A beautiful Kyoto house, thoughtfully and tastefully furnished yet comfortable for modern life with great view of the Yasaka pagoda. Every possible thing needed had been provided. We loved the bathroom. The little library was fantastic, and I loved to sit upstairs in the morning and watch the sun come up over eastern hills with a coffee and a book. Beds were good, it's quiet & dark, slept well. Great to have a washer-drier. Underfloor heating was good. the Arabica coffee shop at the end of the street was nice and there's zero line at 8am. The area is vibrant with lots to see, places to eat and shop. Very comfortable for 2 people, if you were 6 you better be real good friends.
However, the street leading up to Kiyomizudera was packed especially at weekends, even from early morning. (the evenings were fine.) I know it's been this way for 100s of years, it's nothing new, but still. It's quite a walk to the nearest rail station (10-15mins) and then not so convenient to get to Kyoto station- if you have a rail pass and plan side trips out of Kyoto, it's not convenient (Keihan line has a lot of good sights). Also it is 15min walk to the arcades/main shopping streets. There are buses of course but they are absolutely full so we ended up walking most of the time.
In short, beautiful house. if you only want to explore Higashiyama, it's in perfect location; if you want to explore around Kyoto or surrounding area, not so convenient.
