Wakamiya

Good. The hotel staff are friendly.

Central location, very easy to get around by walking and mass transit. Very close to Kyoto Station. Nice customer service and affordable ryokan experience. The rooms were clean and futon bedding was soft and comfortable. The onsen hot water baths on the top floor are a neat touch. I only wish the food had be more affordable so we could have given it a try. This is a great budget option.

This hotel with tatami rooms is not bad, it's close to Kyoto main train station (but quite far from the city center) and the owners are really kind (but they barely speak a few words of English). The hotel and the rooms look are pretty ugly and not so clean, expecially the ensuite bathroom. There is a public bath for relaxing, but is really small and worn-out. Anyhow, the hotel staff does its best to please you and in the end this could be a good choice if you need a hotel near the station and if you have a low budget.

Loved this hotel. Althou it's not top notch quality but for the price we paid, we experienced Japanese style room, a spa, great service. There's snacks when we return and hot water in the room, tatami bed made up. Loved it. Plenty of places to eat around the place and close to Kyoto station about 5 mins walk which is very convenient consider we travel around a lot to see temples and also trip to Nara.

We do enjoy staying in Wakamiya. It takes5-8 mins walk from the inn to Kyoto station. There are some restaurant and convienience store nearby. You can sleep well here as it's quite quiet in the night. Staffs are caring and helpfeul, they prepare you a hot towel and snacks when you're back. Free wifi and a computer is available at the lobby.

The only downside is the fact that none of the employees can speak English. They can speak only a few words so if you need their help to have a reservation made or to purchase tickets for a show you are out of luck.

The ryokan is very functional, has everything you would expect (including wireless internet, no laundry though). If there was air-con in the room we could not work out how to use it, but opening the window did the trick for us. Didn't use the onsen. The staff were very helpful. Easy access to the station, if you take the subway (underground walkway) from the station almost all the way to the end (away from the station) using the exit Higashi Hongan-ji temple and then walk along the side (not the front) of the temple, the ryokan is a few blocks down. There is a big sign saying Wakamiya out the front. I wouldn't say its the best place we stayed in Japan at but was certainly very good.

We stayed at Wakamiya for 1 night and was disappointed at what we got. The room was quite small - and while we were fine with the size it seemed a tad too small considering the price we paid of 10,500 yen, dinner and breakfast included. We have stayed at other ryokans at similar prices that had a huge room with balcony almost twice this size. We only decided to stay at this place as many other places were all fully booked. Also by Japanese standards the room was not too clean. There was settled dust, and toilet curtains had many weird stains for example. We had Sukiyaki for dinner, and the portions were humongous! This was a plus point though, and the beef tasted really good. Still, given the room size it got quite hot after a while and we had trouble 'making the room comfortably colder again', even with windows open. Staff spoke really little english - not basic I'd say that most hotels would have, although they were really nice. Overall, this place is overpriced, but the location was fantastic - a short walk to Kyoto station. There was also a free internet terminal at the lobby, which is good. Stay at this place if you cannot find anywhere else in Kyoto, and for its close proximity to the railway. Rooms are alright, but not ok for the price. Otherwise, get a cheaper one.

We felt looked after at this little Ryokan. It was not beautiful but the staff were caring, the beds were made up and the linen was lovely. The lady took us up to our room and made us green tea when we arrived. There was always hot water available in the room. The bedding was put away each day and the room was set out with the table, a tea tray and something to eat. We did not have meals here but the Kyoto station is only 5 minutes walk and is an amazing place. There are lots of eateries along the road from the Ryokan which were laways full of Japanese and the station was great for food, lots of restaurants on the top floor. There was a hot bath on the top floor of the ryokan which I soaked in alone! There was free internet connection but it was very slow, good for emails to keep in touch with home.

After staying in conventional hotels for our two weeks in Japan, we decided to do the traditional Ryokan while in Kyoto for our last two days. We did the Breakfast and Dinner plan. You have the option of booking the room only, room and breakfast, or bed, breakfast and dinner. You have a choice of three traditional Japanese dinners. We did one night with the hot pot, and one with a more varied, traditional meal. Every meal was absolutely spectacular. Beautiful fresh fish, vegetables, meats, soups, rices and anything you could imagine was served at each meal, truly authentic, at the low table, in a private mat room. They waited on us like royalty, and couldn't possibly have missed a detail. The trays that they brought out with food just kept getting stuffed with more beautiful dishes than the last. We chose this Ryokan based on the recommendation of our son and his wife, who have stayed and brought guests here before. The service and food was amazing. The location, near the train station, was ideal in that you didn't have to go very far to get around, but was situated in a rather commercial location. The other Ryokans that we looked at were probably in more picturesque locations, but they were twice the price. While you were out of your room, they would move the low tea table and bring out the futon type sleeping pads. The bathroom was truly ingenius, but tiny and no more than one person can be in at once. There is a traditional community bath as well. Everything was authentic. Some parts of the room were a little worn - like the cracked hanging light, and dust on some of the decorations, but you can't beat the price, service, and food for a truly Japanese stay.