BJ Family House

Easy enough to find from the train station (15 min walk) and the woman at the desk was friendly but speaks very little English. I think she might be Chinese? Led to our room at the top of the narrow stairs (first on the left). Wow. I've never had a room so small. I think it's taller than it is wide. I'm 6'2" and I could easily touch both walls. If there were a separate place to put our bags, it wouldn't be so bad, but the closet is off limits and filled with their supplies. So, with two rolling bags and two backpacks, and two adults, it was very crowded and impossible to move around without stepping on something or someone. Shared bathroom was fine, only had to wait once. Sink in the hall for brushing teeth. Said online there's a common room for watching TV (didn't see one) and also online it said breakfast was available (nope). If you are very short, traveling alone, and have no luggage, this might be a good place for you. Otherwise I'd look elsewhere for something larger.

This is not a western style hotel with big rooms. All rooms are tatami mat style, and also rather small, yet comfy. The beds are futon mats, which might feel hard, matched with harder pillows and very comfy comforters. The bathroom is also small, yet brand new and very clean. Shoes are left at the entrance and you are provided with slippers to go to your room. If you have enormous luggage, your room will feel small, but for Kyoto the price is right. The staff is nice and helpful. There is a fridge in the shared dining and kitchen area downstairs. A 15-20 minute walk from the station and a 35 minute walk to Kyomizudera Temple.

Terrible, overpriced prison cell, we booked a few nights but only stayed 1, cut out losses and went to a nice hotel. Rip off and terrible service. Had to give a score out of 5 so gave a 1 because it would not allow -5. No windows or ventilation, the pillow was like a rock and the so called mattress was paper thin. Very noisy pipes in the walls and other guests can be heard all night, 0 privacy. The Location is too far from anything of interest, this place has absolutely nothing positive at all to mention, we wanted to try a traditional experience but this turned us off forever, trust me and go for the western style hotel with comfort and service.