Back in May, we had a family trip to Kyoto. It was hubby’s first time in Japan. I was looking for a ryokan (traditional inns) in Kami-gyo-ku (upper / northern Kyoto area), but ryokans are not cheap. Looking on a Japanese site - Rakuten Travel, I found an affordable Machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse) guesthouse called Kingyo-ya that has been restored and recently opened in April 2010.
It was just perfect — price was right, and the experience was beyond our expectation… as close to a ryokan experience or even better, more like getting a glimpse of Old Japan without the pricetag associated with it.
The Japanese courtyard garden is beautiful and the details are authentic. There was a nice bamboo faucet where you can wash your hands. Everything there — the futons, dining tables, tansu (cabinets), even clocks were either antiques or traditional. However, we didn’t feel uptight having a kid running around, as these objects were more home-y and well-used than “priceless antiques”. The proprietors were young (i.e. our age, in their 30′s?) so we didn’t feel like we had to be formal all the time.
Flickr set showing the beauty of the place:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ovalle/sets/72157624223308700/
We regrettably had to cancel dinner, as we were late and broke, but we still signed up for breakfast — which included grilled flounder, yuba (skimmed soy milk skins), pickles, miso soup made with local specialty miso, and rice from the proprietor’s family farm. The fish was grilled right in front of us on a quaint, old hibachi made from a large tree stump.
Location might be a little hard to find for a foreigner (see Google Map directions), but it’s really great if you are visiting the famous temple and shrines in Kami-gyo-ku, such as Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji which are all within a short bus ride away. Kyoto City Bus offers a one-day all-you-can-ride pass for 500 yen (buy it on the bus), which we used to get to all the temples, as well as to get around town, including our trip back to and from Kyoto JR Train Station.
We didn’t use their shared bath (and bathrooms are also shared with other guests), but instead went to the recommended Funaoka Onsen, a traditional bathhouse which is also a nationally designated landmark.
There was a grocery store near the bus stop, and a laundromat nearby, so backpackers like us could subsist on ramen noodles and minimal clothing. They had one laptop where you can access the internet for free. We would have rented their bikes, if we didn’t have a six-year-old traveling with us, and if the Kyoto streets weren’t so darn narrow with cars squeezing through. If you insist on visiting Kyoto in the middle of winter or summer, just be prepared for extreme weather conditions – the Machiya houses in general have no insulation or air conditioning.
The proprietors spoke some English, and they had guide maps and instruction sheets in English. I had a conversation with one of them and he said he quit his “regular job” in Tokyo, came back home to Kyoto, and learned his ropes in the ryokan business for a while, before he and his partner found this machiya. They decided to move forward, and opened it as a guesthouse in April, 2010. I commend them for their entrepreneurship.
I recommend Kingyo-ya highly as the best place to stay in Kyoto to get an authentic experience for 1/3 the price of ryokans, and for awesome, home-grilled cooking.
My Kyoto Google Map: Includes the bus stop to get to Kingyo-ya, and the nearby Funaoka Onsen (bathhouse) and other points of interest for martial arts and yoga practitioners. Highly recommend looking at Streetview from the bus stop to the street near Kingyo-ya, just so you know where to turn.
http://bit.ly/9HoqmI
General Info:
Guesthouse KINGYOYA
602-8492 243 Kankicho 3Chome Omiya-Teranouchi(Agaru-Nishiiru)
Kamigyo-ku Kyoto city Kyoto, Japan
Reservation Form
Tel：+81 75-411-1128 (10:00-21:00)
e-mail: ookini@kingyoya-kyoto.com
check in: 16：00～21：00 check out: 8：00～11：00
Their map and directions (does not display well in my browser, but bus lines and directions were useful.)
http://www.kingyoya-kyoto.com/english/image/map/mapE.html
