Nihonkan — Hotel in Kyoto

This ryokan is basic, and has lots of rules!||||The Goods:|| - Short walk from Kyoto Station's north entrance (the side with the bus terminal) - almost a straight shot!|| - Behind major shopping and near tourist locations (Kyoto Tower, Higashi Honganji Temple, etc.).|| - Near a grocery store (for those budget-minded -- the store is to the west - don't remember the exact location).|| - Has an onsen (public bath), self-serve laundry, and drink vending machine.|| - In-room toilet, shower, sink.|| - Moderately friendly staff (I got the impression an older family runs it.)||||The Bad:|| - The rules. Doors are locked at 11 PM. Guess I can't go listen to jazz at a bar and come back at 1 AM... Kind of killed my tourist evenings. And DON'T put your shoes in the wrong place! || - The onsen (at least men's side) is tiny. Two small people, or one mid-size person. And forget late night relaxing: closes at 10 PM. (Dashing back to make the 11 PM ryokan closing then soaking isn't going to work. You're too late.)|| - The room was sparse (not unusual for a ryokan), but unusually so. Kind of basic, with the obligatory wall picture (old, faded), a table, a TV, an in-room safe, and that's about it.|| - Hot water was provided for tea in a thermos. By the time I got around to making tea, it was tepid.|| - I would have appreciated an offer of laundry service, but it's do-it-yourself only.||||The Ugly:|| - Mosquitoes! Lifted the toilet lid to be greeted by at least a dozen mosquitoes! At least I had the presence of mind to close the door fast to keep them in the WC! On the bright side, it gave me something to do (kill them) when doing my morning bowel purge.|| - While generally clean, the room had a tiny bit of mold and mildew (or their stains) creeping in (shower ceiling, grout, etc.). The place needed a good scrub.||||Good to know:|| - If you arrive early, they'll store your bag in the hall until your room is ready. Then they'll put it in the room. || - The pillows and futon were thinner than most. Ask for two or three pillows if you are a medium to thick pillow person. I used two futons stacked on one another.||||In summary, I'll stay somewhere...

This ryokan is basic, and has lots of rules!||||The Goods:|| - Short walk from Kyoto Station's north entrance (the side with the bus terminal) - almost a straight shot!|| - Behind major shopping and near tourist locations (Kyoto Tower, Higashi Honganji Temple, etc.).|| - Near a grocery store (for those budget-minded -- the store is to the west - don't remember the exact location).|| - Has an onsen (public bath), self-serve laundry, and drink vending machine.|| - In-room toilet, shower, sink.|| - Moderately friendly staff (I got the impression an older family runs it.)||||The Bad:|| - The rules. Doors are locked at 11 PM. Guess I can't go listen to jazz at a bar and come back at 1 AM... Kind of killed my tourist evenings. And DON'T put your shoes in the wrong place! || - The onsen (at least men's side) is tiny. Two small people, or one mid-size person. And forget late night relaxing: closes at 10 PM. (Dashing back to make the 11 PM ryokan closing then soaking isn't going to work. You're too late.)|| - The room was sparse (not unusual for a ryokan), but unusually so. Kind of basic, with the obligatory wall picture (old, faded), a table, a TV, an in-room safe, and that's about it.|| - Hot water was provided for tea in a thermos. By the time I got around to making tea, it was tepid.|| - I would have appreciated an offer of laundry service, but it's do-it-yourself only.||||The Ugly:|| - Mosquitoes! Lifted the toilet lid to be greeted by at least a dozen mosquitoes! At least I had the presence of mind to close the door fast to keep them in the WC! On the bright side, it gave me something to do (kill them) when doing my morning bowel purge.|| - While generally clean, the room had a tiny bit of mold and mildew (or their stains) creeping in (shower ceiling, grout, etc.). The place needed a good scrub.||||Good to know:|| - If you arrive early, they'll store your bag in the hall until your room is ready. Then they'll put it in the room. || - The pillows and futon were thinner than most. Ask for two or three pillows if you are a medium to thick pillow person. I used two futons stacked on one another.||||In summary, I'll stay somewhere...

I'm not sure if the hotel manager was just shy, bored of his life and job or just never learnt how to smile, but this is the wrong job for him. It might sound a little harsh but he made the stay horrible.||The 11pm curfew locked doors was a shock since its central Kyoto and it has a nightlife, but When I asked if I was out by accident he replied that I'd have to sleep on the street. And he wasn't joking. |He then stood by the door until 11 and stared at you if you left, barely spoke and just seemed annoyed you were outside and would lock you out 11 on the dot. They then turned all the lights off in the lobby and they just expect everyone to go to bed. ||This wouldn't be so bad except for the strict times the bath and shower was available. Which is only 2/3 hours in the evening and 7am-9am in the morning. I don't see why they impose this rule||Followed by the discovery that the wifi seemed to also be on for only a few hours at a time only as well! And no not in those night hours your locked in.||The room itself was clean and tidy but for how much we paid it really isn't what we were expecting. With the communal bath also being a confusing large room with a tiny bath, and sinks to brush teeth in the corridors. ||The final blow was the fact that if you weren't checked out by 10am on the dot, you would be charged for another whole night. So as we went downstairs there was the rude manager waiting for our keys and having already put our shoes by the door. Anywhere else I would have take this as a kind gesture but from him it felt like we were being thrown/kicked out of the place. It left a sour taste in our mouths stating here and shone out as a place of terrible service after the previous places iv stayed in Japan and paid less for.||All in all, the room was ok but over priced, the location was great for the train station but the strict times on everything and MOSTLY the hotel managers rude attitude made it somewhere I will activity advise you to avoid. Unless you are just looking for a bed and not...