Almost every mid-luxury “traditional” hotels are booked more than a year out in Kyoto. Is this normal?

Hi! I’m trying to book a more traditional feeling hotel in Kyoto. I’ve looked on Expedia and some of the hotels actually websites (google won’t let me look that far ahead) and a lot of them say sold out. It’s not peak season so I wonder if I’m missing some kind of big event? Or is this pretty typical with Kyoto hotels being booked a year in advance?

Traveling days in Kyoto Jan 30-Feb 2 2026 Amount of people: 3 adults, 1 toddler All of the places “sold out” are family friendly and I have tried 2 separate rooms if 4 is too much.

Looking for like 4 star stays. Hyatt Regency and Place are too modern for what we want to experience.

EDIT: Thank you all for your informative answers! I’ve learned that a lot of places in Japan don’t allow you to book until 6 months (even 3 or 4 months) out, even though they say “fully booked”

The best tip I learned was to check a hotel that I’m interested in right now and see how far out their current booking is available to see how many month I can plan ahead.