My husband and I have decided to visit our daughter who just moved to Gifu Prefecture. We would like to visit Kyoto with her in mid-October. I have been unable to find any available hotels or ryoken in Kyoto for either of the weekends that she will be free. How difficult would it be to stay in Nagoya and do day trips to Kyoto? Any recommendations for accomodations in Nagoya or other cities near Kyoto?<BR><BR>I've been amazed at the wealth of information in this forum.

Hi Paula, it would be such a pity not to stay overnight in Kyoto. Can't your daughter help you? If you keep looking I'm sure you will find available ryokan/hotel. I'm not well informed of Kyoto but .. the following site is for Hotel Kohro. They have Japanese style rooms and looks quite centrally located. The price is eg.13500 yen for 3 persons (tourist-economic range?). Take a look. They have a English page(acrobat-reader version that you have to enlarge to be really able to read) and you can send e-mail to reserve. Japanese pages have some photos of the hotel. And then calendar, also on Japanese page, says they still have rooms available for the 1st 3 weekends of October.<BR>http://www.kohro.com/<BR>Also I'm sure you will have more advices from others here. Good luck.

4 more ryokans, centrally located.<BR>http://www.hotel-iroha.co.jp/english/index.html<BR>http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/oheso/index.html<BR>http://www.kogetsusou.co.jp/<BR>http://www.takadaya.co.jp/index2.html<BR><BR>

Nori, Thanks so much for the input. I'll check out those ryoken. I did get word from Ryoken Hiraiwa that they have a room available. I'm pretty sure that I first heard of them on this site.

Bonjour Paula,<BR><BR>I'm a fan of Ryokan Hiraiwa, where I've been staying regularly since 1983. It is very basic (no room service, just a kettle, tea, tv, air condition, "private use of a common bathroom" ;-), but clean, very convenient, well located in a quiet surrounding, 15 minutes on foot from the station, 1/2 h from the "center" (also on a convenient bus route, no 205), 15 minutes from Sanjusangendo temple.

Thanks, Florence. The Ryokan Hiraiwa is available. It will be a new experience for us. We're a little bit unsure of how to handle the "common bath"--any suggestions?

Hi Paula,<BR><BR>Don't worry about the bath, You'll have it all to yourself. The phrase "private use of common bathroom" just means that guest have to use it in turns.<BR>Hiraiwa has 2 or 3 shower rooms too in the main building.

Florence, That sounds fine. You seem very knowledgeable about Kyoto. Will we be able to get to most of the sights by bus?

Paula-Kyoto has an excellent bus system..they go everywhere. We have only had to use taxis at night, and usually because we were in a hurry, not because the busses stopped too early.<BR>It is 200 yen per ride, so your best bet is to buy a one-day pass for 500 yen. You can get one from the newstand in the train station under Takashimaya Department Store, and also at several other news kiosks...probably the main station has places to get them. You can buy more than one, just validate one each day. (be careful to keep them separate and not validate 2 on the same day!). When you buy it ask for an english map/schedule, although it is good to get one in japanese too, so you can see what the bus stop sign will look like. Also, get on the bus at the back door and leave from the front. If you have the pass, you just run it thru the machine by the driver.

Icuy, What great information! I've copied it into notes that I'm taking on the trip with us. Thanks.

Paula, My partner and I were in Kyoto last November and recommend you try and see the Imperial Villa at Shugakuin. It is very very beautiful. We got there by public transport, then walked up the hill. Also saw another such villa at Katsura. In both cases, we travelled in the most marvellous small railway carriages. And another lovely walk was Philosopher's Walk, a pathway between temples. But try not to do it on a weekend. And we were close to the river; walking across the bridge we saw chefs from riverside restaurants tossing scraps in the air which were being caught by diving hawks. Make sure to take PLENTY of film, you will love it.

Thanks for the suggestions, Daisy. We're going to be in Kyoto over a holiday weekend (Sports and Fitness Day?). It's probably going to be very crowded, but our daughter is teaching school so she can't get away during the week. The villas and the Philosopher's walk sound so nice that we'll just have to brave the crowds.

Hi Paula,<BR><BR>Have you tried the Miyako Hotel? They have traditional Japanese style rooms called Kasui-en with tatami floors and Japanese style bathrooms. I always try to stay in Kasui-en. The Miyako is close to the Heian Shrine, Nanzanji Temple, Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park. A great way to see the city is on bicycle. There are even some bike shops that will deliver bikes to the Miyako. Hope that helps! Have fun. <BR><BR>One other tip, Kyoto station has a visitors center in the main concourse that mainly helps people find lodging. They were very helpful to me when I came down from Tokyo without a hotel reservation.<BR><BR>

Hi Marcy, My husband and I stayed at the Miyako(or possibly the New Miyako) about ten years ago. I remember it as being quite out of the way. We now have reservations at the Hiraiwa Ryokan. We leave next week and are really excited about our trip.