Mitsui Garden vs Daiwa Roynet Kyoto: Which Shijo Chain to Book

Mitsui Garden vs Daiwa Roynet Kyoto in the Shijo area comes down to one trade-off: a free public bath and a slightly lower room rate from Mitsui Garden, or brand-new post-renovation rooms and a near-zero walk to the subway from Daiwa Roynet. Hotel Forza, on the Kawaramachi end of the same street, has the largest rooms of the three and the lowest floor price, from ¥9,400. Pick Mitsui Garden if you want to end the day in the bath, pick Daiwa Roynet if minimizing the walk to the platform matters most, and pick Forza if square meters and river-side access matter more than either.

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Mitsui Garden, Daiwa Roynet and Forza — three mid-range chains on the same street

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo, Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo Karasuma and Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi all sit within a few minutes of each other along Shijo-dori, Kyoto's main east-west shopping street, but they belong to three different companies with three different amenity philosophies. Mitsui Garden Hotels is a Mitsui Fudosan brand running around 33 properties across 13 Japanese cities, including five in Kyoto alone (per the brand's official hotel list, checked August 2026). Daiwa Roynet Hotels is the larger network of the two — more than 70 properties across Japan plus one in Seoul, per the brand's regional listing (checked August 2026). Hotel Forza is the newest and smallest chain here, run by FJ Hotels, with 11 properties nationwide — three near Hakata Station in Fukuoka, two in Osaka, and one each in Nagasaki, Oita, Kanazawa, Nagoya, Sapporo and this Kyoto property (per the brand's official site, checked August 2026). All three sit a notch above the budget tier: our guide to Japan's best hotel chains covers that wider field city by city, from Toyoko Inn and APA Hotel at the budget end up to Marriott and Hyatt.

The comparison table

Of the three Shijo properties compared here, only Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo has a free public bath, open 3pm–9am to overnight guests (checked August 2026). Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo Karasuma and Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi have in-room bathrooms only at these particular addresses — both chains do operate properties with public baths elsewhere in Japan, just not on this street. That single fact drives most of the trade-off in this guide.

The floor prices above are single-occupancy, room-only rates — the lowest we found across booking platforms at our August 2026 check; expect meaningfully higher rates for double occupancy, weekends, and cherry blossom or autumn foliage season. On top of whichever floor you're comparing, Kyoto's lodging tax changed on 1 March 2026 and is now charged per person per night on a five-step scale: ¥200 under ¥6,000, ¥400 from ¥6,000–19,999, ¥1,000 from ¥20,000–49,999, ¥4,000 from ¥50,000–99,999, and ¥10,000 at ¥100,000 and up (per the city's official notice, checked August 2026). None of the three loyalty programs pay off much on a single short trip — Roynet Club and FORZA Doors are free to join and unlock member-rate discounts immediately, but their point-redemption tiers (a free night at 2,000 FORZA Doors points, for example) assume repeat Japan stays. MGH Rewards Club works the same way. Book directly through each chain's own site if you want the member rate; the point accumulation itself is a longer-term bonus, not a reason to choose one chain on its own.

Shijo Karasuma vs Shijo Kawaramachi: which end of the street suits your plan

Shijo-dori runs roughly two kilometers between two very different ends, and which end you land on matters more than which hotel brand you pick. The Karasuma end — where both Mitsui Garden and Daiwa Roynet sit — is Kyoto's business and subway-interchange district: Nishiki Market, the Karasuma Line, and the Hankyu Kyoto Line all converge here. Mitsui Garden is a 6-min walk from Shijo Station (Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line, Exit 2) and an equal 6-min walk from Karasuma Station (Hankyu Kyoto Line, Exit 26). Daiwa Roynet is closer still: a 1-min walk from Shijo Station Exit 5, with Karasuma Station about a 5-min walk via the underground passage. If you want a fully renovated room and don't need a bath, Daiwa Roynet's proximity to the platform is hard to beat — useful on an early-departure morning. A cheaper Karasuma-side alternative with free breakfast is Toyoko Inn Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma, a 1-min walk from the same Shijo Station via Exit 20; see our Kyoto budget hotel guide for more options in that tier.

The Kawaramachi end, where Forza sits, is the river and nightlife side — Pontocho, the Kamo River, and the buses toward Gion all start from here. Forza is a 4-min walk from Hankyu Kyoto-kawaramachi Station and a 7-min walk from Subway Shijo Station, connected directly to the Shijo-dori underground walkway via Exit 11 — its Hankyu access is actually a minute faster than Mitsui Garden's own 6-min walk to Karasuma Station. For a broader read on how this compares to basing yourself near the station or in Gion itself, see our Kyoto Station vs Gion guide and our general Kyoto area guide. In practice, the split isn't really Karasuma vs Kawaramachi so much as which line you need: Mitsui Garden and Daiwa Roynet put you closest to the Karasuma subway line and the Kyoto Station JR/Shinkansen connection, while Forza's faster Hankyu access suits a trip that also runs to Osaka, or evenings that end on the Gion/Kamo River side.

What we noticed staying at all three

We stayed at Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo and Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi in November 2021, and at Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo Karasuma on the same Kyoto trip. That is nearly five years ago, so treat the facilities figures in the table above — not this section — as the current reference; those come from each chain's official site, checked August 2026. What we noticed, day to day, was less about the room and more about the walk and the bath. Mitsui Garden's public bath was the amenity we actually used every night, not just on arrival — a small ritual after a full day of temples that neither of the other two hotels offered. Daiwa Roynet's location was the most convenient for an early train morning, since the walk from the door to the subway platform was measured in seconds rather than minutes. Forza had the most breathing room in the room itself, which mattered with two full suitcases open on the floor at once.

One important update since our stay: Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo Karasuma completed a full renovation on 14 March 2026 — new beds, wallpaper, carpet and furniture throughout, plus a redesigned lobby. The room we stayed in during 2021 no longer exists in that form. If you are booking any of these three chains off a stay this old, confirm current room photos and rates directly on each hotel's official site before booking.

If you want to book directly, these four Shijo-area properties are the ones worth comparing side by side:

FAQ: mid-range chains in Kyoto Shijo

Is Mitsui Garden better than Daiwa Roynet for a first Kyoto trip?

Mitsui Garden is the better pick if you want a hotel bath after a day of walking — it is the only one of the two with a public bath, included free for guests. Daiwa Roynet wins if you value freshly renovated rooms (completed March 2026) and the shortest possible walk to Shijo Station, a 1-min walk from Exit 5. Neither is objectively "better" for a first trip; the bath is the deciding factor.

Which is cheaper, Daiwa Roynet or Hotel Forza?

Hotel Forza is cheaper at the low end, from ¥9,400 versus Daiwa Roynet's from ¥16,000, based on the lowest nightly floors found across booking platforms in August 2026. Forza also has larger rooms on average. The trade-off is location: Forza sits on the Kawaramachi side of Shijo-dori, a longer walk from the Karasuma subway interchange than Daiwa Roynet's near-instant access.

Does Hotel Forza have a public bath like Mitsui Garden?

No. Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi has private in-room bathrooms only, with no shared public bath facility. Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Shijo is the only one of the three properties in this guide with a public bath, open 3pm to 9am and free for overnight guests.

Is Toyoko Inn a better value than Mitsui Garden or Daiwa Roynet in Shijo?

On price, yes by a wide margin — Toyoko Inn Kyoto Shijo Karasuma's single-occupancy floor runs roughly ¥7,247 (checked August 2026), well under half of Mitsui Garden's from-¥12,500 rate, and it still includes free breakfast plus a 1-min walk from Shijo Station Exit 20. The trade-off is the room itself: no public bath, and a smaller standard room than either mid-range chain. Choose Toyoko Inn if price and included breakfast matter more than a bath or the newer interiors at Mitsui Garden and Daiwa Roynet.