Vacation Rentals by Owner

Iho-an (Cottage of Lingering Fragrance) Kyoto Machiya [#259026] | View Property

Kyoto
House, 1 Bedroom + Convertible bed(s), 1 Bath (Sleeps 2-4)
15,000-21,000
Write a Review

Traveler Reviews (15)

• Iho-an - We highly recommend it!

  Iho-an - We highly recommend it!

  • Guest Pikachu Australia
  • Date of stay 12/29/12
  • Review Submitted 01/23/13
  We loved our stay here. Here's why - The machiya is in an excellent position for sight seeing in Kyoto. On a previous visit to Kyoto, we stayed in a hotel close to the main train station and found it complicated to get around. Iho-an, on the other hand, is in a great position for sight seeing - within easy walking distance of Gion, Pontocho, Higashiyama temples etc, fantastic. We also preferred it for a more "Japanese experience", rather than staying in a hotel. We caught a taxi to the property after arriving on the shinkansen and it was not expensive, around 1200 yen from memory. The streets are a grid design and, once we had our bearings, we found it really easy to walk around. The machiya itself is gorgeous, carefully renovated so that it's comfortable and pleasing but hasn't lost its character. It also has the modern conveniences of a washing machine (with dryer function) and a great kitchen. The bed upstairs is very comfy and we were really cosy up there in the midst of winter! Even with the heating on however, the downstairs area was a little chilly (remember, midst of winter!) Having said that, the kids were cosy when tucked up in bed under the doonas. And, blissfully, the toilet seat is heated! The area has the conveniences of a supermarket close by, taxis, buses and subway easily accessed, loads and loads of restaurants and (for the kids tired of eating unfamiliar food and adults looking for a nice latte!) MacDonalds is a block away. For an affordable, comfortable, convenient, "full of character" place to stay, you can't go past Iho-an. Before I booked this accommodation, I read a review of Iho-an that said "Just do it". So I did and am so glad. We loved it. :-)

  Recommended for: Families with teenagers, tourists without a car.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Very well located machiya with all you need for a beautiful stay

  Very well located machiya with all you need for a beautiful stay

  • Guest Tahiche d.
  • Date of stay 11/11/12
  • Review Submitted 12/03/12
  We found the house to be very clean and well maintained. It had all we need for our stay and if there was something extra that we requested, the owners provided from one day to the next. The location is very good in a quiet neighborhood. You can walk to Gion, Kawaramachi and all the Eastern temples, but there is also a good subway and bus connection. We had a beautiful stay in Kyoto.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Perfect Location - Kyoto!

  Perfect Location - Kyoto!

  • Guest Liz
  • Date of stay 10/06/12
  • Review Submitted 10/25/12
  My husband and I recently traveled to Japan for our honeymoon. We spent 5 nights in Kyoto at the Iho-An Kyoto Machiya. The "machiya" was beautiful and had everything we needed. The location was also perfect. We were able to walk to and from dinner each night and were also very near a station for our day trips. Wendy and Avi were wonderful and extremely welcoming and responsive. I absolutely recommend!

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Great experience!

  Great experience!

  • Guest Oceanographer
  • Date of stay 07/06/12
  • Review Submitted 07/23/12
  The apartment is centrally located to the main shopping district and the Gion district. There's a grocery store conveniently located just a few blocks walking from the apartment, and the bus station is also only a short walk from the apartment. Very easy to get around Kyoto from this point. We easily caught trains, the subway, or buses as needed from this place. The apartment is lovely! They even had a few movies in the apartment to watch while I got my body acclimated to the time zone. The landlady is very nice and gracious as well. The one thing that you need is the Japanese version of a map to the apartment, which she provides. It's nearly impossible for a taxi to find without it. I highly recommend this apartment as a vacation spot for a jumping off point to sightseeing, as a place to stay while at a meeting, or just as a quiet getaway in central Kyoto.

  Recommended for: Age 55+, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Fantastic and interesting

  Fantastic and interesting

  • Guest Grant
  • Date of stay 06/24/12
  • Review Submitted 07/08/12
  We loved every minute of our stay at Wendy and Ari's Kyoto Machiya. Not only was it beautifully renovated, well-appointed, and convenient to the Metro and many sights in the city, it was also interesting to learn about the history of that kind of structure. Have you ever learned something about a city's social history by staying in some generic hotel? Me either. Highly recommended and we will be back if we're in Kyoto again. Oh, and the owners are lovely people, as well. Great communication and near-instantaneous responses to our requests and questions.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Richard

  Richard

  • Guest Richard
  • Date of stay 05/10/12
  • Review Submitted 05/25/12
  My wife and I loved staying at this machiya. It is beautifully and artistically restored and yet very efficient. The location is great, very close to subway and bus line. There is a grocery store a block away, and Suzuki will help with food selection. There is a great restaurant area within walking distance. The kitchen is set up to cook as little or as much as you like. The cottage was clean and ready on arrival. There are bikes to rent including ones at the Hertz shop at the end of Niomon Dori that have an electric power boost. Riding along the river, both levels, going to a few temples, the arcade, you can cover a lot of ground. Watch the Japanese the first day to see how they do it. The owner's book is very helpful and what to do with maps and directions. They were very helpful and prompt. Thank you, Wendy and Avi. We would rec a kaiseki rest, Giro Giro. Sit downstairs! We thought Nara and arashiyama were worth the trip, including the open air train in Arashiyama. We also enjoyed the 11th floor of Iseten dept store, good restaurants, with view of Kyoto tower, Nishiki market, including the famous knife store. We enjoyed our stay at iho an and would recommend it highly, Richard and Mary

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Iho-an remains at the top of the pile!

  Iho-an remains at the top of the pile!

  • Guest hugh campbell
  • Date of stay 10/09/11
  • Review Submitted 01/04/12
  I returned to Iho-an for 5 weeks this autumn after visiting for a short period in 2009. Everything i said then still applies some years on. Still kept in beautiful as new condition, spotlessly clean and full of character, and of the course the position is unbeatable. That Rory is easy to deal with and friendly - just makes it all so easy and appealing. Stay here!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Perfect location, great accommodation

  Perfect location, great accommodation

  • Guest Scott
  • Date of stay 02/25/11
  • Review Submitted 03/21/11
  How much did I like staying here?: I'm trying to work out just how soon I can go back. This property is immaculately presented, but still looks more like a home than a gallery, which makes it relaxing and inviting. Perfect for taking advantage of the kitchen, washer, dryer, TV, internet, couches, beds, dining room table... It had everything we needed - even with our family of 4 - while still feeling like an authentic Kyoto home with its distinctive style and little artistic touches. The Machiya is in a very quiet neighbourhood - you are unlikely to hear even a car drive down the street or talking neighbours. It's surprising, because it isn't out-of-the-way... The location is great if you plan on spending more than just a day or two in Kyoto. Once you orient yourself to the river and the nearby supermarket (also incredibly handy being just down the street), you'll find it easy to walk to a LOT of Kyoto's great sights. Even our 6-year old had no trouble walking with us to the downtown shopping area of Teramachi (hopping across the river stepping stones rather than taking the bridge), the amazing Kiyomizu mountain temple, the great old streets of Gion and even to the Imperial palace gardens. Of course the fact that there's interesting things to see at almost every turn certainly helps. If you don't mind a stroll, you can save your cab and train money here and walk to so many sights. The owners have provided lots of information on things within the house and beyond - and I'm sure would have helped us with any other request. That was our only problem here: we didn't stay long enough. Five nights could easily have turned into 10 or more. Our trip took us from Kyoto to Nagano (where the kids saw snow for the first time and loved it) and to Tokyo, including all the excitement of Tokyo Disney... yet when we sat down together to look back through our photos, we had more pics of our time in and around Iho-an and Kyoto - and it is Kyoto that the kids want to go back to and Iho-an where they felt at home. I'm with them. To Rory and Sayaka: I hope to book with you again sometime soon. To anyone else considering booking here: do it. ...Just not when I want to stay :)

  Recommended for: Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Owner response: Thanks Scott for the great review, im glad you all enjoyed Iho-an and Kyoto

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• Happy travellers

  Happy travellers

  • Guest happy australia
  • Date of stay 12/01/10
  • Review Submitted 01/05/11
  My husband and I stayed in Iho-an for the first week in Dec. We could not say a bad word about it. It was very clean,well equipped and the location is fantastic. Rory is fabulous to deal with. We will definitely stay here again on our return to Kyoto or perhaps try one of Rory's other apartments.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Owner response: Thanks very much, i hope to see you again.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• wonderful location

  wonderful location

  • Guest Cat
  • Date of stay 10/12/10
  • Review Submitted 10/26/10
  We enjoyed turning off our narrow street, walking down a covered walkway into another world where our home away from home was located. Very quiet, beautiful space with all the conveniences we needed. The kitchen was perfect, bath very special, upstairs bedroom comfortable. The location was ideal and close to some major points of interest: shopping, food, Gion, temples, museums and art galleries. Our host was very helpful.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Iho-an a refreshing step back in time

  Iho-an a refreshing step back in time

  • Guest Allen
  • Date of stay 09/22/10
  • Review Submitted 10/13/10
  My wife and I traveled throughout Japan for the entire month of September. We went as far north as Sapporo and as far south as Kyoto. Our 5 days in Kyoto were magical, thanks in no small part to the oasis of Iho-an. Experiencing a Machiya as well kept and preserved as Iho-an was priceless. The pictures do not do its history justice. The stairs up to the bedroom are pretty steep, really more like a ladder, and they impart a sense of what daily life entails, especially when you see neighbors well into their latter years. Everything worked well (my wife was especially thankful for a washer and dryer!). The kitchen was manna from heaven and the bathing room was magical. And beyond that the location was great! Less than a 10 minute walk to the subway, grocery or convenience store. And the proximity to shrines was perfect. In fact, the street that Iho-an is on is the same street that the entrance to Heian Shrine and gardens is on and less than 15 minutes away! Rory was extremely helpful and always available. And his information and guide books, including detailed information about the workings of the Machiya and directions for the surrounding area, were fantastic. I would absolutely recommend Iho-an to anyone staying in Kyoto who is looking for an experience including life as it was in Kyoto a century ago, but with modern conveniences.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• A wonderful taste of Kyoto life

  A wonderful taste of Kyoto life

  • Guest Jim
  • Date of stay 07/26/10
  • Review Submitted 08/14/10
  We rented Iho-an for four nights and found it to be a wonderful base from which to explore Kyoto. The kitchen and laundry facilities gave us the opportunity to start each day with breakfast and fresh attire. The neighborhood is charming and much more enriching than a stay in a downtown hotel. The rooms were spacious for three of us and the air conditioning was much appreciated during our late July visit. The house is within walking distance of several temples, the Philosopher's Path, the downtown area, the subway, groceries and several neighborhood restaurants.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• • Guest hugh campbell
  • Date of stay 01/20/10
  • Review Submitted 01/19/10
  I stayed here for two weeks in November 2009. I would heartily recommend it for one or two people looking for a central, peaceful, and characterful place to stay. Location is great with major Higashiyama sites a walk away, 5 minutes to Gion, and the shopping district just over the river. 5 minutes to Sanjo Keihan station Recently renovated it is spotlessly clean, with all the necessaries for a self catering holiday in terms of kitchen equipment ; a clothes washing machine; good and quiet aircon. It maintains the traditional feel, and you can get in the mood with the supplied Memoirs of a Geisha DVD! Very quiet location, in a little laneway of locals, you are expected to be reasonably quiet. Lovely shoji screens on windows and tatami matting on bedroom floor. Stairs are very step in traditional Japanese fashion, so watch the infirm. Owner Rory was friendly, helpful and easygoing. Recommended and I will be back.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• Traditional Comfort outside the touristy realm

  Traditional Comfort outside the touristy realm

  • Guest Charlie & Marisa
  • Date of stay 11/13/09
  • Review Submitted 04/16/10
  Thank you Rory and Sayaka! We had a wonderful stay. This review is a bit late, as we went in November for our honeymoon during the high koyo (autumn leaves) season. The place was nothing short of perfect and gave us a private and intimate taste of living among the locals. Located down a quaint little alley, a very short walk to the main walks of temples in Higashiyama, we were in the center of it all. The supermarket down the block gave us an opportunity to save a little money and eat at home, while the 5 minute walk to great restaurants in Pontocho by the Kamo river. The traditional Japanese bath was awesome!

  Recommended for: Tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

  Owner response: Thankyou very much Charlie and Marisa, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• • Guest Walt& Juno
  • Date of stay 09/25/09
  • Review Submitted 09/25/09
  Thank you Rory & Sayaka. We enjoyed our stay at 'Iho-an. You have done a great job of blending in the modern necessities while retaining an old world charm. It was so comfortable and quiet and a great base for our long walks in the nearby forests, visiting temples, hiking 'Daimonji' and also close for fantastic shopping just over the river. We enjoyed our evening strolls to the nearby restaurants in Gion and were excited to see Geishas. Sanjo Keihan Station, 2 minutes away was so convenient to access the sights further afield like Mt Kurama and Kibune Shrine and I can recommend the One Day travel pass as it is great for travellers like us. Iho-an Machiya was a great location for all the sights in and around Kyoto. We would love to recommend it to any one that is looking to stay in Kyoto. We are looking forward to planning our next visit. Walter & Junko

  Owner response: Thanks Walter and Junko, i look forward to seeing you next time

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1