Akane Toji

There’s a lot packed into the small, modern rooms, though a microwave would’ve been useful. The place is about a 10-minute walk from Kyoto station, with two bus routes nearby, and Toji Temple is close too. I was surprised that the rooms were cleaned daily at this price.

The QR code system worked fine, and the hotel was nice overall, though there was some dust and a broken handle in our room. Downstairs, the “bar” had a soda stream but no bottles that I could find. I emailed and tried contacting them through booking to ask whether we could take or buy the pajamas and water bottles in the room, but nobody replied. Check-in was delayed by an hour and a half, yet checkout was still at 10. I would’ve liked a later checkout.

The neighborhood is quiet and residential, with few services close by, though Kyoto Station is only a 15-minute walk. We stayed five nights in a double room, and the lights in the hallway stayed on all night, so quite a bit of light came into the room. There’s very little storage, and no laundry, luggage storage, early check-in, or “Do Not Disturb” sign. The place runs itself, with no staff on site. If you’re comfortable with the technology and nothing goes wrong, it feels modern, clean, convenient, and gives you a lot of independence. We suggested that management send an email before arrival explaining how things work.

The room itself is nice, but the QR entry system has failed twice while I’m staying here. The first time, some guy let me into my room using his own QR code. Now someone has to drive over to let me in. I can’t believe they chose this system when other hotels use self-service kiosks that issue room keys. If it fails half the time, it just doesn’t work.