Kyoto Guide: Fantastic Japanese Ryokan near the station, river and playground

I stayed at this 100 year old Japanese inn with my kids and it was fantastic!

I was worried at first as this is a traditional style Japanese ryokan and I wasn’t sure if the area would be convenient, but it turned out to be a wonderful residential area for kids to enjoy.

If you would like to try staying in a traditional Japanese house with your baby or kids, I recommend staying here!

Important points to consider:

Noise: The house is very old and has paper-thin walls. This means if it is windy, the windows rattle. And if people are walking down the corridor to the bathroom, you can hear them. But, if this doesn’t bother you then it is great! Having said that, I did constantly encourage my kids to speak in whispers, and I took them outside in the early morning to have breakfast and play at the playground, so as not to disturb the other guests. I also let me kids watch the Japanese TV kids programs which start at 7am.
Sleeping: The house is traditional Japanese, which means the only beds available are futons. I personally love futons and my kids love them too, so we all have a great night sleep. It can be fun if it is your kids first time, as it is kind of like camping! Just note that they don’t have baby cots, so if you prefer your baby to sleep in a cot, it is best to bring a porta cot with you.
Bathroom: There is only a share bathroom and toilet, so you need to take your kids to the bathroom downstairs for a shower. This is fun though, as there are little seats and buckets, so your kids can enjoy sitting on the bath seats and playing with the water in the buckets. If you consider it like a camping trip, and encourage your kids to enjoy the Japanese style of bathing, it can be alot of fun!

Tips:

Taxi: You can ask the front desk to book a taxi for you in the morning to go out sightseeing. I personally love catching taxis around Kyoto, as it makes it much easier with kids, reduces the walking time so they don’t get too tired, and it is super cheap! I booked a taxi for 8:30am to Kiyomizudera temple, which took about 10min to get there. We then enjoyed Kiyomizudera, Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka, and walked all the way back to Maruyama Park and Gion, and then I caught a taxi back to the hotel for a daytime sleep by 1pm. Very convenient and very easy!
Free wifi: The ryokan has free wifi which is fantastic.

Details:

Name: Yadoya Hiraiwa Ryokan
Address: Hayaocho 314, Shimogyo-ku Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, 600-8114
How to book: I booked this hotel through booking.com
Website link
Google map link

The entrance has free water and slippers to use inside the hotel

There are tourism information and maps in the entrance

Big Japanese rooms with tatami mats and futons.

The rooms also have TV, tea cups and green tea, and towels, toothbrush etc. I recommend to bring your own shampoo and conditioner (as the bathrooms only had shampoo)