Early Autumn Japan Nov 2016 - Kyoto Accommodation - Airbnb near Fushimi Inari Shrine

The actual location would be somewhere near Fukakusa Ichinotsubocho. It is about 6 minutes walk from the Fushimi Inari Station. Main reason of choosing Airbnb was really because the hotel rooms were all so costly during autumn period. We stayed 5 nights in Kyoto and this Airbnb location was really ideal as it is relatively close to the station, plenty of food option nearby plus it was just 10 to 12 mins walk to the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

It wasn't easy to find this place as it was nestled within the residential area. Luckily, the homeowners made a Youtube video that made it possible to look out for the landmarks (practically need to look out for lamp posts!) Had to loop the video a couple of times to memorise though but it works ;)

Autumn weather means it gets cold when the sunsets around 5pm and by 8pm, the temperature dipped to less than 15 degrees celcius.

Fushimi Inari Station

The homeowner left enough instructions via messaging service so we knew how to retrieve the house key without having to meet up. So cool. The house was nice and one would walk into the living/dining room area along with a small kitchenette. There's a sliding door that separated the dining area and the washing area. There was a washing machine cum dryer in there that we appreciated and used well throughout our stay. This was because as we discovered that the washing area would be icily cold at night and it was impossible for the towels and clothes to dry. So the dryer was really handy!

It was quite cool to see a real kotatsu in the dining area. Unfortunately, it wasn't working so we couldn't warm our legs via that. There was a separate heater though so that was always turned on when we're downstairs in the evenings/mornings.

living/dining area

kitchenette

living/dining area - open the sliding door to the bathing area

bathing area

washing machine cum dryer

The toilet was tiny even for Asians. There was just enough room to manouvre in to sit/stand and do your business. The knee would just be probably one inch away from touching the door.

Upstairs was where the sleeping area was. Though listed as one bedroom, there really isn't any door that separates the sleeping area.

careful on the stairs

decorations upstairs

bedroom (his sleeping quarter)

Since I was travelling with a guy friend, I chose to sleep on the sofa bed instead.

across the bedroom - sofa bed area (my sleeping quarter)

my small cosy hideout with TV (but it didn't have any reception on bad weather days)

my sofabed

The food choices around this area included Kendonya and Ramen Hiwamatanoburo both of which I'd recommend. There's also a Chinese restaurant besides these but we didn't try that. There's a Lawson convenience store in case you'd like to get some oden or instant noodles. My breakfast is usually cakes from Lawson since we'd be up early to go sightseeing and the ramen shops don't usually open till 10am.

matcha baumkuchen from Lawson - breakfast

Here are some scenaries near Fushimi Inari Shrine:

walking towards the shrine, passing by a canal

the path towards the shrine - full of tourist

shops along the way

nearing the Shrine

伏見稲荷大社

The Fushimi Inari is the patron for businesses and is traditionally worshipped by businessmen and merchants.

Since we were staying nearby, we also dropped by Fushimi Inari Shrine during the night.

Fushimi Inari - at night

This was my first experience with Airbnb. Booking was a breeze and selection of the right accommodation was made within one or two nights of virtual discussion with my friend. The photos helped and we did read through the reviews before deciding on one that we thought was suitable for our travel plans. Our main criteria was a safe area, near train station, comfortable place (entire accommodation) and price.

The Kyoto Airbnb that we booked was owned by Shinichi and Yuka. Here's the link to their listing in Airbnb. The response that came upon a successful booking was within the same day. All necessary information pertaining on house rules, how to get there, map etc was shared within the same day.