I was in Japan recently for a holiday. Boy, was I excited!
We arrived at Kansai airport around 8pm and took the train to our first destination, Kyoto. According to the agent, accommodation in Kyoto is cheaper so we headed there. The train journey was 90 minutes and considering that we were quite Jap-illiterate, taking the subway seems risky and we ended up searching for our Ryokan hotel by foot.
Aahh~ the fresh cool air, the pebbled streets…it was wonderful.
A young and polite gentleman greeted us at the reception. Did I say that he was really soft spoken? Welcome to the world of Japan, polite and excellent customer service and society as a whole in general. Makes you wonder how the same society also breeds a strong pornographic industry.
Considering the warnings I’ve got about how small the rooms here can be due to lack of space, I have to say that my room was just spacious. We had a separate room which houses the washing basin and toilet.
Then there was the main room itself with more than adequate wardrobe space. A small area for dining and a TV and still enough room for our tatami beds. On the other end, slide away the sliding doors and you are greeted with another area which has a refrigerator as well as a full length mirror.
The tatami beds were just wonderful. Soft and fluffy, I felt like I was sleeping on clouds. We added another quilt on the floor and it was pure bliss. The pillow was made of some sort of sand so it was hard. Just the way I like it, you can mould it to fit your head and it gives support to your neck.
We got the room that we had to use this shared bath (same sex only of course!) with the rest of the guests. Must say I was a little nervous the first time I went as you had to be stark naked. There was a hot spa and showers all over the side of the area. After walking for hours on end everyday, the hot spa was really a welcoming end to the day. I loved the shared bath after that and looked forward to it everyday.
I definitely loved my stay at the Kinsuikan Ryokan. For less than AUD50 per night per person, it's definitely a good deal! Did I mention that you can get a host of information as well as buying bus tickets and souvenirs at the reception too?
Location:
zip 604-8074 531,Asakuracho,
Sanjo sagaru,Tminokoji,Nakagyou-ku,Kyoto
TEL: (075) 255 3930
