Japan Accommodation

Kyoto Ryokan

Kyoto, located in the Kansai region of the main Japanese island of Honshu is one of Japan’s ancient capitals and understandably famous for the traditional Japanese way of life still preserved amidst the concrete sprawl of the modern city. Kyoto’s magnificent temples and gardens ensure that tourists from near and far flock to the city, and the Gion district, where the ancient courtesans known as geisha are still trained and live, can take the visitor back to another era before the country opened up to the west.

The best way to complete the picture and to slip back into another era is to stay in a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan. Ryokan range from the opulent to the comfortable to the basic, and minshuku are the most modestly priced options. Minshuku are typically run by a family in a large home, equating to a bed and breakfast.

There are a host of Kyoto inns for travellers to stay in, but families may have to search a bit harder for a room big enough to accommodate more than a couple of people, as Japanese rooms tend to be small. These days it is possible to find cheap ryokan in Kyoto.

Watazen Ryokan, located centrally and with reasonable rates, is a good place to start when looking for a budget inn in Kyoto. Another good budget option is the Yamazaki Ryokan, where guests can maintain a bit more flexibility, with the options of taking their meals in the budget Kyoto inn or outside if they prefer.

Ryokans located close to famous landmarks like the Temple of the Golden Pavilion will be understandably more expensive than those located in suburban areas, but with Kyoto’s public transport, getting from a ryokan or minshuku a bit farther out of the centre is completely feasible.

For those for whom price is no object, it is still possible to have a geisha perform in the evening for you and your party of guests. The ancient entertainers still perform in the same way they have been doing for centuries, but this level of luxury is usually reserved for the very rich as an evening performance from a geisha can cost thousands of pounds.

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