Ryokan Hostel Gion

This is an incredible stay. Well worth the cost, easily. It's right in the heart of the historic area and still close to restaurants, the shopping area, many cafes, and 7/11. You can walk around close to home at night and see the Geisha going about their workspaces. The staff are so incredibly helpful and friendly, very warm and welcoming. The amenities are brilliant, free tampons, tissues, earbuds, brushes, soap, conditioner, shampoo, coffee, tea, etc. A fresh towel every day. It's very clean, the beds, bathrooms and kitchen, toilets - everything is spotless. It's very secure, you need a card to get it, and there are stairs or a lift at the end of the floor. Excellent internet. Very close to buses and trains - although the system in Kyoto isn't as complex as Osaka or Tokyo. It has a small kitchenette - but all things you could need to cook. There are clothes washing facilities there, but there are also larger more industrial washes directly across the road (pictures in my photos). It's very quiet and peaceful. The aircon is on strong at night (19/20 degrees), which is nice for the pods and for sleeping (it was hot summer in Japan at the time). Big fluffy quilts and clean sheets - if you stay longer than a week, they change them weekly (I was there 3 weeks). The beds/pods are larger than any I have been in, and I have stayed in Japan for 9 weeks so have seen a few. They also have bike hire - ebike, or normal bike - an excellent way to see the sites, since it's a little more spread out and has less public transport. Really wonderful place and stay. They do post a lot of guides and info on the Instagram, which is helpful to check out and contact them on if you want.

The only fault I can think of were things completely out of the venue's control, like loud international tourists (acknowledging I am also a tourist). But in Japan, even in hostels, it is common to be quiet and respectful of others' space and solitude, tourists rarely do this, and think it's more like the social European hostels - where you're there to meet and socialise. The piles of their smelly shoes at the front door.

I LOVE the convenient location and clean facility. I’m very grateful of the women only rooms. The capsule room is comfortable and the overall organization is very pleasant.

The room can be dry, perhaps because of the heater. It would be really nice if the hostel can have a humidifier or something similar to deal with the dry air. I had multiple nose bleeds because of the dryness.

The capsule was spacious and had a tatami floor. The common areas were also pretty and well equiped. I inly stayed for a night, but I could see that people had a good time interacting with each other in the common areas. I came before the check-in time and they let me leave my luggage there for free. They provided a lock so nothing would be lost. Finally, the bathroom has everything you could possible need. The provide towels, face wash, shampoo and conditioner, hair products, etc.

I wish they provided bigger lockers. The capsule had a small safe for your important belongings like passport, walled and a small bag. However, when I left for the day I had to leave my bag pack in my capsule without proper security besides trusting the other guests. You could still have access to a locker, but they charged you extra money.

Good location, comfortable bed, clean, and friendly staff.

No place to put stuff down or hang stuff up in the shower area. No free or complimentary coffee or drinks, requires money. Extra lockers with locks require money.

Capsules are surprisingly spacious and comfy, facilities overall are very clean. Lobby is nice and inviting, excelent location in Gion district, close to multiple convenience stores as well.

In some beds, there is a cold draft from AC over the whole night, be careful to not catch cold. You can get people who do not respect rules and take phone calls or have long loud conversations inside of the bedroom. Lighting inside of the capsule is kinda iffy, using phone flashlight is required in most cases.

Nice location, small common area, nice beds with curtains and space, nice bathrooms with some extra things for personal hygiene

If you're looking for backpackers-community vibe it might not be the idea place, but if you're looking for a place to rest and do your thing then it's a good choice

Comfortable beds, private bathroom, cozy common area, fridge in the room and the large fridge in the common area along with a well equipped kitchenette. Most of all, we loved the neighborhood and hostel's proximity to the shopping district. There was a laundry facility right across from the hostel and a convenience shop around the corner, less than a block away.

Coffee was pretty bad. Since our daily tours were always early in the morning, the coffee shop around the corner was still closed. The coffee at the hostel tasted pretty bad. But that's the only negative comment I have about the hostel.

Ryokan Hostel Gion is a wonderful place to stay in Kyoto. The area and location is just perfect. The beds are comfortable and the little cubicals you sleep in are nice and relatively spacious, everything ist clean and in good condition. The common area is directly in the entrance area of the hostel, so you’re always in the middle of the bustle and can involve in good conversations. If you wish more peace you can go up to the little roof top during the day and chill there. The common area also has a big coffee maker where you get really nice coffee for just about 100yen. Staff is super helpful and friendly and will remind you to take your shoes off in the entrance before entering the other areas of the hostel.

Only small downside - there is just a little kitchenette in the common area with one hot plate. But there are lots of budget friendly restaurants around and a store around the corner.

This was one of the best dormitory style hostel I have stayed. Almost perfect for solo budget travelers. Especially, the bed mattress and beddings were super comfy and they provide you a new towel every day. Shower rooms and rest room are so clean and well-organized as they provide you everything including shower stuff, combs, ear cottons, hair dryers and an hair iron, etc. Needless to say, the location is amazing in the middle of quiet Gion area. In short, excellent. I can’t think of any better hostel than this one.

The hostel is clean, some stuffs are helpful.

Be careful that the lockers require 300, and borrowing chargers require at least 100. The location of the hostel is a little far away from the public transportation. And it could be noisy as too many people are in one room.