Guest House Atagoya

We had a lovely time at the Atagoya Guest House, although we spent most of our time out of it touring kyoto and other cities. Clean, comfortable, with a very kind owner, Kenji (pictured here). Arriving a little later than expected due to there only being space on a later JR train, Kenji showed us our room and sat with us for a good while supplying tips and recommendations for the surrounding area and further beyond. Drinking water, free tea and coffee, use of a fridge were available. There is also a 24 hour supermarket called Lawson only a minute away which we found useful as most of the shops, restaurants etc close quite early. It was rather expensive for our 4 night stay, although we did visit in the height of tourism season so the rules of supply and demand are always in play.

I booked the night of 16 May at Guest House Atagoya as part of a two-week trip, whilch I unfortunately had to cancel when I came down with pneumonia and my doctor advised me not to travel. I cancelled my stay on the morning of 9 May, which to me certainly looks like seven days in advance of my stay. Booking.com agreed and sent me a confirmation of successful cancellation. Two days later, I found that Guest House Atagoya had charged my credit card for the night's fee. No notification or explanation; they just ran my card without my knowledge after the booking agent had confirmed my successful cancellation. When I inquired, I was told that the cancellation would have had to be made on 8 May, not 9 May. They rejected the letter from my doctor explaining my inability to travel, stating the cancellation was made a day too late (although still an entire week prior to my scheduled stay) and they "must adhere to their policies." Well, I must adhere to my principles as well, and those include avoiding doing business with people as shady, inflexible, and unreasonable as those who run Guest House Atagoya. If they want your cancellation 8 days before your scheduled arrival, they should say that. (The fact that it is even a 7 day cancellation policy is pretty unreasonable, if you ask me. But I believed that I had met that deadline.) My recommendation is to avoid dealing with this establishment.

Had an excellent stay here at Guest House Atagoya. Mr. Kenji Wada, the owner and manager of the ryoukan is so hospitable and so kind to us. I was with three of my friends and due to the long queue at the immigration, we arrived at the guest house late at night. But Mr. Wada was so kind to still accommodate us and he even went as far as giving us orientations on how to go to the tourist sites (train and bus information). We got some savings because we only get the ¥500 all-day pass for Kyoto bus thru him. Guest House Atagoya is a traditional Japanese house or a ryoukan. We slept on the tatami mat with a futon. The room has a heater/airconditioning unit. There is one shared bathroom downstairs and shared kitchen. Mr Wada provides free coffee and free use of kitchen utensils. There are also free toiletries in the bathroom. It is also near the Saga-arashiyama train station and near (walking distance) from all tourist spots in Arashiyama. So conveniently located and we frequent this Japanese restaurant nearby and the staff are so friendly. I would definitely recommend Guest House Atagoya to my friends and acquiantances who want to visit Kyoto.