A little hard to find at first but when you finally spot it, you heave a sigh of relief and ask yourself, "why didn't I see it initially?". The entrance is pretty enough to stand out from rows and rows of less conspicuous shops. It's located at the back of kyoto's best shopping paradise - shijo street. They gave us... More

My first stay was in November 2010 and I had a single room. This time I traveled with a friend and was able to experience Kawashima's 2-occupant rooms. It was easily the most spacious room we had on our travels through Japan, having relied on business hotels elsewhere. Its sleeping area was larger than a single-occupant room and it had... More

The inn was a bit difficult to find at first (I walked), as I wasn't really expecting such a lovely, peaceful place to be tucked inside such a busy street. The room was beautifully decorated, and sleeping on the mats made me feel as if I were stepping back in time. The Japanese breakfast was quite different from what I... More

Excellent Ryokan. It is very Japanese, though the owner speaks English fluently. It is well located in central Kyoto near the best shopping areas and reasonably close to the subway. I could not have asked for a better experience. I was glad I had brought my earplugs, as my room was on the street, but I slept well. Highly recommended.

In Kyoto for two nights, tried the Ryokans near the train station first but they were all fully booked, so went for Inn Kawashima. We finalized the booking by email, which went quite smoothly. Location is almost perfect, tucked away in a small street very close to the center. There is a lovely (tiny) Japanese garden, our room was huge,... More

Staying at Inn Kawashima is like being a guest in a Japanese house. I remember the owner welcoming us when we arrived, in typical Japanese silent hospitality. When me and my friends checked out, all the members of the family were also by the doorway bidding us goodbye. We stayed in the upstairs room which has a sitting room and... More

We discovered during our trip to Japan that there are Ryokans and Ryokans... some are not true Ryokans but are more like a hybrid between a hotel and a traditional style place, which lose much of the true feeling of a Ryokan. Given that Kyoto is the heart of Japanese culture, we wanted to stay in a traditional style Ryokan,... More

I stayed again last November in this lovely ryokan for 2 nights and nothing has changed since my last visit : The entire place is still spotless, the staff is charming, futon was soo comfortable, Japanese breakfast served in my room was great, location five minutes walk from Karasuma dori is unbeatable ;) All in all, thumbs up for Inn... More

I traveled to Kyoto alone, and I stayed for 3 nights during the last week of November, peak foliage-viewing time. I chose Kawashima because of its price, location in downtown Kyoto, and the proximity to some of the sightseeing spots I wanted to see (Gion, Yasaka Jinja). The innkeepers were so pleasant and made me feel right at home from... More