Photo= The Higashikujo area near JR Kyoto Station is forested with cranes for hotel construction

Kyoto City Government estimated that there would be need for 40,000 hotel rooms by 2020, however, calculations by the Kyoto Shimbun found that the total number of hotel rooms located in Kyoto City has already exceeded 40,000, and will surpass 50,000 within two years. In response to an increasing number of foreigners visiting in Japan, a hotel construction boom, also called the "hotel bubble," has been ongoing in Kyoto. This has caused rapid rises in land prices and transportation congestion. There are also growing concerns about oversupply.

Calculations were based on hotel opening plans published by business operators, hotel business plans filed with the city government, and other sources, and took into account only mid- to large-size accommodation facilities with 50 guest rooms or more.

As of the end of fiscal 2017, the total number of rooms at lodging facilities with business permission from the Kyoto City Government was 38,419. According to these recent calculations, the number of rooms has already exceeded 40,000 in the current fiscal year, and will reach approximately 43,000 by the end of next March. Furthermore, there will be about 5,000 more rooms in fiscal 2019, and roughly 3,000 more rooms in fiscal 2020. The total number of guest rooms is expected to surpass 50,000. If plans for hotel openings in fiscal 2021 and construction plans with unspecified dates are added, there will be at least approximately 52,000 rooms. This will be 1.8 times the number of rooms as were available at the end of fiscal 2014.

In December of last year, Kyoto Shimbun also calculated the estimated number of hotel rooms, estimating there would be approximately 42,000 by fiscal 2020. Since then, hotel construction plans have been announced one after the other, resulting in an enormous upshift within a year.