Six Senses Spa Kyoto

Six Senses Spa Kyoto sits in the basement level of the Six Senses hotel in Higashiyama Ward, a few minutes from Myōhōin. It's built around four treatment suites — one double suite for couples and three singles — alongside a sensory studio used for yoga, meditation and flying yoga, an Alchemy Bar for mixing your own scrubs, and a Japanese and herbal tea lounge.

The wet areas cover male and female changing rooms, sauna, steam room and a bath house, plus a Watsu aquatic bodywork pool and a separate indoor pool. The gym runs 24 hours, while the pool, baths and sauna operate from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm (last entry 8:00 pm); children under 16 can use the pool from 7:00 am to noon with a guardian. Spa treatments themselves are booked within the 10:00 am to 8:00 pm window, seven days a week.

Day visitors who aren't staying at the hotel can book a facility pass covering pool, bathhouse, sauna and gym for up to three hours at JPY 18,000 per person — worth confirming directly with the spa, since details can shift. For treatments, the house approach is an Omakase format: therapists build a session around the season and Japan's 24 micro-seasons rather than a fixed menu, similar to leaving the choices to a sushi chef. Staff include specialists in acupuncture, shiatsu, yoga, personal training and aquatic bodywork, and the spa operates in a dozen languages including English, Japanese, Chinese and several European and Middle Eastern languages, useful for visitors passing through Kyoto.