Smart Place Inn Kyoto Shijo Omiya Station

Smart Place Inn is in a really handy spot, about 150m from Ōmiya Station and 200m from Shijō-Ōmiya Station, both along Shijo-dori. Luggage can be left at reception if you arrive before check-in, which only begins at 3pm. Checkout is at 11am, later than at most hotels in Japan. For Feb-Mar 2026, accommodation tax was ¥200 per person per day. Our non-smoking double room was very small, but comfortable and quiet, with no cigarette smell. It still had room for a decent-sized TV and a small fridge. There’s also a microwave and coin-operated washers and dryers in a room near reception.

Oomiya worked really well for me. I’d lived in Kyoto before and wanted somewhere slightly new but still familiar. There are lots of shops and food spots nearby, plus the long road down to Karawamachi. It’s a convenient part of town, a few bus stops from Nijo, with a train that goes directly to Arashiyama. Some reviews say there aren’t major sights or stations close by, but I disagree. The train station is only a minute or two away, under the big bus stop, and public transport can get you pretty much anywhere if you know how to navigate it. Being close to transport made it easy to get back and rest after a day out. Staff were friendly and let us leave our luggage hours before check-in. We used the first-floor coin laundry and microwave, and could pick up tea, coffee, body soaps, cotton swabs, combs, and other amenities by the front desk. There was also a kettle in the room. The place seemed new, and the location made the price feel worthwhile, with supermarkets like Fresco or LIFE, convenience stores, late-night karaokes, and even 24-hour restaurants within walking distance. The rooms are quite small, which seems standard in crowded Japanese cities these days. Our oversized luggage was difficult to open, though medium or smaller suitcases should be fine. The main reason this wasn’t a five-star stay was that our room wasn’t cleaned during our six-night visit. We understood the policy had been explained beforehand, but would’ve preferred cleaning every three nights. There were mysterious brown stains on the wall by the bed, and some areas hadn’t been cleaned well. The blankets were a bit thin for my taste, though understandable for the price. Quiet hours are 22:00 to 06:00, but you can hear people in the hallway from your room, and not everyone necessarily follows them. For the price, it was a steal, and I’d consider staying again.

The carpet was stained, the bedding grimy, and there was dust everywhere, along with a musty smell, bad toilet odor, and mold on the bath curtain. I developed conjunctivitis in both eyes while staying here, which has never happened to me anywhere else. By far the worst hotel I’ve ever booked.

The drain wasn’t working properly when I showered on the first night of our two-night stay. I checked it and found a huge amount of hair, as if it hadn’t been cleaned at all. I told the staff the next morning and they said they’d take care of it. When we got back that evening, the shower drain had been cleared, but the same hair was under the toilet seat. I don’t know if they forgot to flush or just didn’t clean carefully, but after our complaint that felt careless. We raised it again and staff came to remove the hair. We were left very uncomfortable, and the fact that the toilet still hadn’t been cleaned makes me question the hotel’s hygiene standards and room-cleaning practices. Maybe we were unlucky, but I wouldn’t recommend staying here. The staff need better training.