Hi! I'm traveling with my family (two kids, 8&9) to Kyoto for 6 nights at the end of July. After looking at some of the hotels, I think an apartment might work better for us. I got a great airbnb recommendation from the Rome Fodorites a few years ago and thought I would return for more wisdom. Anyone stay in a great one recently? Any I should avoid?

More generally, any recommendations on neighborhoods beyond the typical hotel areas? I'm having a hard time judging locations.

Thanks!

I've always stayed at hotels in my past 3 trips to Kyoto but would like to try staying at Machiyas someday when I return. If you're feeling adventurous, you might want to try Machiyas which are typically century-old Japanese townhouses. You typically sleep on futon beds but some also have western beds. You can find Machiyas mostly in the historical district of Higashiyama to the east of the beautiful Kamogawa River. I guess some are also available to be booked via Airbnb.

Compared with Tokyo, Kyoto's public transportation is somewhat limited so I suggest that you stay somewhere that is central and convenient for train/subway. What this means though is you have to stay in typical hotel areas such as Downtown Kyoto and Higashiyama to make most out of your travel time.

After 3 trips, I can say that Downtown Kyoto and Gion are the best areas to stay in Kyoto for sightseeing.

In case you don't want to stay in the city center, you might want to research about Arashiyama and see if it fits your liking. Arashiyama is a beautiful suburb in Kyoto, however, it is quite far from the city center.

You can check more below to visualize how the districts in Kyoto look like.
http://asiatravelbug.com/blog/where-...to-best-place/

Hope this helps!
Tiffy

This worked for us and we have a family of four.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5559273

good quality/price balance on air bnb, and might save some money on trains!

We stayed at Tenseian Kiyomizu Kyoto Guest House. It's a simple apartment, in a great location, with a fabulous owner. There are two bedrooms; one has western beds, the other has futons. There's also a washer-dryer, which is a bonus when traveling.

There are other Fodorites that have stayed there, or you could look online for reviews.

https://www.tenseian.com/

We stayed in a Machiya in the Higashiyama area. Very clean with all amenities. The location was absolutely perfect for us. Very short walking distance to some places we were interested in seeing, and just minutes to restaurants and supermarkets. Bus and subways 5 -10 mins stroll away. Nishiki Market a 15 min walk.
Booked it through the Windows to Japan website, however i've noticed they also advertise their machiyas on airbnb.