Arigato, Japonia! 4. Cazare la Kyoto / Arigato, Japan! Accomodation in Kyoto

May be the first thing which comes to mind when you say you have been in Japan, is that that surely you have paid a lot for this trip! It is not necessary like this. I agree the biggest amount goes for the flight ticket. If you buy it more in advance it is possible to find a good deal. Mine was 715 euros, return and all taxes included.

The second sum of money goes for accommodation. I booked mine on booking.com and it has been of 4000 yen/night, aprox. 37.5 euros/night. This is not bad for Japan, and when I speak about sakura period, when Kyoto is full of tourists is even better. For this money I had a small apartment: a kitchenette with all I needed, a dorm with air conditioned (I slept on tatami, in the traditionally way), a bath room with an unusual (in Europe) square tub, and a toilet where, when flushing, the reservoire has been refilled in a style of wash-hand basin.

The owner, an 82 years old teacher, was very nice and kind, starting with lending me his personal laptop or offering information, to searching for a taxi at 5.30 in the morning.

On the first morning, I went outside to familiarize myself with the neighbourhood and was glad to see a lot of traditional wooden houses, mingled with small blocks, having in front a lot of flowers. A number of buses have station at few hundred meters from the house, among them no. 206, which reaches almost all the important objectives in the Eastern part of the town.

Poate primul lucru la care se gandeste cineva cand aude ca ai fost in Japonia, este acela ca, sigur, te-a costat multi bani! Nu trebuie insa sa fie neaparat asa.

E adevarat ca cheltuiala cea mare este reprezentata de biletul de avion dar, daca il cumperi din timp, poti gasi un pret mai bun (al meu a costat 715 euro, dus-intors, cu toate taxele incluse; retineti ca zborurile pe aeroportul Kansai din Osaka sunt mai scumpe decat cele spre Tokyo).

A doua cheltuiala ca marime, ar fi cazarea. In Kyoto exista numeroase posibilitati de cazare: hoteluri cu numar diferit de stele si pret corespunzator, un pat intr-un dormitor al unui hostel cu alti 15-20 in camera, un ryokan (han traditional japonez) care poate fi mai scump sau mai ieftin sau, ceea ce am ales eu, un guesthouse sau o pensiune. Am facut rezervarea pe booking.com tinand cont de cost dar si de amplasare.

Guesthouse Chida Heights se afla in partea de est a orasului, in Higashiyama, cartierul Okazaki. Aflat pe o straduta mica, care uneste doua artere mai mari, are la 2 minute de mers un konbini, magazin cu de toate, deschis intre 10-21, care imi poate asigura micul dejun, cina si o eventuala gustare peste zi.

 konbini Leon

Ceea ce aveam, de fapt, era un mic apartament compus din bucatarie dotata cu plita electrica, frigider si alte aparate, o camera cu aer conditionat (unde am dormit pe tatami, conform traditiei japoneze), o baie cu o vana interesanta: patrata si mult mai inalta decat ale noastre si o toaleta de un model ciudat, unde cand tragi apa, rezervorul se reumple ca de la o chiuveta. Tot acest spatiu m-a costat 28000 yeni pentru 7 nopti, adica cca. 37.5 euro/noapte, ceea ce pentru Japonia nu e rau. Si daca mai spun ca eram in perioada sakurei, cand Kyoto este plin de turisti, e chiar bine!

 acolo, sus pe scari, se afla micul apartament

Proprietarul pensiunii, fost profesor, acum in varsta de 82 de ani, a fost deosebit de amabil, incepand cu informatiile oferite sau laptopul personal pus la dispozitie, pana la cautarea unui taxi dimineata, la 5.30. Bun vorbitor de limba engleza, stia cate ceva despre Romania, neconfundand-o cu alta tara cum mi s-a mai intamplat prin alte parti.

In prima dimineata, cand am iesit putin sa ma familiarizez cu imprejurimile, am fost incantata sa constat ca ma aflu intr-o zona cu blocuri mici, intre care erau intercalate case traditionale, din lemn, multe dintre ele restaurante, cofetarii sau magazine. O multime de flori in fata lor m-au atras imediat si mi-au amintit de faptul ca japonezii sunt creatorii unora dintre cele mai frumoase gradini ale lumii.

 un templu al unei secte budhiste, la coltul strazii
o usa care mi-a atras atentia
La cateva sute de metri de casa, mai multe linii de autobuz ma legau de restul orasului (intre acestea, autobuzul 206 care trece pe la mai toate obiectivele turistice din estul orasului).

Comments

Arigato, Japonia! 4. Cazare la Kyoto / Arigato, Japan! Accomodation in Kyoto — 8 Comments

  1. Your Guest House(Chida-Heights) is really nice! I’ve never been there.I saw it for the first time.
    “an unusual square tub”…hahaha!
    It is quite natural for us Japanese.Is it so rare in Europe?
    And Your flight ticket is 715 euros? That is a really good buy.Buying it more in advance is good way.

  2. Thanks, Kumiko! In Europe the bath tub are rectangular, rounded at corners. Yes, the flight ticket was a good buy, as I already told you. It pays to buy it more in advance.

  3. You did get a good deal on the accommodations, travelling hawk. Our flights were on an unbelievable special, only $50 from Manila to Osaka return, so when I saw that deal, I just booked us. I did end up finding affordable places to sleep in both Osaka and Kyoto, but it was a hunt, for sure!

  4. Da, cazarea a fost OK, iar cea de la Osaka chiar foarte buna. Ma bucur ca vii pe aici, Ami! Mie mi-e dor deja de Japonia. Acum se decanteaza amintirile si mereu apare ceva nou la care sa ma gandesc:)

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