Jacqui

Guest: Jacqui T. (Australia)
Date of Stay: 01/16/12 Review Submitted: 01/25/12

This house was in the most amazing location, walking distance to a lovely, old section of Kyoto with lovely shops, restaurants, temples/shrines and rickshaws. The directions were very clear. The house was very clean and beautfully presented, the futons incredibly comfortable and we loved the character of this wooden home. The kotatsu kept us snug and warm. It was so wonderful to find a house that could accommodate 6 of us. Nobu san was wonderful with his advice and help. The mid week clean of the house, removal of garbage, fresh supplies and fresh towels was a lovely gesture. An amazing experience for us. Thankyou.

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highly recommended for a family vacation

Guest: judy (manila)
Date of Stay: 06/17/11 Review Submitted: 07/13/11

The Nene House was a wonderful home to us for the ten days in June we were in Kyoto. The House is cozy, yet spacious-- our three teenagers had plenty of room to lounge in. The house was charming and traditional, but well maintained and with all the modern amenities-- fully equipped kitchen, wifi, very reliable airconditioning, and a wonderful bath. We were very happy there, and some days just stayed "home" enjoying being with each other. The location was perfect. It is on a very pretty and quiet street just 5 minutes' walk from the tourist restaurant/shopping street of the Kodaiji area. It was right in the historic area, so was a good spot from which to start our sightseeing walks to the shrines and temples. Guion was ten minutes away, and the shopping district across the river another 15 minutes walk, so we could have a full day, come home to change and go out for dinner easily. Later in our trip though, we found we were just as happy to eat at home with take out food from the amazing basement food area at the Takashimaya. Nobu San was very kind and helpful too. We called him a few times with questions of where to go or how to get somewhere, and he was always accomodating. I recommend the Nene House especially for families, as there is room to lounge around. It really felt like home, and we were sad to leave! Thank you Nobu San!

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Great accomodation and location

Guest: Nicola (Brisbane, Australia)
Date of Stay: 04/22/11 Review Submitted: 05/15/11

We really enjoyed our stay at Nene house. The location is fantastic - right next to the main tourist street. The house is quite big and would suit a larger family than our own (we are a couple with an 18 month old). The accomodation had everything you need and we spent a few nights in cooking meals while the little one was asleep. Nobu was also very good in providing maps and directions to places around the house.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with teenagers.

Kyoto Nene house was our home away from home

Guest: Laura (Warren, NJ USA)
Date of Stay: 04/08/11 Review Submitted: 04/20/11

We stayed at the Kyoto Nene house from April 8-12th and we loved everything about staying there. The kids loved sleeping on the floor with the cozy futons and there was plenty of room for us as a family of four. Before we arrived, we had many interactions with Nobu, who gave us great advice about our stay. Thankfully he was able to talk to our cab driver and provide him with directions to the house as it is a bit tricky to find. He met us at the house and gave us a tour and showed us how everything worked It was wonderful to stay in a place where we could make ourselves breakfast every morning before we headed out. The heaters in every room kept us warm in the cool nights so we were never uncomfortable. The house is also in a fantastic location. While it is a VERY quiet street, within a couple of minutes walk, you are walking on cobblestone streets through a very quaint part of Kyoto filled with shops and interesting sights to see. Gion is only a 10 minute walk and the beautiful Kiyomizudera Temple also only about 10 minutes away. We were extremely fortunate to be in Kyoto for the best of the cherry tree season and we could see the beautiful trees everywhere. We bought day bus passes and took the bus all around Kyoto. It worked great for our family and provided us with an interesting way to see the city. The bus stop is only a few minutes walk from the house. There is also a 7-11 and a nice grocery store within walking distance as well. When we left, Nobu was able to arrange for a taxi to take us to the train station. He also came by once to take out our trash and provide fresh towels. The little touches made the stay an even nicer one. I highly recommend staying in the Kyoto Nene House and if we ever make it back to Kyoto, we will definitely try to stay there again.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Guest: Robbi (-)
Date of Stay: 11/02/10 Review Submitted: 11/07/10

"Cozy Home-Away-From-Home in an Excellent Location" Kyoto Nene House is a quaint and cozy home-away-from home located on a quiet street just steps away from the beautiful Kyomizu Temple and the historic streets Ninenzaka and Sanenzaka (full of tourist shops, to be sure, but excellent treats, nice little lunch places and not a total assault of kitsch as it could be). Also not to be missed is the Kodaiji Temple right next door - probably overlooked a lot because of its proximity to Kyomizu, but featuring beautiful gardens and some fun rub-my-belly-for-good-luck sorts of statues. Also an easy walk to Gion (though don't bother visiting there until evening). We also took a "scenic walk" from the house to Ginkakuji Temple via the Philosopher's Walk - even with 2 babies it was lovely and doable in an afternoon. We stayed comfortably with 5 adults and 3 kids (one two-year-old and 2 10-month-olds) - though sharing a room of futons with ordinarily crib-bound kids wasn't always easy. The bath was delicious after long days of being a tourist, and the kitchen was large and open and a nice place to hang out in the evenings (though with all the excellent nearby food options, we ended up not cooking a single meal there). Taking a cab from the train station is highly recommended - but make sure to bring along a printout of the map as well as the address and phone number. Our cab driver wasn't quite sure where to go but figured it out after some time on the iphone. We ended up walking back to the train station for our return - a long walk, but nice to see a different part of the city. One thing to note for the jetlag prone - nothing in the neighborhood opens before 10am, and everything shuts down around 4 or 5 (except for a few of the small restaurants). Early dinners are a good idea, and the nearby 7-11 (5 minute walk to the main drag) was where we ended up getting breakfasts (actually, don't knock it - they have really good rice balls there and some prepackaged meals that are pretty tasty). We stayed for 4 nights and Nobu (who speaks very good english and was quite helpful) came once in the middle of our stay to refresh towels and empty the trash. We felt very well taken-care-of. I highly recommend Nene House - I will sing its praises to anyone who will listen and I plan to go back and stay there longer next time!

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Terrific House In Great Location

Guest: Family Griff (Sydney)
Date of Stay: 10/05/10 Review Submitted: 10/12/10

We had a great time and really enjoyed staying at the Kyoto Nene House. The location could not have been any better being in a quiet street running parallel to the one of the best "traditional" shopping alleys in Kyoto and about a ten minute walk to the Kiyomizu Temple and two minutes to the Yasaka Pagoda and the Ryozen-Kwannon Temple. The house was very clean and well equipped and Nobu-San was very helpful, we all (me, my wife and three sons, 14, 12 and 10) felt very comfortable there. It was an easy walk to one of the main roads, Higashioji-Dori Street, and bus stops, as well as to grocery shops. We would definitely recommend this house to friends and family.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Kyoto Nene House

Guest: Juliebeth (-)
Date of Stay: 04/21/10 Review Submitted: 06/08/10

Our family of three recently stayed at Nene House in one of the most beautiful parts of Kyoto. The house felt traditional. We felt for the first time that we were part of Old Kyoto (as opposed to staying in an impersonal hotel). And yet there were all the mod cons; modern and convenient kitchen and bathroom - and plenty of heaters (as Kyoto was freezing during our stay). Our host was so helpful and kind. I would say he and his wife are now our friends. We will definitely go back to Nene House. You need not bother with public transport as you can walk to so many of Kyoto's major attractions from there in a few minutes. The property was thoroughly clean and well maintained. I recommend it.

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We hope to visit your rental house again!

Guest: Micheal (-)
Date of Stay: 04/22/10 Review Submitted: 06/08/10

Dear, Nobu san, We enjoyed our stay in your place very much! It is a lovely house and made our visit to Kyoto very special. Our son loved sleeping in futon beds. This is a great place to stay for families with children. We hope to visit your beautiful city of Kyoto again, it will definitely like to stay here again!

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Thank you for the wonderful stay.

Guest: Lee (-)
Date of Stay: 11/26/09 Review Submitted: 06/08/10

It took us by chance to find such a wonderful place online and it turned out to be perfect. Thank you Mr.Takahashi, for letting us check-in early, it allowed us a full day to explore the kiyomizu area with Nene House as our home base. Most importantly , it gave us a glimpse of how people lives in Japan in the old days-with modern day's convenience, of course. It's a unique experience we can't get in a hotel.Thank you for the wonderful stay.

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Highly recommended for quiet, traditional home ver

Guest: TravelerMonica (-)
Date of Stay: 05/03/10 Review Submitted: 06/08/10

Our family of four enjoyed three nights at Nene House in early May 2010. I highly recommend Nene House for a stay in a Japanese home with modern amenities, to experience some real Japanese culture while you're visiting Japan. The home is very quiet (not for partiers!), yet is only a block from wonderful little shopping streets (open about 9:30 am until 5 pm) where people stroll in kimonos! The streets lead to the popular Kiyomizu temple. Another temple is just a block away, and the famous Gion (geisha and cultural/historic) district is just 10 minutes away too (we dined there one night). The air conditioning was in EVERY room, individually controlled, and NOT the noisy in-window type! Loved that. You can use the clothes washing machine (and drying racks). Shower/bath felt great. Even slippers are provided to use while there. See the pictures for the traditional styled sitting room, but also modern kitchen. Traditional styled bedrooms with tatami mat floors and futon bedding (yet modern air conditioning, very quiet). Very clean and well maintained. Owner Mr. Takahashi was flexbile as to check-in and check-out times, and was very nice and helpful, and also can communicate in English easily. Bring his cell number and also the address printed in Japanese if you're going by taxi (well worth the $12 from Kyoto station). Staying at Nene House in Kyoto (as opposed to the western style hotels for our nights in Tokyo) was one of the highlights of our vacation.

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