For affordable luxury, Candeo Hotel Kyoto Karasuma Rokkaku is your best bet. The hotel is built around the 125-year-old former Ban family residence, an authentic machiya that's a designated cultural property. The entire machiya has been beautifully restored and refurbished, including the house’s original features such as tatami mat rooms and stone courtyard. The family's former kimono shop, which was attached to the residence, is now the hotel lobby and lounge. While the hotel rooms are not part of the original structure, they’ve been designed to fit in seamlessly with the machiya.
Rooms from ¥8,400 per person per night.
Kyoto’s well-preserved historical architecture is what makes it such a rewarding city to visit. Take a stroll in any neighbourhood and you’re bound to pass by many Kyo-machiya or traditional townhouses. Prevalent during the Meiji era (1868-1912), these traditional homes encapsulate Kyoto’s unique atmosphere and charm. They are also easy to identify as machiya have specific details such as earthen walls, tiled roofs, wooden lattice work and sliding doors.
Today, many Kyo-machiya have been restored and renovated into businesses such as restaurants, stores, guest houses and boutique hotels. Staying overnight at a machiya is a quintessential Kyoto experience. Unlike a regular hotel, machiya are smaller, making it a more intimate experience. So bookmark this list of machiya-turned-hotels for your next Kyoto trip.
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