he Space
The apartment is on the 4rd floor, but you won’t have to walk up the stairs: there's a lift in the building.
The room has two semi-double beds (120cm x 200cm), and one single size sofa bed (90cm x 200cm). The space also has one toilet, and one bathroom, that are separate from each other.
In the kitchen, you’ll find a range of utensils to cook yourself up some delicious cuisine: frying pans, pots, silverware, measuring cups, cutting shears, garlic mashers, and even a wine opener. There’s also a fridge, kettle, microwave, and a rice cooker.
Likewise, the bathrooms are fully supplied with all necessary amenities: towels (1 mid size body towel and 1 face towel per person), toilet paper, tissues, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a stool, and washing cups. The only amenity we don’t currently supply is a toothbrush and tooth paste.
Amenities also include also include a washing machine (clean those well traveled clothes!) and an iron/ironing board (to get those wrinkles out for Kabuki Theatre)!
On top of all of the above, you’ll also get portable WiFi that you can take out with you. Just remember to charge it at the end of the day!
Guest Access
You will have exclusive and full access to the apartment.
The Neighborhood
Feel at peace in this quiet and serene neighborhood. Enjoy the local bath house just across the street from the apartment; the locals are very friendly and will gladly show explain the cultural customs (although a phrase book wouldn’t hurt!).
Getting Around
Sanjo Station 3 mins
Sanjokeihan Station 3 mins
From Sanjo Station, it’s only one stop to Gion Shijo station on the Keihan Main Line. Or you can simply make the scenic walk to Gion in just 15 mins.
From Kyoto station, you can take the JR Nara Line to Tofukuji station, just one stop. From Tofukuji Station change to Keihan Main Line to Sanjo Station, exactly four stops.
If you plan to go to Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Kansai Airport, and beyond: please use HyperDia to plan your train schedules.
Other Things to Note
I will send you a detailed PDF direction guide with all the check in/out information once you have complete the booking.
The hot water in the apartment is heated by electricity. One tank of water can provide up to 4 showers per day, but it takes a whole day to heat up one tank of water.
In other words: please avoid long showers especially if you have more than 2 people staying.
House Rules
Though Japan has a vibrant and wonderful culture and we truly hope that you enjoy your stay here with us, there are some cultural differences between Japan and other countries that we'd like to first inform you about. As such please kindly take a few minutes to read the following points prior to your trip so that your stay in Japan is as enjoyable and problem free as possible.
While we wish you a wonderful stay and not have to bring up any rules and regulations, Japan is still a country that is largely unaware of the sharing economy trend and to ensure that everything goes smoothly with your trip, we ask you to comply with the following:
1.) Upon arrival you will be asked to sign a "lease agreement" after confirming your booking. The purpose of this document is simply to ensure that your stay with us is legal as without this agreement, AirBnB rentals currently operate in a legal grey zone nearing the illegal side of grey. Additionally this document also outlines the standard cultural norms expect of ANYONE who is residing in a Japanese residential building. By opting for AirBnB instead of a hotel you too will be expected act appropriately as someone residing in a residential building. The terms are as follows:
Guests will be expected to pay for any and all damages incurred during the course of their stay. Please use common sense take care of our properties while staying with us. This includes lost keys whose replacement costs vary, from 500 yen for older simple locks, and range upwards to 25000 yen as newer buildings have more complicated computer chip-included lock systems.
We offer pocket Wi-Fi routers to all of our guests but due to the initial cost of the device , should it be lost or damaged you will be charged a fee of JPY 40,000.
As a general rule of thumb, please be quiet when in the vicinity of our properties. Even in urban areas, residences tend to be on the more quiet and peaceful side of things and as such we ask you to keep this in mind to not disturb those in the area where you stay.
As a cultural rule, "public spaces" such as the lobby or elevators are areas where people tend not to make much noise. As such, should you have a big group we ask that you not crowd these shared spaces, especially considering how small they often can be. As luggage and bodies can quickly fill up Japan's tiny elevators, we ask that you wait outside should everyone not be able to ride the same elevator to avoid bothering those in the same building as (wait at least two minutes for it to return to the lobby floor).
While in other countries having social gatherings of friends at one another's houses is a common occurrence this almost NEVER happens in Japan. People here prefer instead to gather at one of the many bars, cafes and clubs that are open until the early morning due to the incredibly close living conditions. This is a critical point to remember!
While we encourage our guests to have a good time while in Japan, we ask that you please consult us first before being rowdy in the any of our apartments. Even in the big cities, things get pretty quiet at home after 10 PM and though we do the best to soundproof our listings to the extent possible, if there is a formal noise complaint made against us we will have no recourse but to charge a JPY 10,000 penalty. As such, we kindly ask you to respect your neighbors and keep quiet at night.
While AirBnB does indeed operate legally in Japan, many Japanese are still unaware of the sharing economy and are not yet accustomed to the idea of sharing with outsiders. Though we hope this will change in the near future, to avoid any formal complaints from both the building management and other residents we request that you refrain from speaking with or interacting with anyone on the premises. If you have any questions please address them to us and not the management of the building as they will not be able to help you.
Additionally should anyone ring the door bell, please do not answer it. 99.9% of the time the inquiry is a sales person and not of interest to you. In the rare case that it is not, please do not answer and contact us directly so that we can handle it.
All of our listings are non-smoking. Should you end up smoking in the rooms, it will require a special cleaning to remove any smell or stains. If we discover that a guest has smoked in his or her apartment, we will be forced to charge JPY 10,000 to cover the cost. For rooms with balconies, it's OK to smoke outside on the balcony but please properly dispose of your cigarettes when done.
Additionally Japan does not allow smoking outdoor except for designated areas. Police have been cracking down lately on smoking outside of these areas and as such for your own benefit, we'd like to remind you to please be mindful of others when enjoying a cigarette.
2.) Arrival information
Download the PDF file that we will send you and keep it on your mobile device, or print it out. All the directions and instructions are contained inside.
Please be quiet after 10 PM both inside and outside the house.
Remember to send a message a day before you check in to verify your check-in time and also another message to confirm the checkout procedure.
Sign the lease agreement after booking by replying to the email you will be sent with both your name and the date of signing.
Please use common sense while staying with us, for example dry off completely before exiting the bathroom, turn off the lights and air conditioning before leaving, etc.
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1. We can help you alter or transfer most reservations usually free of charge.
2. If you make a reservation and cancel within 24 hours there will be a ¥5000 service fee. In order to claim this benefit you must not be arriving within one weeks time and must cancel within 24 hours.
3. If you cancel between 24 hours to 72 hours within booking and still less than one week until arrival there will be a 25% cancelation fee.
4. Outside of these exceptions standard cancellation policies apply.
5. We charge 3000 YEN/hour for late check out.