It’s important to pick the right hotel in an ideal location when visiting the various cities in Japan. You are very likely to be traveling outside all day and are not likely to use your hotel for much more than rest, showering and some privacy. Even if you could afford a fancy five star hotel, why you you pay for something you aren’t going to utilize to its fullest? Tokyu Stay Hotels are the way to go.
Tokyu Stay is a ubiquitous hotel chain in all the major cities of Japan, in fact there are usual several all over the city. (Some are located really close to major train terminals and stations.) They are generally a cheaper option than many other hotel chains. The plus side to Tokyu Stays is that you have your very own washing machine and dryer in the room. This means you can chuck all your clothes in the washing machine and leave it for the day while you are out sightseeing. The instructions are in two languages and any English-speaking person should have no issue reading the instructions and pressing some buttons.
What’s great about this hotel is that when you return in the evening, your clothes are cleaned and dried. It saves you having to pay for laundry or waiting for the laundry, and you are not likely to lose anything you decide to clean.
We stayed at Tokyu Stay Kyoto Ryogaemachi-dori for two nights on 27 and 28 June 2019. Here is a tour of our room, which was a standard room. We picked this hotel, because it is known for its convenience, simplicity and closeness to the city centre (e.g. it is close to Nijo Castle) and was super close to the subway station and many bus routes.
I highly recommend booking a Tokyu Stay room midway through your holiday so that you can get your clothes cleaned properly. That is, unless you are happy to have each hotel clean your clothes for those hefty prices.
The hotel itself is easy to spot. Getting the keys to the room is as simple as showing your passport and being polite. It is easier if you can speak Japanese, but most hotels cater to a mainly English-speaking clientele. Before going upstairs to your room, just remember to grab your own amenities in the boxes before the elevators. There are plenty of things to choose from, tooth brushes, combs, shaving stick, green tea, etc.
The room has all the basics, from flat screen television with the local channels, air conditioning, mini fridge, etc.
If you are thinking about exercising or doing anything that requires a lot of space, just forget it. There is no space to do any exercise in the room. (I tried to do some push ups and my body took up the entire free space in front of the bed.)
To give you a better sense of what to expect, I highly recommend watching my room tour on YouTube:
What I liked most: The washing machine is a huge plus. Tokyu Stay hotels all have washing/drying machines. It’s a good idea to book a stay if you want to dump clothes in the wash, while you are out sightseeing. The hotel is close to local train stop, which could take us straight to Kyoto Station for the Shinkansen. All the amenities are self-serve and are provided in front of the lifts on the ground floor.
What I liked least: Like most Japanese hotels we have stayed at, our room was fun-sized. However, it didn’t matter for us, because we only used it to sleep and shower. You should be out enjoying the sights, not stuck in a hotel room.
Tokyu Stay Kyoto Ryogaemachi-dori is located at: 392番 Kakimotocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8173:
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