㎡ Japanese garden is yours for the length of the stay. Within it stand a separate tea house and a treehouse: tea in the morning looking over the garden, the treehouse for the children in the afternoon.

The dining room has six tables and seats up to 24. It works for meals, and equally for meetings, reading, group discussion or a study session. Seating for 24 is not sleeping for 24; the overnight limit stays at 14.

The kitchen is fitted with high-output commercial equipment and is for chefs only, so guests cannot cook there. If you book an in-home private chef, the chef prepares your meals in it, and all fourteen of you eat at your own table.

Getting around from Umegahata

Umegahata sits in the north of Ukyō-ku, on Route 162 just south of Takao. The house is best reached by car or private transfer, and there is parking for 10 cars on site.

By road (checked in November 2026), Ninna-ji is about 2.2 km away, Ryōan-ji about 3.2 km and Kinkaku-ji about 4.6 km. About 3.9 km north is the approach to Jingo-ji in Takao; about 4.5 km south is the Togetsukyō Bridge in Arashiyama. Ninna-ji, Ryōan-ji, Kinkaku-ji and Kōzan-ji in Toganoo are all part of the World Heritage site, Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

Shijō-Kawaramachi is about 9 km away and Kyoto Station about 10 km. The house works best for days spent among the temples of the northwest and evenings back in your own garden. For a few more nights closer to the city, Sanko Townhouse beside Kitano Tenmangū is not far. Bed types and photographs are on the Rakusen listing.

Questions

• Is there a whole house in Kyoto for a group of 14? Rakusen in Umegahata, Ukyō-ku, takes one group at a time and sleeps 14, with 7 bedrooms that each have their own bath and open-air tub.

• Can we cook for ourselves? No. The kitchen has commercial equipment and is used only by a booked private chef.

• How many cars can we park? Ten, on site.

• How far is it to Kinkaku-ji and Ninna-ji? About 4.6 km by road to Kinkaku-ji and about 2.2 km to Ninna-ji.

• Does it suit small children? There is a separate children's playroom, and a treehouse in the garden.

Rakusen is taking bookings on Airbnb.