We mentioned above that to get the best selection of rooms for Kyoto in spring, you need to book early. We also mentioned that the window of opportunity is closing more quickly than you might like. There are still definitely rooms out there, though, so get them while they're hot! Moreover, if you have some flexibility in your travel dates, you could try booking rooms during the week as opposed to the weekend. Many domestic tourists have snatched up a good portion of the weekend rooms, but the weekdays are markedly less popular for obvious reasons: most travelers from within Japan likely have work/school/whatever during the week, so they have to go on the weekend. If you're coming from overseas, chances are you're proooobably already taking at least a few days off, so make them count!

Booking well in advance could also save you some cash -- a lot of hotels and ryokan with listings on JAPANiCAN.com offer discounts for early bookings (and many also offer discounts for multiple-night stays), so keep your eyes peeled for "Book early & save!" (and "Stay longer & save!") icons when browsing for rooms!

So what are you waiting for?? Here are some links for getting started at finding a great place to stay in Kyoto:

Assuming you're not flying straight to Kansai Airport, you're going to need some Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets to Kyoto also. We've got you covered there with our Shinkansen Special Train & Hotel Packages. Not only are they a great bargain while letting you book a train and hotel at the same time, but the rooms used for these packages are specially set aside and held open longer than other generally available rooms. This means that even though the great hotels available with these packages might sell out of regular rooms, there may be rooms still available by booking the Train & Hotel Package. So whether you're looking for a bargain on train tickets and hotels in Kyoto or if you can't seem to find an open room -- or both -- check out the Shinkansen Special! Round-trip packages from Tokyo to Kyoto are available in 2-day, 3-day, 4-day, 5-day and 6-day trips with a variety of options including various departure times, types of bullet trains, and even multiple destinations and one-way plans.

So the room selection in Kyoto is running dangerously low, and you're not finding what you want. This may sound crazy, but have you considered actually not staying in Kyoto? I know, I know, this is supposed to be an article about how to get a room in Kyoto, but bear with me. The sprawling metropolis of Osaka is just half an hour and JPY 540 from Kyoto (Osaka Station to Kyoto Station via Tokaido/Sanyo line rapid service train); this is actually closer than, for example, some parts of Tokyo are from each other. By throwing Osaka into the mix, you more than double your choices with Osaka's vast offerings of everything from upscale 5-star hotels to budget-friendly chain hotels and even capsule hotels and hostels. This will also give you the opportunity to check out Osaka as well as Kyoto, and while you're at it, you could also swing over to Nara (about 45 minutes by rapid service train) or Koyasan (about an hour and a half by limited express), both of which are easily accessible from Osaka.