Guest House Kyoto Shirakawa

I've been so guest houses in Kyoto before, so I knew what I had to expect. The guest house had everything that other guest houses in Kyoto have and is well comparable to any other guest house in Kyoto. I booked a single room and I got a fairly big room with a futon (which was very comfortable). Other than that the room only contained a low small table, a garbage bin, a small lamp, and a flashlight. It had a an AC that I didn't need, because April weather is warm/hot during the day but cools down later in the afternoon, so that I had the perfect sleeping temperature. Apart from my room, the guest house had 2 toilets plus and additional toilet for men, 3 sinks, 2 shower rooms and a small kitchen. Cleaning was done several times per day as far as I can tell. The toilets were always freshly cleaned, independently of what time I went there (why do I know this? Because the toilet paper was neatly folded into a triangle and of course because everything was super clean). The location was perfect, in the middle of the popular area around Higashiyama, 2 min away from Higashiyama station. Also, it is in the middle of the residential area, so you could hear the sounds of daily lives during the day. The owners are (I supposed) an elderly couple. The man welcomed me 2 hours prior to check-in time and I could check in already. His english was lacking a lot, but with my very beginner skills in japanese I could communicate with him. The elderly woman came to the house very early in the morning (around 5-6) to clean. On the day I checked out, the elderly woman asked me (only in japanese) if I wanted to leave my luggage there to pick up later (whenever I wanted), so this is what I did. Finally when I picked up my luggage I was given a ball point pen as a present. Overall: I highly recommend this guest house.

As to be expected from an older japanese style house, the walls and doors were very thin. And this was really the only issue I had. Directly outside my rom were two of the 3 sinks and every night and every morning my housemates spent hours there getting ready. Not all of them were nice enough to be quiet. One could hear every single sound that people made. Some minor points: the sleeping rooms were one floor up a narrow staircase and nobody helped (or was able to help) me to carry up my heave luggage. Also, the toilets are on the ground floor and outside (as expected), so that it could get a little cold at night when you needed to pee. And the cleaning schedule was so early, that you would wake up at 5-6 sometimes to the sounds of the elderly lady cleaning. All in all these things are to be expected when booking this kind of accomodation, I only point them out here for everyone who never went to a traditional style guest house.