GRAND JAPANING HOTEL MELDIA Nijojo

The staff were very friendly and helpful, and free laundry for guests was a nice bonus. We knew rooms in Japan are often small, so the size didn’t surprise us. Still, it’s impressive that they fit three single beds in here. That does leave almost no room to walk, though. We could barely open our suitcases on the floor, so we had to open one at a time or use the bed.

There’s no reception, but the place was clean, spacious, with free laundry, and the location was okay. The check-in process worked for me, though it’s a little complicated and has too many passcodes. You need internet access to check in. Check-out is early, at 10 am, and there’s no luggage storage, so keep that in mind when booking. If this review helped, please give it a like.

It’s pretty cheap, and you get a phone with unlimited internet, which was helpful for getting around the city. The location is also decent, near both the Shogun and Emperor castles, though quite far from the more Western parts of town if you’re into those. The setup felt odd from the start. There’s no staffed reception, so you call a main office and they guide you through getting in. The doors use codes rather than key cards, and there’s nowhere to leave your luggage after checkout.

Nijojo station is only about a five-minute walk away, and it takes around ten minutes by train to reach Kyoto station. Nishiki market is about a 30-minute walk. We paid $101cad, roughly $75ish usd, per night in October and would highly recommend the place. The receptionists were lovely and tried to help. Our room had two decent NA-size single beds, with charging outlets beside each one. It also came with a mini fridge, kettle, desk, and a small table with two chairs. The shared washers and dryers are on the main floor, and they provide liquid detergent. You can borrow umbrellas from the front, too. It’s not a hotel, so there’s no daily cleaning. You can hear people talking in the hall, though once they go into their rooms, it gets quiet.