I am a foreign researcher living in Japan, and I needed a place to stay in Kyoto with my parents (both over 65-years-old) when they came to visit me. I can positively say that we couldn’t have picked a better place to stay: Kiyomizu Machiya is the perfect location from which to base your Kyoto vacation. I’ve stayed in the city many times, and I’ve never had an experience like this. Highlights include:
- the machiya itself is gorgeous. While still very-much a traditional machiya building inside and out, it also has all the modern conveniences one would expect and beyond: full cooking facilities, excellent temperature control, great free WiFi internet, a big TV with tons of channels for when you need to relax from the day, washing machine, great sound insolation between rooms upstairs and downstairs, and an epic bathtub. Yet it still feels and looks like traditional Kyoto, because it is!
- My parents slept in the modern beds upstairs, while I slept on the traditional bedding in a beautiful tatami room, also upstairs. It was incredibly comfortable for all of us, and again, lots of sound insolation.
- I can speak and read Japan but my parents cannot, and they could still use everything, because there is a great guide in the machiya in English on how everything works. After a day out sightseeing, it was the perfect comfortable location to come back to: everyone can have their space, yet also relax/eat as a family. Perfect in the mornings as well.
- The location is unparalleled: down a side street full of machiyas, right next to the Yasaka Pagoda, down the cobbled street from Kiyomizu Temple. This is a legendary neighborhood that has filled novels, paintings, and stories about Kyoto for centuries. Surrounded by traditional shops, restaurants, tea rooms, and attractions, this is the real deal for people who want to experience traditional Kyoto. People in traditional dress walking the street, random street fairs and shrine rituals, and due to the proximity to Gion, actual geiko (geisha) and maiko going about their day!
I think it speaks volumes that in the mornings when we would head out to sightsee, everyone else would be coming up the road in our direction to see the area in which we were living! Every night we’d take a walkabout the local area, and would always end up staying out for hours because of something happening we didn’t expect: a shrine procession, geisha serving tea at Yasaka Shrine, a modern art exhibition on the street, you name it!
There is a supermarket and a number of convenience stores for any and all shopping needs, right next to the bus stops close to the machiya.
- The machiya is located in an excellent place for sightseeing all over Kyoto. Anyone who has spent a day in Kyoto knows that the subway system is small and not very convenient for many places, and that Kyoto station is actually quite far south in the city, rather than close to the center. The best way around is bus, and the machiya is less than five minutes’ walk from major bus lines. No reason to be intimidated: again, there’s English in all the buses, and all you need to do is pay the set fare when you get off (we just used our PASMO/SUICA cards from Tokyo, all of which work in all Kyoto metro).
It is the perfect place from which to start the day: we traveled all over Kyoto and beyond, and never once felt like we were in an inconvenient location. Quite the opposite!
- Setting up the reservation was excellent; Trevor and Akemi are wonderful, receptive, and very reachable. They answered all my questions immediately, and were understanding when my PayPal account was initially having issues. As staying at the machiya was a surprise for my parents, Trevor and Akemi even left us a gift! They were great to work with and the consummate hosts abroad. The management agency on-site, including check-in process, are great as well. We were checked-in in less than 5 minutes, and at the machiya 15 minutes later!
All in all, the Kiyomizu Machiya played host to the best vacation of my parents’ (and my) lives, and it really played a huge roll in that. I’ve spent years in Japan, but I have never resided at a place like this. It’s something quite special. For ANYONE who is really interested in the most authentic of Kyoto experiences – submerged in traditional culture – and the most comfortable of bases from which to operate, I recommend the Kiyomizu Machiya. Especially families, couples, and groups of adults.
Kyoto has innumerable great places to stay, but I can say with 100% accuracy that the next time I am lucky enough to visit, I will be returning to the Kiyomizu Machiya. It’s that special!
Jesse B
