TANAKA-ya

This was our favorite room in our two weeks in Japan. Kyoto was our last stop before coming back to the States, and we were exhausted. Our hostess greeted us with cool tea (it was VERY hot at this time, so this was wonderful), and showed us a map of the area. The area itself is gorgeous. If you're looking for the old Japan, here it is. Walking down the narrow alley was just too cool. My husband was worried that he wouldn't sleep well on the futon, but we were very comfortable for both nights. On our second night, our hostess brought us some seasonal fruit. Our view was nothing, and the hallway wasn't air-conditioned, but I have nothing but VERY pleasant memories of our stay in Kyoto. We are planning on returning to Kyoto after I finish my next degree, and we are probably going to be back in Tanaka-ya.

This is by far the nicest place we stayed. The owner is lovely, the area is amazing, and the rooms are nice.

Beautiful property in a more traditional style, very affordable and an excellent location! Highly recommended

Tamie is a lovely person and very kind. The check-in hours are a bit limited, but this is because of the nature of this ryokan (traditional style house). The walls are thin so you have to be careful not to be noisy and disrupt your neighbours. There's also one bathroom and shower that gets shared with others. It's not inconvenient and is a nice experience of a traditional Japanese house. The hotel is located in Gion, where you'll regularly see geisha going to work so keep your eyes open around dusk!

The tatami room, the futon, my gracious hostess in her kimono, made me feel I was experiencing Kyoto as I wouldn’t have if I’d stayed in a generic hotel room. The location is amazing - I could easily walk or take the subway using a combination of the assistance of the Tourist Information personnel in the nearby subway station, and Google maps on my phone.

Really nice little Ryokan in a great area of Kyoto. Perfectly located, easy walk to metro and main shopping area. The Keihan line serves some of the main sights. Its a bit tricky to find at first but from Kyoto statation take: JR Nara Line to Tofukuji. Change to Keihan metro (note: if you have a JRPass, press the button at the gate and show it to the webcam) from Tofukuji to Gion-shijo . At Gion-shijo follow the signs to Ebisu shrine. This will take you to street level via very long corridor. When you get to the street turn right, then right again. This is a nice street to walk along to see Geishas, about 3/4 down (some way past the small painted Geisha statue) take the first left when you reach vending machines on the right, (there is a small little torii gate on the wall at kerb height), then right at the bottom. Tanaka-ya is located on the left. You can only see the sign from one direction. The lady is really friendly showed us a map of the area and good sights to see. She also left a little box of fruit for us. You do have to be quiet, but not too bad just more respectful than chain hotels. The shower is shared, I could only find 1 but it isn't "communal" as such. Its just one at a time with a lockable door. There were 2 toilets which wasn't an issue. The room was comfortable and warm/aircon. It also had a good WiFi connection. It felt homely and she welcomed you in to her home. If I went back to Kyoto I would stay here.

Excelent. Comfortable, convenient and with great hospitality.

This place is in the Gion District. Very close to the station but far enough to provide a quiet bedtime. Traditional Ryokan house. The owner resides on the first floor. Community bathroom is also on the first floor. It is clean and minimal toiletries are provided. Steep climb to second and third level. Each level has its own sink and toilet for community use. Take note that AC is only experienced in each quarter. It is not centralized ac which means the community area are very hot. Owner requested to turn off ac each time we leave our room for the day. Take note that when we were there in mid-July, Kyoto was experiencing record heat of 40C. So you can imagine the heat we had to endure while outside and when we came back, another wave of heat inside the Tanaka we had to bear and had to wait for the room to get cold since AC was turned off during daytime. Overall, this is the only "negative comment" i have of the place. Water for each guest is provided along with coffee mugs for hot/cold water from the fountain. The owner provided welcome tea and snacks and offered maps for the surrounding areas.

The hotel located on a famous area, easy to go to all attractions. It is an older Japanese style building with thin plaster walls and older wooden floor. It is not sound prove. Any movement will be heard by next door.

Simple but nice ryukan. Run by lovely people who gave us gifts and helped during our stay. Excellent central location. Good for geisha spotting. As this is an old property and the walls are super thin consider ear plugs if a light sleeper...and maybe an eye mask (rooms v light)

We were looking for a traditional ryokan to stay in and that's exactly what we got. We stayed in the annex, in the historical geisha district. it is about a 20 minute walk to Kyoto station or a 15 minute bus ride. The bathrooms are shared with the other guests, but there was never a wait. It is a wonderful place to stay, and if we're in Kyoto again we will stay here again!

Tanaka-ya is a little far away from Kyoto Station, but very close to Gion, in an area frequented by makos and geishas (we got to see them returning home, and even having dinner at a local bar). We were taken to an annex, which I confess I didn't like at first, but the kindness of the proprietors and the ease to settle in the traditional japanese room erased all of my reserves. The proprietors were very nice, had wonderful details (presenting us with fresh strawberries and chocolate) and the place was squeaky clean. Heating was adequate and the facilities were in general good. I would stay there again anytime.

Perfect location, with good connections to a lot of sites of interest. Also easy to reach Kyoto Station. Toilets and shower are shared, so keep that in mind if you are looking for privacy. We found everyone was respectful of the rules and kept the shared areas clean. Beds were comfortable for us, only thing is ceilings are really low. If you are a really tall person (I’m 182 cm tall), you might find it cumbersome. All in all, great value for money, and would definitely go back.

We loved this place! So clean and the staff were so lovely!

I received precise instructions how to get to the guesthouse which were very helpful. Then, there was a very warm welcome by the owner. The guesthouse is very cozy and a unique experience for the foreign traveler. The location is excellent to discover Kyoto.

There was a very kind Lady who checked us in was very nice! Even gave everyone a fruit plate one day. We really enjoyed the Kyoto and this great location, clear instructions to get there from the Kyoto Station.

Tanaka-ya has a main house and a nearby annexe. We stayed in the annexe which is in a quarter populated by many geishas or trainee geishas and we often saw them when we were returning in the evening. The area has a lot of old properties which are typical Japanese homes and the Tanaka-ya is one such. So, you remove your outdoor shoes at the door and put on the slippers provided, you sleep on futons on the rush mat floor. The experience is good. Toilets, showers and washing facilities are shared with the other guests but this presented no problems. The guesthouse is provided with plenty of tea and coffee for guests to help themselves to and there is a microwave oven available. The lady and her son who run the properties were very helpful to us. On our arrival we were given a cup of tea and there were snacks in our room. One evening we came back to our room to find a note saying welcome home and there is a bowl of fruit for each of you in the refrigerator. When we checked out we were presented with gifts and the lady called a taxi for us to take us to the station. The property is easy to get to from Kyoto station by bus and is well situated for exploring Kyotos many attractions.

Tanaka-ya's ryokan was in a quiet little street, nearby to many walkable temples and places to visit. It was a great place to stay, very friendly owner, and perfect Japanese ryokan experience.

Ms tamie is very helpful in assisting me fix the wrong booking dates i made. Good location. Took a taxi from kyoto station. Quiet neigjborhood. Traditional jap house. Small room like most jap rooms but would suggest extra blankets. Small but clean showers- would suggest auto-washers or bidets in toilets. Leisurely walked towards gion/kiyomizudera area. Around 10 mins walk to nishiki-commercial area via kamo-gawa river. Host gave us a bowl of fresh fruits in our last night-yummy!

This place is perfect if you are looking for a more traditional experience. The stay is clean and the staff is excellent. We are so happy we stayed here and experienced Japanese culture. The lady working here is very sweet too.