Mary

Can anyone advise on accomodations for hotels in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Toba? Also we are a couple traveling with our two teenage children and I am wondering if any of the hotels have rooms with two double beds. Will we have to pay for two rooms? What do the hotels mean when they list rates for a double? Is it one double bed or two? Any advice on reasonable accomodations for our family would be helpful. <BR>Thanks

Florence

Look at the accomodation section of www.jnto.go.jp <BR>Rates are usually based on a per person/night basis. <BR> <BR>When in Kyoto, I stay at Hiraiwa Ryokan, a member of Japanese Inn Group. Clean, inexpensive, family run, Japanese rooms in a quiet traditional area 15 minutes from the station, 1 minute from one of the main bus line. <BR> <BR>Feel free to ask for further info on Kyoto. <BR> <BR>

Erica

Since I am now married to a Japanese from Kyoto, I am not frequenting hotels in Kyoto anymore, but I did stay at the Holiday in once. We stayed there because it was very reasonably priced. They also have a McDonalds and bowling alley built in... not sure if that is good or not. It is a bit out of the way, but there were busses into the city all day long. It was a very pretty area if I remember correctly. <BR> <BR>In Tokyo, I mostly stay in business hotels, which can be very cheap, but you would need two rooms. <BR> <BR>In Kyoto, there are also a lot of foreigner guest houses that have reasonable rates. If you go alone, you usually get placed in a room with a bunch of people you do not know. If you are with a family you may be able to get a room for the family. This is often a very affordable way to go. Be careful of guest houses that have curfews! <BR> <BR>A problem you may encounter is that Japanese most often charge rates by the amount of people, not how many rooms!!! Be careful of that. <BR> <BR>Email me if you need more specific info on any parts of Kyoto or Tokyo. I lived in Tokyo for a year and spent most of my three years living in Shiga prefecture visiting Kyoto.

gayle

Hi Mary, My husband and I travelled for 6 weeks throughout Japan a few years ago with our then 9,11 and 13 year olds. We stayed in the Youth Hostels and they were fabulous! Price & Postion were always amazing. The only downside is that (and this may now have changed, so check) there was few family rooms. It was a great experience for our children because we mixed in the lounge rooms everynight from travellers from all over the world, much more so than you would in normal accommodation. Good luck and enjoy- Gayle

Steve

Hello Mary, <BR> <BR>I don't have specific hotels to recommend, but I have one piece of advice: Kyoto, Nara and Osaka are all so close together that you can easily base yourselves in any one of the cities, and day-trip to the others. <BR> <BR>Since Kyoto offers by far the most sites, it would make sense to stay there. Osaka is fun and vibrant, but has little to offer the tourist, and Nara's sites, while considerable, can be covered in a day or two. <BR> <BR>The local JR trains (ie. not the shinkansen) will whisk you to Osaka in 30 minutes for 600 yen, while Nara is only about 50 minutes away on the Kintetsu line, which also departs from Kyoto Station. <BR> <BR>As to your question about two-double-bed rooms, they certainly exist, but only in western-style hotels. The room will cost you more, but not double. <BR> <BR>Japanese-style accommodation is always priced per person. Four people is exactly double the cost of two. But hey, who wants to stay in a dull old international hotel? A couple of nights in a nice ryokan will add a special dimension to your trip. <BR> <BR>I'll see if I can dig up some info on a ryokan in Toba (a bit off the beaten track). It would be a good location to have your authentic Japanese experience. Real ryokan in Kyoto are astronomical (think US$150 per person), and the budget alternatives are not always attractive. Kyoto is a huge tourist destination for the Japanese as well, and bargains are scarce. <BR> <BR>When are you going? If you're looking at October/November that complicates things a bit too. A beautiful time of year (warm, sunny days), but just for that reason the Japanese like to travel in those months too. Ryokan fill up quickly, and prices are higher.