Kyoto · Open Sunday · Verified June 2026
Best Restaurants Open on Sunday in Kyoto 2026
Most Kyoto kaiseki houses publish a midweek closing day, not Sunday — book three-star Hyotei for a once-in-a-trip Sunday lunch.
Kyoto's best kitchens close on a weekday, not the weekend. The kaiseki (multi-course seasonal) houses and sushi counters here each set a teikyubi, a fixed weekly holiday, and it almost always falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. That quirk works in a Sunday visitor's favour: several of the city's three-Michelin-star rooms keep full Sunday service. The six below are all Michelin-starred, currently open, and confirmed for Sunday in June 2026.
Why a Sunday list matters in Kyoto
The trap in Kyoto is not Sunday but the midweek closure. A traveller who plans a kaiseki dinner for a Wednesday can find half the city's great houses dark, while the same rooms pour a full Sunday service. Reservations also run on a Japanese clock: the top counters book one to three months out through concierge platforms, and walk-ins are effectively impossible at this level.
The Sunday questions in Kyoto are about access more than choice. A lunch-only seating at a three-star kaiseki house is the most attainable way into a room that costs far more at night; a Gion tempura counter is the lighter option after temple-walking; and a Murata kappo (counter kitchen) gives the lineage at a fraction of the flagship price. Each room below answers one of those.
The Sunday list
Hyotei
Sunday hours: 11:00am–7:30pm (last seatings vary)
A 400-year-old kaiseki house beside Nanzenji that has held three Michelin stars for years. The Hyotei egg, a precisely set soft-boiled egg, is the signature, and the summer asagayu rice-porridge breakfast is a Kyoto ritual. The main building closes the 2nd and 4th Tuesday but keeps Sunday service, making a Sunday lunch the most attainable way into the room.
Kikunoi Honten
Sunday hours: 12:00 lunch seating, 5:00–7:30pm dinner
Chef Yoshihiro Murata's flagship in Higashiyama, three Michelin stars and the most influential kaiseki kitchen of its generation. The cooking tracks the Kyoto calendar dish by dish. Kikunoi closes the 1st and 3rd Tuesday and serves Sunday lunch and dinner. The single midday seating is the value entry; reserve a month or more ahead through a concierge.
Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama
Sunday hours: 11:30am–3:00pm lunch, 5:00–9:00pm dinner
Chef Kunio Tokuoka's riverside ryotei in Arashiyama, three Michelin stars and one of the most expensive meals in Japan. The lacquer, the private rooms and the garden setting are as much the point as the food. It closes Wednesday and opens Sunday for both services. This is the splurge Sunday, best for a once-in-a-trip occasion rather than a casual lunch.
Kichisen
Sunday hours: 12:00–2:30pm lunch, 6:00–10:00pm dinner
A two-star kaiseki ryotei beside the Shimogamo shrine, a World Heritage site, with a quieter, less touristed setting than the Gion houses. The Sunday lunch, from about ¥16,000, is a gentler entry than the marquee three-stars while keeping the seasonal precision. Open Sunday for lunch and dinner; the lunch seating is the one to chase.
Tempura Endo Yasaka
Sunday hours: 11:00am–3:30pm lunch, 5:00–9:30pm dinner
A one-star tempura counter in a Gion machiya, 100 metres from Kennin-ji, frying course by course at the counter. The Sunday lunch from about ¥6,000 is the lightest and most affordable Michelin meal on this list, ideal between temples. Open Sunday for both lunch and dinner, and easier to book than the kaiseki houses.
Roan Kikunoi
Sunday hours: 12:00–1:30pm lunch, 5:00–8:30pm dinner (closed Tuesdays)
The Murata family's one-star kappo in Pontocho, where the chef prepares each course at the counter in front of you. It carries the Kikunoi lineage at a fraction of the flagship price, and closes only the 1st and 3rd Tuesday, so Sunday is open. The counter is the best-value Sunday seat in central Kyoto for the kaiseki tradition done casually.
How to book a Sunday table in Kyoto
These rooms do not take walk-ins. Hyotei, Kikunoi and Kitcho Arashiyama book through concierge platforms such as Pocket Concierge, TableAll and hotel concierges, typically one to three months ahead; the single Sunday lunch seatings go first. Tempura Endo and Roan Kikunoi are easier and can sometimes be found a week or two out. A Kyoto hotel concierge is the most reliable route for a non-Japanese speaker.
Japan does not tip, and a service charge of around 10 percent plus consumption tax is added to the bill, so the quoted course price is close to the final figure before drinks. Arrive on time to the minute; the kaiseki houses run a single synchronized seating, and a late arrival can lose the table. Confirm the closing day when you book, as some houses adjust it seasonally.
Frequently asked questions
Which Michelin restaurants are open on Sunday in Kyoto?
Several of Kyoto's top kaiseki houses keep Sunday service, because they set their weekly closing day midweek. Three-star Hyotei, three-star Kikunoi Honten and three-star Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama all open Sunday, as do two-star Kichisen and the one-star rooms Tempura Endo Yasaka and Roan Kikunoi. The closures to watch fall on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, not the weekend, which makes Sunday a strong day for a starred meal.
Is Hyotei open on Sunday?
Yes. Hyotei, the 400-year-old three-Michelin-star kaiseki house beside Nanzenji, keeps Sunday service; its main building closes only the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. The signature Hyotei egg and, in summer, the asagayu rice-porridge breakfast are the things to order. A Sunday lunch is the most attainable way into the room, but book a month or more ahead through a concierge.
Are Kyoto kaiseki restaurants closed on weekends?
Generally no. Kyoto kaiseki houses set a fixed weekly holiday, the teikyubi, and it almost always falls on a weekday rather than the weekend. Kikunoi closes the 1st and 3rd Tuesday, Kitcho Arashiyama closes Wednesday, and Hyotei closes the 2nd and 4th Tuesday. The result is that Sunday is one of the better days to secure a starred kaiseki seat in the city.
What is the most affordable Michelin meal on a Sunday in Kyoto?
Tempura Endo Yasaka in Gion runs a Sunday lunch from about ¥6,000, the lightest and cheapest Michelin meal on this list, and it is easier to book than the kaiseki houses. Roan Kikunoi, the Murata family's one-star kappo in Pontocho, opens a Sunday lunch from about ¥8,000. Both are far below the three-star kaiseki houses while keeping the Kyoto tradition intact.
How far ahead should I book a Sunday kaiseki table in Kyoto?
For the three-star houses, Hyotei, Kikunoi and Kitcho Arashiyama, plan one to three months ahead, and target the single Sunday lunch seating, which is both more attainable and far cheaper than dinner. Kichisen, Tempura Endo and Roan Kikunoi can sometimes be booked a week or two out. A Kyoto hotel concierge is the most reliable way to secure any of them.
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