Kohaku

I think this is one of my favourite bars that I’ve visited, located in one of my favourite cities. Located on top of the Park Hyatt Kyoto Hotel. If you didn’t get a reservation in advance then to get seated here you will need to visit the reception of the hotel and they will provide a QR code for you to scan. This will direct you to add your details and allocate you a spot in the queue and notify you via email once it’s your turn and you will have 10 minutes to head back to the reception once you have been notified. This bar usually opens at 16:00 and my recommendation would be to try and grab a seat as close to opening time as possible, as you can imagine with the limited seating space it can be quite in demand. Once you take the elevator up to the top of the hotel on level four you get possibly the best elevated view in all of Kyoto, an overlooking view of the city which was spectacular. In between the restaurant and the bar there is a bench where you can spend a few minutes soaking up the view. The bar itself is very small and makes for an intimate experience. There are around 10-12 seats only, all with a view looking out of the floor to ceiling windows which presents the same spectacular view overlooking the city. There were three bar staff working when we attended meaning you never had to wait to be served. The drinks were more on the pricey side compared to other places in the city but the quality of the drinks and the view more than made up for it. Drinks were roughly between $15-20 each. Honestly I can’t recommend this bar enough from the view to the staff working at the hotel, I would put it down as a must do when visiting the city. It definitely left an impression on both me and my partner.

We were very excited to visit this bar during our trip, namely for the stunning views overlooking all of Kyoto. The front end service was great at this hotel (the Bar is located within the Park Hyatt Kyoto). You are greeted at the front of the hotel and escorted up to the Bar. Unfortunately, because it was so hot (and humid) during our trip, the floor to ceiling windows in the Bar itself were completely fogged over. Being that this is one of the main reasons to visit this Bar, I would have hoped that the staff had told us before bringing us all the way up (at least a heads up that the view was obstructed). The resos are booked up far in advance with a deposit and there were only four other guests when we arrived (which tells you that hotel guests there likely saw it was obstructed and went elsewhere). The drinks were overall good but at that price (almost $30 CAD per drink), we definitely expected better. We ordered a cheese tray as well which was pricy and didn’t come with much (see pictures). We didn’t interact with the head Bartender (I believe she is well known) likely because we weren’t guests of the hotel? She made our cocktails however only the assistant served us during our service. Overall an odd experience but I will say we at least got to see the views of Kyoto on our way out of the bar. If you are looking for a nice cocktail experience while in Kyoto, I would say there are better options at that price point but glad we went so we know better for next time.

We booked here for sunset drinks as part of our anniversary celebrations. We booked online a month or 2 before our trip. The drinks booking is a seperate bar than the restaurant spaces. You can order small bites such as vegetables with houmous, nuts, etc which we ordered and really enjoyed. I had a margarita and my husband had a negroni and both were perfect. I had their espresso martini which was the best I've had in Japan. You have to ask for the wine list, which we did and ordered champagne by the glass. The view was spectacular and really was such a beautiful experience. The staff were very professional, friendly and very skilled.

We would love to love this place. The view was fantastic, the service was great, and there weren’t a lot of people however the drinks were unfortunately not to our liking. For the cost of having drinks here, we expected something more. The cocktails could’ve been better. We can easily say that there are better options out there considering the price point.