Biwako Grand Hotel Kyo-Omi

A large hot-spring ryokan of two buildings overlooking Lake Biwa

Biwako Grand Hotel Kyo-Omi is a large hot-spring ryokan on the shore of Lake Biwa in Ogoto Onsen. It consists of two buildings - the Biwako Grand Hotel (East and West wings), with standard Japanese-style tatami rooms and Western-style rooms, and Kyo-Omi, where every room has an onsen open-air bath and a view of Lake Biwa - so you can choose to suit your budget and family. The Japanese-style tatami rooms in the East and West wings are calm spaces well suited to family time together, and for families with babies a tatami room, where a child can sleep on a futon, is easy to use. Note that the facilities differ between the wings: the tatami rooms in the East wing have a bathtub, while the West wing has either a shower booth or a combined bath-and-toilet unit. If you want to bathe your baby in a tub in the room, the East wing or Kyo-Omi lets you do so with peace of mind. Kyo-Omi has Japanese-style tatami rooms of about 20 tatami mats, as well as 5 Japanese-Western rooms with beds set in a tatami room, and all of them look out over Lake Biwa from the room's own onsen open-air bath.

An infinity open-air bath, a garden open-air bath, and 4 private-hire baths

Each of the two buildings has its own communal bath, so you can make a circuit of the baths on site. At Kyo-Omi, Mikami no Yu (for women) and Ibuki no Yu (for men) have an infinity-style open-air view bath that seems to merge with Lake Biwa, plus a sauna, and are open 24 hours. At the Biwako Grand Hotel, Shakunage no Yu (for men) and Hiei no Yu (for women) are rock-built garden open-air baths, open until 11:30 p.m.; as a rule they are not available the following morning, though they are open 24 hours in some seasons. For a morning bath, choose Mikami no Yu or Ibuki no Yu at Kyo-Omi, which are open 24 hours. There are also 4 private-hire baths, each with its own character - granite, hinoki cypress and rock among them - where the family can take their time in the onsen on their own (fee applies, reservation required; up to 24 people can bathe). The spring water is an alkaline simple onsen at about 36°C (a hypotonic alkaline hot spring). It is clear and colorless and gentle enough to share with children and babies who have delicate skin. Whether children who are not yet out of diapers may use the communal bath is not stated in the hotel's information, so please confirm with the hotel in advance.

Private dining rooms make meals easier with children

Dinner centers on Japanese kaiseki cuisine made with local branded ingredients, including a stone-grilled Omi beef steak kaiseki, Omi duck - Shiga Prefecture's first branded aigamo duck - and Yamazaki madai, an original brand of red sea bream. Meals are served at the private-room dining area Otsukyo, looking out over Lake Biwa, and there are also banquet rooms of various sizes with sunken-floor (horigotatsu) seating or Japanese-style seating, along with plans dedicated to private-room dining for families with children and three-generation groups. Breakfast is a buffet blending Japanese and Western dishes, including items the staff finish in front of you.

Ask about baby items when you book

On Rakuten Travel, children under school age can be booked in four categories: with meals and futon bedding, meals only, futon bedding only, or neither meals nor futon bedding. Guest reviews mention that a crib was provided (2023) and that a baby table chair was lent for mealtime (2019). These are not listed among the items the hotel itself describes, however, so if you need them it is safest to ask when you book.

An on-site Lawson and 24-hour vending machines

There is a convenience store on site (Lawson, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) stocking drinks and food as well as souvenirs from Shiga, and it has an ATM. It does not stay open late at night, but vending machines run 24 hours on the first floor of both the East and West wings, so drinks are never a problem after dark. There are also karaoke rooms, a late-night dining spot called Omiji serving sushi and noodles, and a tea lounge overlooking Lake Biwa, making this a large property where the hours after your bath pass easily. It is about 5 minutes by car from JR Ogoto Onsen Station, with a shuttle available, and free parking for 350 cars needs no reservation. It is about 20 minutes from the Kyoto-Higashi Interchange via the Kosei Road and about 5 minutes from the Ogi-Ogoto Interchange, making it easy to fit into a family trip on the way back from sightseeing in Kyoto. If anyone in your party has a food allergy, call the hotel at least 3 days before your stay and they will accommodate it as far as possible.