Ryokan Hirashin

Hotel staff could have been more helpful if their english was better. Nicely located near Nishiki Markets and shopping streets, but a bit of a walk from Shijo subway. 10am check out time is way too early.

The experience is more like a hotel, than a ryokan. The rooms are however tatami style and feel like the rooms at a more traditional ryokan. There is NO wifi in the rooms. There is free wifi in the lobby area.

We wanted to stay at a traditional ryokan, with the tatami mats and food service. We got freezing cold rooms, and although we had the room service for supper and the following morning breakfast, we felt rushed by our server. She basically hurled our food at us, as she had a large group (of teenagers, it turned out) to also serve. I could not use the bathing room for women because there were teenage boys in there. Management told my husband to go to the convenience store on the corner to get ice.　　While eating,　ｔｈｅｒｅ was no music piped in, and also none available on the tv. Atmosphere needs work. Our cab driver had to call the ryokan to find out where they were located. Narrow alley. Teenagers were loud. Walls are thin. Food only average.

Me and my friend wanted to enjoy a settupof a truly Japanese experience. We got it a this awesome ryokan.

Having read previous reviews I wasn't expecting anything special, and no, it is not a traditional ryokan with all of the Japanese "experience". But, it is an extremely clean, well presented and ideally located hotel, perfect for our 2 night stay. Hotel staff were incredibly helpful. Great boulangerie round the corner, cheap stand-up bar on the next road and loads of restaurants nearby. Not luxury, but everything you need.

Very friendly service. The ryokan looks a bit tired though and could do with some TLC. No internet connection in the rooms but there are several PCs in the lobby that can be used by guests free of charge.

We stayed here with our adult children and it was wonderful. It had the old fashioned Japanese experience of a Ryokan but inside a hotel. The best of both worlds, the communal bath experience but with the privacy also of your own bathroom and wc in your room. The tatami mats with the sleeping mattresses but quite comfortable. The staff went out of their way to help us, and not too far from the subway station, the gion corner, may temples and the palace and the huge shopping mall. In the centre of all of them. We hired pushbikes for a day and went to everything. Wherever you travel in Japan, use the information centres in the main train stations to get maps to find your way.

A nice place to stay for that extra Japanese feel. But if futon mattresses on tatami floor mats are not your thing, then best not to go. The service was great, they really want to make you feel welcome. Located down a small street off the main road so you can escape the hustle and bustle, but 5 mins walk gets you right into the thick of the action.

It is located a short walk to the interesting Nishiki Market. Two convenient shops are also around the corners. Bus stops are found at nearby Sijo, which is the main street of kyoto. A day bus ticket is recommended for unlimited rides, taking you to most of the tourist sites within the city. We recommend this Ryokan. But one must be reminded that this is not a traditional Ryokan, rather it is a city ryokan. Still worth experiencing.

The location is excellent. However the rooms are not clean at all, lots of spots (big ones) in the carpet and walls. Bad smell in the room. The staff is friendly but useless due to almost zero english (my favourite one was when the receptionist spent 5 minutes looking for the word"tourist" in the dictionary when I asked for the tourist information office).Absolutely not worth the price.