Sawai — Local services in Kyoto

Reserved a room about 3 weeks before arrival on a different hotel booking website. Specifically searched for a minshuku (traditional japanese home with guest rooms) that had a hot bath available for soaking. Shared bathrooms and baths are the norm in these homes and this one was no different. There were several photos of it on the website I booked on.||||When we checked in I asked where the bathtub room was and was told by the innkeeper that there was none there. I was surprised and repeated my question, to the same answer. At this point we decided to just settle in our room, which was cute and quaint, exactly as shown in the photos, and once we had I went back downstairs to ask again, as I feared I had been misunderstood. The innkeeper repeated her answer that there was no bathtub. At this point her assistant came in the front door, and he spoke better english so was told to ask him. He also said there was no bathtub. I then showed them my reservation on my phone, where it said "bathtub" and also "memory foam mattress" - more about that later. At this point, the two innkeepers started taking for a while in Japanese and suddenly the assistant turned to me and said, "yes we have a bathtub", to my surprise. I was shown where it was, in a back area on the ground floor, seemingly a seperate set up, with a guestroom and bath semi attached. It was a much more private area, seemingly set up to be exclusive if necessary. ||||We used the bathtub that night and then again on our third and last night there, That night it was clear that the guest room was being used, as there were toiletries set up in the bathroom, which you would not / did not find in the common bathrooms of the rest of the hotel, thus affirming my surmise of thus being the exclusive room of the minshuku. ||||Other than that, the futon bed mattress was extremely thin and made my sleep uncomfortable. This was no memory foam mattress as advertised. I have slept in minshukus before and never had a problem with the futons provided. I myself owned a futon for 10 years and enjoyed it. Nonetheless, I made no mention of this to the innkeeper nor did she ask me if I slept well. Barely saw her again after the first day. ||||We enjoyed the location, which is perfect, right at the beginning of the great Gion area of Kyoto, one of the older parts of the city and within easy walking distance of all kinds of food, shopping and temples and sights. The minshuku has a passcode to enter, which is great as you can come and go 24 hours a day.||||Once we had checked out, I got the standard email from the website we booked on, asking about my stay there. I mentioned the uncomfortable futon in one of the question answers and thought no more of it. About an hour later, I saw a reply in Japanese from the innkeeper, which I ran on a translate app, and saw that she said roughly "if I had not felt comfortable I should have told her so she could have given me a better western style mattress". ||||This is what displeased me, finally, about the experience. I was not asked about my sleeping comfort by the innkeeper while there. On the booking website it clearly said and still says "sleep well" "memory foam mattress" so you would think that is what you would get. Not that you would need to request that after you find out you have an inferior mattress set up. To be told after the fact and too late to do anything about it that I should have / could have asked for a better mattress is disingenuous. And also goes against the initial obfuscation about a bathtub that did not exist and then suddenly did exist. Funnily, there now is not mention of a bathtub on that website, yet there are still photos of it. ||||Anyway, I would still recommend this minshuku, just don't expect a bathtub or good sleeping as advertised, unless you ask and...

I absolutely LOVED this little teahouse hotel. It's very beautiful and so homely you just feel so welcomed like you're staying with a host family. The rooms are traditional Japanese with tatami mats and you can just see the wonderful history all around you at this place (over 160 years old!) the bathroom and shower room were super high tech though which totally threw us for a loop: you walk by the toilet and the seat literally opens for you, how crazy is that!? Also my wife was in love with the tub as it has the ability to keep your bath water a constant temperature, a super cool feature. They also offered a few different night gowns which were traditional yukata and made the stay that much more culturally impactful. Id definitely recommend this location for any couple looking for a beautiful and quiet getaway from the rest of Kyoto and...

Mixed Reviews from the group. It's a decent place for the cost. It wasn't too far from one of the train lines, about a 5-10 walk. The people who own/work at the inn are very polite and helpful. It's a nice place if you want to experience one night in a traditional sleep setting.

It's a beautiful street, looks traditional, especially at night with the laterns on. We either saw a geisha or a maiko passing by and was so disappointed we missed her.

Other Things to know:

You may have to go through a hallway to get to your room. It may be a really narrow hallway. If you're lucky, it's a normal size hallway.

Stairs...stairs...stairs...they are really small steps. Wear socks that you know can grip or if you know it won't slip. I fell down the stairs and no I didn't...