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Asakusa Vista Hotel, Tokyo

The hotel was very well situated for our needs. It was close to the subway station, and in a quiet neighbourhood, aside from the strange consistency of one lone ambulance every night around 2am. The blanket was oddly plastic-like, but the bed was very comfortable as were the pillows. The air conditioning was efficient and not too loud, and the bathtub was clean even if it was oddly square in the Japanese style. Everything was very clean and kept clean by the cleaning service (they even covered a cup of tea to keep dust out of it… oddly enough). As an extra bonus, the toilet wasn’t just a toilet, it was a Gadget! Wee!
Don’t bother trying to use the restaurant in the hotel though. The times are listed differently on every sign and the personnel pretends to want to help you with your order but then informs you a few minutes later that the restaurant is, in fact, closed.

Rikiya, Kyoto

First, a warning: absolutely do NOT stay here if you have an allergy or sensitivity to mould or dust. Asthmatic problems for instance. If you can get past that, it’s an absolutely beautiful ryokan, and our room even had a small sitting room with glass doors leading out to a small garden filled with tiny frog statues. The room itself gives an impression of age, with it’s statue from the city of Kyushu and decorations. The futon was comfortable but really the tatami matted floor was so comfortable we managed to roll off the bed and onto the floor without noticing.

Another warning is that the map is of practically no use at all. It’s more of a suggestion than any usefulness, other than to take a taxi and point at the ryokan on it.

The personnel is a bit difficult to classify because two of them seemed quite pleasant and nice, always smiling and helpful. And another one of the older women working there seemed almost vicious. I guess the bad makes you appreciate the good all the more, right?

We also experienced taking a Japanese style bath for the first (last and only) time in this ryokan. It’s so hot it’s like being boiled alive. I’m not sure that’s unusual but do take your time getting into the bath, and take as many breaks from the water as you need to adjust to the sensation of being cooked alive. The experience reminds me of the story I was told as a kid. I was told that you could boil a frog alive if you just kept turning the heat up only a small amount, because they wouldn’t jump out if the temperature changed slowly enough. We took that to mean that a frog was a bit stupid. But how stupid are humans who throw themselves into boiling hot water to “relax”? (And the water was at least 45C, according to the temperature readings I’ve read at the other Japanese style baths).

The neighbourhood is classic old Kyoto and while there’s no lack of temples in Kyoto, you certainly get a good starting point for seeing some of the largest when you stay here. It’s a lovely place to take a walk, and situated close to the river which is also a picturesque area for walking.

Carpe Diem, Osaka

We had the… pleasure… of staying both in the hostel room area and the tea room. The difference between these two rooms is like night vs. day. The ryokan isn’t too far away from the subway station, and if you’re good with maps they do provide very good instructions on how to walk there. Look out for insanely swerving bike lanes.

It’s a family run operation, which makes it lose some business efficiency. I’m sure they mean well, but being told repeatedly that you were wrong to come to the ryokan before 3pm, even when all you want to do is leave your luggage, isn’t the nicest way to start your stay.

They provide a communal kitchen, bath/shower room (with a sign-up sheet for taking a bath) and western style toilet in a separate house from the rooms. The hostel rooms have a mould filled sink for washing clothes in, apparently, a small normal sink for washing your hands, a urinal and a hole-in-the-floor style toilet. The tea room has an immaculate large sink with space for toiletries, as well as a western style toilet with all the fun Japanese bidet features. The hostel room is bare of any decoration, and is merely functional at the best. The tea room was much more relaxing and home-like. The tea room is actually three separate areas with a room with a table, a small room with screens for a bedroom, and the sink and toilet area. It’s all contained within sliding glass doors, with a walkway, and then sliding rice paper doors. It feels very private and relaxing, especially compared to the hostel room area where only a thin paper sliding door kept us separate from a group of five French tourists returning to the ryokan at 4am. But it’s nice that you’re given a key to the outer doors and can come back when you wish without a curfew.

If you can overlook a hostile welcome, the garden alone makes the ryokan a nice place to stay. It’s absolutely gorgeous and the ponds have tiny kois. There is the problem of the Japanese cicadas waking up sometime around 5-6am and being so loud it’s a wonder you can hear the alarm clock… but it’s all part of the charm of staying in a foreign country, right?

September 2nd, 2007 | Tags: housing, Japan, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, Voyage / Travel |

Category: Articles in English, Japon / Japan, Voyage / Travel | Comments (3)