Once we planned for the Japan trip, we knew we would be staying at AirBnb in at least 3 towns being Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. And only after more research we decided to have the two night ryokan stay at Takayama, just because I wanted to see Shirakawago. Besides, old town Takayama looks beautiful anyway 🙂
As the title suggests, this post will be about our AirBnb in Kyoto. It was our first AirBnb experience ever and had been a pleasant one. Booking process was easy, communication with hosts (Tomoko and Chris) was prompt and they have been so helpful. One thing that I overlooked was that I did not realize when made the booking was that it didn’t come with pocket WiFi. Us being newbie to Japan and AirBnb experience, have forgotten to ask the host if there is a pocket WiFi. And only after booking, we became aware that there is only unlimited internet at the apartment and no pocket WiFi provided. But, no big deal, we just ordered one online and picked up at the airport on arrival.
First of all, we need to decide on which area of Kyoto where we wanted to stay at. And this proven to be difficult, we wanted somewhere fairly central, easy access to train/subway stations, and convenience stores nearby. The fact that Kyoto is a big town with widespread point of interests hasn’t been any helpful either. But at the end of the day, we decided to stay somewhere within walking distance to Kyoto station, thinking that it should be major hub to everywhere, right? And that’s how we ended up at Kamo Den Room No.1.
The Apartment
We reached the apartment after check in time, and there it was the key on top of the book shelf. The apartment was really clean and feel welcoming. Yes, it is tiny, but we kind of expected this to be the case with majority apartments in Japan anyway. And it is located on the third floor of the building with no elevator, but we already knew it at booking. It wasn’t a problem for us since we just arrived with mostly empty suitcases. I imagine it will cause a bit of trouble for people with heavy luggage to climb up and down the stairs.
The toilet is in a separate room to the bath room, and there is a bath tub as well. There is also a mini kitchen with a fridge, some basic utensils and crockery provided. Then into the room/living room, there are two tatami mats and futon. I was worried that this might give me back pain, but it didn’t – in fact, we had good sleeps here. There is also a washing machine with detergent provided, and a balcony to hang your clothes dry. A standing fan and low table are inside the wardrobe, and we took out the table during our stay here.
Overall, our AirBnb in Kyoto had been a great place to stay at based on the location and cleanliness and how helpful the hosts have been. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to my friends or families visiting Kyoto. Just be mindful about the stairs and no pocket WiFi provided.
And if you are also new to AirBnb experience, you can use this link to sign up to get AU$50 credit off your first booking 🙂