PRICE:
Frommer's Recommended

This inexpensive ryokan, halfway between Kyoto Station and downtown, is one of the best-known and oldest members of the Japanese Inn Group. Although they speak limited English, the Hiraiwa family has been welcoming foreigners from all over the world since opening their doors in 1973. The tatami guest rooms, spread through the 80-year-old traditional main building and a newer annex, are spotless. Note that a Japanese breakfast, which includes kamameshi (rice casserole), miso soup, and tofu, must be ordered a day in advance, but you can have coffee and toast until 9am. Shower and bathing facilities are limited (you might opt for the neighborhood public bath and sauna just around the corner) and toilet stalls are unisex, affording little privacy for the shy. And because there's no lounge, there's no chance to meet other guests unless you pass them shuffling down the hall to the bathroom. If you're traveling with a group of friends and would like to hang out in a communal room, stay elsewhere.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Japan, 9th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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