I’d heard the breakfast buffet at Hotel The Celestine Kyoto Gion was excellent, so I booked a table.

First, a lap around the room.

Looks promising. It opens at 7, but if you turn up right at opening there’s a long line. Come just 30 minutes later and it’s quiet — everyone must be itching to get out and start their day, so they all pile in the moment the doors open.

Rice and miso soup from a Five-Star Rice Meister

I had no idea there was such a thing as a rice meister, and this one is the eighth generation of them, apparently..

Close-up

The rice is so good. But what surprised me even more was the miso soup. How is it this delicious.. Thanks to it I went through two bowls of miso soup alone.

Fruit and warabimochi

The fruit was perfectly ripe, and the warabimochi is such a Kyoto dessert — I loved it.

Onigiri and obanzai side dishes

The onigiri are ridiculously good, probably because the rice itself is so good.

Tempura

This buffet is run by a tempura specialist called Endo, so a craftsman fries the tempura for you on the spot. Corn and sweet potato come out of the fryer, and the corn tempura in particular was the very definition of sweet-and-salty — absolutely delicious. I lost count of how many times I went back for more..

Side dishes

Fruit

Salad

Simmered daikon and grilled mackerel

Pickles

These pickles are apparently made by a famous shop too..

Braised pork belly, bacon and so on..

Nothing special.

Potatoes and omelette

Bread

A wide shot from across the room

The other side too..

And this side..

The rice was so good that I ate myself silly, and I was so impressed I started snapping shots of everything.

Inside the hotel

The hotel garden

It feels like good value for the price, but once COVID lifts and tourists come back from overseas, I wonder if I’ll ever get to stay at this rate again. Nothing for it but to come as often as I can while the chance is there..

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