It felt like a SCAM. I advise you not to stay there.
The welcoming was very enthusiastic. We arrived late at night after a long train ride from Tokyo and also still tired because of the jetlag. It was our first stay when arriving in Japan for 2,5 weeks.
I am very sorry to say that the next morning I realised that the place was actually not a nice one. And time passing, it actually felt like a SCAM. Now that I go back through the trip advisor reviews, I see that the good reviews are from 2014…
- I was expecting a high standard taken into account the price: 129 000 JPY for 3 nights. I do not mind paying so much as far as the location and the price are worth it. Here the high price is due to (1) overpriced anyway and (2) calculated not per room but per person and we were 3
- The house lacks maintenance. Very old. The painting really needs to be refreshed – so old that it actually looks dirty. And this for everything: walls, bathroom, wardrobes etc.
- No Japanese inner garden where to relax
- The onsen (bath) is only open from 4 pm till 7 pm. Strange as I discover later that actually guest used to go the the Bath in the morning and shower there instead of in their private bathroom
- Mostly we came at 10 pm back from evening dinner. The owner never gave a remark as such but always told us he was glad we are back so he can go to sleep as he wakes up early in the morning. And asking if the next day we would take half – pension at the Ryokan.

From all the information gathered, Kyoto seemed to be the city where you should stay in a Ryokan. We were really looking forward staying at the Sanga Ryokan, run by a Japanese family and very well located in Kyoto.
It was our first night when arriving in Japan for 2,5 weeks. We told the owner it when checking out that it was quite expensive for what we got. He laughed and told us this is normal, this is Japan. While travelling around I can definitely tell you that the Ryokan Sanga does not meet the price / quality level of Japan. It’s just so much overprized, a real tourist trap. And tourist traps are totally NOT common in Japan, on the contrary.
Not only disappointed, I really feel like I have been cheated. And during the rest of the trip I was checking everything suspiciously.

We were really looking forward to having our first Ryokan experience, being well aware that it would not mean luxurious accommodation, rather simple and rustic but we were not expecting the feeling of being in a ymca hostal....for 44000yen per night (360euros)!
Indeed when we arrived (very warmly welcomed by 2 gentlemen) we were directed on the third floor into a tiny room/cell, with a small ensuite, 2 uncomfortable floor chair and sad matching table. Feeling really enclosed we opened the closed curtain and the view was dramatic, not to say the noise. We knew that we would not be able to sleep in this room and we were not feeling at all comfortable...and far away was the expected japanese zen and authentic hopes we had. We decided to speak with the owner who straight, kindly offered to move us to another room on the ground floor, surrounded by the building garden. What a surprise!!! We realised all the attractive photos we had seen had been taken in this room, the ONLY room with view on the garden and with a tiny but cosy ensuite veranda. So make sure you book this one. Being the unique clients (we did not cross anyone else except the live in owner and their very aged parents), We wish we had been given this room from the beginning. Despite the room being a bit aged, dated in every aspects, and this time with no bathroom, no toilet, at least we could feel the charm of this place.
Regarding diner, we only had the first night diner and decided to have diner outside the second night (much better food indeed in town and tonnes of nice places in Kyoto). The owner made a discount of 2000yen (16euro) on the bill for not having diner, a ridiculous discount but it was our own decision to cancel it on the day so we appreciate the favour. Last thing, very positive is how clean was the place and particularly the shared bathroom. We also slept brilliantly having no noise at all intgia part of the building. I feel sad to judge this hotel as average because this family was very kind but honestly they could make the rooms so much nicer! I also come to this conclusion being tonight in a much nicer Ryokan with an amazing service and room.

We went to Japan for a couples vacation. We stayed in Air B and B for most of the trip and had amazing experiences, but we had heard that splurging and staying in a ryokan was a great thing to do. We were disappointed that our Ryokan experience didn't seem to meet what others had expressed about other ryokan experiences. I would recommend going else where until Sanga does a major renovation.

The pros:
1) great public bath onsen--seems to be the only thing renovated in the place and is lovely--however only open 4pm-11pm *No showering in the am*

2) Nice view of small zen garden

3) willing to watch our bags before check in

The cons:

1) The room was so run down!! After spending so much time in pristine Japan, I couldn't believe the state of the room. Spills and gross stains all over the walls (all over) finger prints smudged on all the glass spoiling the view, dirty tables, severely chipped furniture and molding. If a ryokan is about being pampered and relaxing-it's not possible with how run down this room was. I was SO disappointed. Tatami May was more hard than other I experienced in Japan.

2) food- the breakfast was good I felt. The dinner was very average for what we paid compared to other places in the area Additional charge to get sake--which is absurd for a $400 night room.

3) overpriced--$400 a night for minimal service and ugly space with no charm and limited access to onsen. We could have paid an extra $150 and gone to a better place.

Im sorry to say that I wouldn't stay here again unless they did a major major room renovation, added 2 hours to morning shower availability, and spruced up the dinner.