Ishibekoji Ryugin

We stayed at Ishibekoji Ryugin for a week in July. Satomi-san could not have been more gracious. The property belongs to her family and they renovated it into a place to serve guests. There are two apartments that we saw, with a common area for access. I say 'apartments' because these are not small hotel rooms. The apartment we stayed in had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchenette. The bathroom was spacious and the shower was fantastic. The ceiling of the main area has thick wooden beams for the roof that make it not just another drywall ceiling. In the common area Satomi-san keeps some items available for guests to use if they forgot something - e.g., small packets of mouthwash, loofahs, tea, instant coffee, etc. She was in with someone every day to clean and make the beds. If I had to pick one thing, lest you think I'm a bot writing a review, it's something we also noticed about the other properties we stayed at: Japanese home construction does not seem geared toward soundproofing. So if you rent the two bedroom apartment you will hear whatever games or videos are being played, even at low volume, unless someone is using headphones. So just tell people to use headphones. There's plenty around for food, from restaurants to convenience stores. With the small kitchenette we were perfectly happy taking care of breakfast ourselves before heading out, as well as ordering in on a few nights. It's a pretty short walk to the shopping area by the shrine. Getting to Kyoto Station was more convenient with an Uber, and those never took more than 4-5 minutes to arrive. Of the three places we stayed at during our trip to Japan, Ishibekoji Ryugin was by far our favorite. And, honestly, between Tokyo and Kyoto and Osaka, we preferred Kyoto. So if you're thinking of traveling to Kyoto you should definitely consider a stay at Ishibekoji Ryugin.

For me, Ryugin define comfortable house for me. Price is high but not "expensive" cause the living experience is just great. Despite a little voice due to the traditional structure, the bathroom, the living room, the small garden, the bedroom,the service, the nearby environment are great.

Excellent experience here with 3 traveling friends. Spacious, beautiful and very accommodating. The onsen at their sister property was extremely relaxing. Highly recommend this place. The kaiseiki dinner was delicious.