Going Local: Holiday Apartment Living

What we did quite differently this trip to Japan was to try some apartment living (interspersed by a night in a ryokan).  This was prompted partly by the high hotel rates (thanks to the autumn leaves) and partly because they are so much more spacious than the tiny hotel rooms you get in Japan!

Home away from home

In Kyoto, we stayed in a small house in the Gion neighbourhood (the quieter, southern part of Gion) with a sitting/dining/kitchenette area downstairs and two bedrooms (one western style i.e. With beds and one Japanese style ie with futons!) upstairs.  It is not a traditional machiya but it is a snug cosy place (thanks to the gas heater) and we liked it very much.  It is not that easy to find, being at the end of a small alleyway tucked in between two buildings on the main road.  But thanks to the excellent directions given, we were able to find it.    Our "travel angel" let us into the house - we were so early getting there that the house was still being cleaned from the last tenant (cleaner is an elderly Japanese man), so he first proceeded to give us a little tour of the area, and showed us where the local supermarket was, and gave us little tips about the eateries around us.

We took one of his suggestions later that evening, and went to eat at the local Okonomiyaki restaurant around the corner.  The shop was a one-woman-operation.  She was a bit abrupt but then we didn't speak the language.  Tried to order the grilled tofu the guy next to us was having but she pulled out her English menu and got us to order from it.  Looks as though she has her own way of dealing with the foreign tourists who turn up, as opposed to her "regulars".  Halfway through our meal a Malaysian couple arrived.  We were able to guide them through the ordering process.  And also to explain what "Okonomiyaki" was. (They were hoping for teppanyaki, I can tell).

A tea house or ochaya near our house

Another night, we wanted to have dinner at a restaurant near our place.  We wandered around the area but must have made a wrong turn, as the street we ended up in was a row of tea houses or ochaya - the sort where the geisha entertain in!  We heard music and clapping coming from one teahouse, and some samisen music from another.  Admission, clearly, was by invitation only.  We finally found the row of restaurants, but one was closing (at 8pm!) and the other was selling hamburger..... so we picked up dinner at the supermarket and went back to our little home away from home and ate it off our breakfast bar.  How pleasant it was to be able to kick off one's shoes and rest on our comfy low sofa and table, before eating sashimi and potato croquets.  We finished our meal with the persimmons and sweet pancakes we bought from the stalls at the subway station.

In Osaka, we had an apartment also but quite clearly we were only supposed to sleep there and not

My bed, and bed companion

Much more.  The entrance lobby opens up on one side into the laundry area and shower, and on the other side into the room for the WC.  Another door leads you to the main apartment, which is divided by Japanese-style screen walls into a main kitchen-cum-sleeping area, another sleeping area and a third Japanese style room with futons stacked up on the side.  So this little apartment, with one shower and one WC, can sleep SEVEN people in total!  Dormitory style accommodation indeed.  (Our Kyoto apartment at most can host four).   There was no eating area per se, you are not really meant to sit and eat in the apartment unless in the Japanese room where there was a low coffee table.  It was not as clean as our Kyoto residence and the kitchen was not as well equipped.  But it was nice and roomy, and I really liked the company of the Snoopy stuffed toy.  

There are, I realised, a few things to look out for when renting apartments in Japan.  First, the standard rule where it comes to properties - location, location, location.  Where exactly do you want to stay?  Near lots of eateries, shopping, or in a quiet neighbourhood where you can feel like a local?  Do you intend to make lots of day trips, in which case being next to the station could be very useful and important to get that early start to the day?  

Second, check on how the house is furnished and equipped.  Does it have wifi, for example, or a washing machine?  Another tip, relevant perhaps especially for Japan - to check on the type of beds.  In particular, if the apartment has western style beds or Japanese futons.  Futons are all very well for a single night but for multiple nights, give me a proper bed!  

Third, whether you want to be met or not.  Both our apartments were accessed off a small little alleyway (not a side road, an alleyway) and you can't take for granted that the directions given are correct.  So it is very reassuring to have a person to call in case of need.  It was also good for someone to tell us how to use the equipment, advise on when and where to dispose of rubbish and so on.  For example our Kyoto travel angel told us which rubbish bag was for our glass/plastic/ aluminium containers and which was for the other items.  And if there is, say, defective equipment, it can be rectified quickly or at least it is quite clear that you didn't break it.

One last point.  We went through a company, Japan Experience (google "Japan Experience Kyoto holiday apartment" and you should be able to find it) for our Kyoto apartment and for Osaka, got the booking off Agoda, where it was rented by an individual.  May be better to deal with a company, just for the more consistent service and better backup it provides.

Anyway, the more I travel around the Japan, the more I realise how convenient everything is and how easy it is to get around even for a foreigner who doesn't speak the language.  And that from a complaint-prone Singaporean, is saying something indeed!

More photos on this trip (in general) can be found on my Flickr album.