Guesthouse Gajyun — Hotel in Kyoto

I’ll admit, Ga-Jyun was not my first choice when I booked online but I am ridiculously happy it’s where I ended up. It’s in a fantastic location near many of the major sites in the eastern part of the city including the Philosopher’s Path, the zoo, the Silver Pavillion, Gion, Kodaiji, etc., and also bus and subway stations. It’s right across the street from a Lawson’s, too. The house is traditional Japanese, with a small garden out back, and you’ll appreciate the hidden skylight upstairs that lets soft light in without the glare. It’s very clean, the kitchen i swell-equipped, the shower heat and pressure is great and the toilet seats have heaters. The place really soars, though, when you factor in the bonuses. The manager also owns a public bath house and takes guests there for free several nights a week. They also have tea ceremonies (instructional, though - don’t expect the entire aesthetic experience that you’d get in a temple or something) and barbecue nights. You can order cooked dinner in house (let them know ahead of time) that’s big and really well priced at under 1,000 yen. I’m sure ever review on here mentions the breakfast, which is huge and totally blows my mind - they must spend a fortune on it. They have a massage chair and a foot massage attachment. Incredibly useful in Kyoto where you’ll likely be walking all day long on your temple pilgrimages. Finally, the staff is incredible. I admit I was probably a bit of a pain: I asked a ton of questions and ate big breakfasts and had multiple cups of coffee, but they were always always hospitable and patient and never made me feel like a jerk. Yuki helped me arrange travel down the road, they found me a cheap barber and a gym and printed a map up for me, too. Desmond helped me prepare some Japanese comments for a lecture I gave at the university. From beginning to end it was a totally enjoyable experience. I think my only negatives would be that the windows seem thin and maybe it gets quite cold in the winter. When i return to Kyoto, I’ll definitely try to stay here...

I’ll admit, Ga-Jyun was not my first choice when I booked online but I am ridiculously happy it’s where I ended up. It’s in a fantastic location near many of the major sites in the eastern part of the city including the Philosopher’s Path, the zoo, the Silver Pavillion, Gion, Kodaiji, etc., and also bus and subway stations. It’s right across the street from a Lawson’s, too. The house is traditional Japanese, with a small garden out back, and you’ll appreciate the hidden skylight upstairs that lets soft light in without the glare. It’s very clean, the kitchen i swell-equipped, the shower heat and pressure is great and the toilet seats have heaters. The place really soars, though, when you factor in the bonuses. The manager also owns a public bath house and takes guests there for free several nights a week. They also have tea ceremonies (instructional, though - don’t expect the entire aesthetic experience that you’d get in a temple or something) and barbecue nights. You can order cooked dinner in house (let them know ahead of time) that’s big and really well priced at under 1,000 yen. I’m sure ever review on here mentions the breakfast, which is huge and totally blows my mind - they must spend a fortune on it. They have a massage chair and a foot massage attachment. Incredibly useful in Kyoto where you’ll likely be walking all day long on your temple pilgrimages. Finally, the staff is incredible. I admit I was probably a bit of a pain: I asked a ton of questions and ate big breakfasts and had multiple cups of coffee, but they were always always hospitable and patient and never made me feel like a jerk. Yuki helped me arrange travel down the road, they found me a cheap barber and a gym and printed a map up for me, too. Desmond helped me prepare some Japanese comments for a lecture I gave at the university. From beginning to end it was a totally enjoyable experience. I think my only negatives would be that the windows seem thin and maybe it gets quite cold in the winter. When i return to Kyoto, I’ll definitely try to stay here...

Pros:

The breakfast is a highlight of the stay. The miso soup is some of the best I’ve ever had. Love how much fruit and variety there was in the food.

Jiro is very cute but indifferent to people (he does not like pats!)

The communal area is great for meeting other travelers I don't think this property deserves such high ratings. I booked it because of the high ratings and I want to warn people about my experiences here.

Cons:

You aren’t allowed to use the common areas after 9:30am because they want to clean it. I appreciate that they want to clean the space but to not be allowed to use it at all or offer an alternative is quite annoying. This isn't listed anywhere in the booking information or when you check in. Not a good hostel to choose if you are working remotely. The owner even suggested I leave and book a hotel because I was sitting in the common area at 10am. The exact words he used were “I think you should book a hotel”, which I think was incredibly rude since I had paid for accommodation here (which was at least 50% more expensive than alternative accommodations in the same area) and I expected to be able to use the common spaces.

Depending what room you get (I stayed in the 4-bed dorm) you will be right next to the road which has VERY loud traffic noise. The beds are uncomfortable. I stayed in a bunk bed that was sunken in the middle. And the beds creak every time someone moves. The bed light isn’t very strong or bright.

I also had a snorer in my room for all nights which made it really hard to get any sleep. Obviously this isn’t the hostel’s fault but it affected my experience here.

The owner does not take guests to the sento (public bath house) anymore, the owner told me that they have stopped going since coronavirus. You can still go by yourself though. It's a 35 min walk and a really pleasant sento (would recommend if you do stay here).

The location is quite far from Kyoto station and from downtown. About a 20min walk. There’s no...