My room is super small. No wardrobe. Can not say it's comfortable. But it's very closed to Kyoto station. Within 10 minutes by walk. For the first time visitor like me, it's OK because it's very cheap comparing with other hotels in Kyoto. 我的房間非常小。沒有衣櫃。不算舒適。但它很靠近京都車站。10分鐘內的步行路程。像我這樣第一次到京都的遊客，這是可接受的，因為與其他位於京都的酒店比較，它的房價非常便宜。

We were booked into this hotel by a Japanese travel agent for our 4 day stay in Kyoto, and were at first disappointed - the ambiance of the entrance was an apparently "shady" back street ally with those suspicious characters you see in dark Japanese movies (something we did not experience much of in our otherwise typically clean, safe, efficient tour of Japan that most tourists see), and it seemed to be of lower grade that the other APA hotel you have to pass to get to it from the train station. However, by the end we were won over. Yes it is a "Japanese style" hotel with small (but clean and of course efficient) rooms, and does not cater to foreign tourists so English is limited. But it had the best breakfast buffet (Japanese) of the 7 hotels we stayed at in Japan, and the Onsen on the top floor was terrific with indoor/outdoor and cold pools. As room rate was part of blended package I cannot comment on the value side, but for those looking for an authentic middle range Japanese style hotel, this is highly recommended. Location is good for those traveling in Japan by train.

I booked this hotel after deciding to take location and cost over other issues. In the end, I got what I bargained for, but suffered the consequences after disregarding warning by fellow travelers about the puny rooms.

Finding the hotel was not that hard. Just walk from the train station to Bic Camera (that huge electronics and household appliance stores) and keep going in the same direction until you hit the end of the road – you’ll come across the other APA hotel along the way, but ignore it and keep going. When the road turns, follow the path north (you’ll see a small noodle shop along the way) until you see handicap path next to some steps leading up. Go up the steps, turn a corner, and you’ll see another set of handicap path + steps leading down (this area looks like public outdoor place behind a huge office building). By the time you get to ground level once again, the back entrance of the hotel right in front of you.

The room I stayed in was clean (white bed sheet is a good sign), and it had all the amenities you expected. The public bath on the top floor has a steam room, indoor bath, and outdoor bath. Just remember to bring a 100-yen coin as a deposit for your locker and your room card (which could be stored in the waterproof bag attached to the locker key). My best experience during my stay was soaking in the outdoor hot bath, enjoying the light drizzle on my face and cold air.

Yet, there’s one thing that became the deal breaker: the SIZE of the room. I've stayed in small rooms in Tokyo hotels, but it’s hard to imagine rooms smaller than THAT! We only have two luggage, and there wasn't enough room to set them out without blocking the door! It’s not hard to imagine the fun time we had trying to reorganize our belongings in such a cramped room on the night before we left…

As for the bathroom… well, it definitely sets a new record for fitting a bathtub, toilet, and sink in a space where I can almost touch the two opposite walls with my arms extended.

The Good:

- Price

- Location (for souvenirs, electronics, and food)

- Huge Public Bath (especially the outdoor one on a cold winter night)

- Clean

The Bad:

- Room Size

- and Room Size

- and Room Size....