Hostel TOMATO Guest House

I guess it wasn't that bad. The period 1950s decor (complete with genuinely dirty walls, tatami mats, and kitchen) combined with the wide open window in the shower room that conveniently opened out onto the street (perfect if you are that budding hentai intent on showing the neighbors your "goods" so to speak) as well as being set in a period abandoned apartment block (giving that blade runner feel) definitely add to its "charm." However if you are a person with any kind of reasonable standards who wishes to get the most out of their 2,500 odd yen a night then I would probabbly advise you to go elsewhere. However if you really are enthusiastic about emulating 1950s Mombasa in Kenya then please, by all means, be my guest.

The location of this hostel cannot be beat. It is blocks away from Kizomizu temple, Pontocho street, the river, and Gion. The staff is very friendly. I liked the free internet and the bicycle rentals (500 yen/day!). Kyoto is great for biking, so this made a big difference for me. I stayed in one of the four person female dormitories, which was fine -- there is air conditioning, but the bathroom is not clean and there were some bugs (spiders and a cockroach). The shower is across the street but otherwise okay. The place is a very good deal for the cheap price, I think, as long as you are not too picky about how clean the bathroom is.