鯉屋

Koiya is a 122-square-metre Kyo-machiya, a hundred-year-old townhouse taken back to a clean, uncluttered state rather than over-restored. Its courtyard is a traditional tsubo-niwa with a koi pond — the carp give the house its name — and the planting keeps the interior cool and quiet through the day. The layout is built for a group travelling together: three private bedrooms, two full bathrooms, one of them with a hinoki (cypress) tub, and an open kitchen you can actually cook in. It sits in Higashiyama, about seven minutes on foot from Kiyomizu-Gojo on the Keihan line, one stop from the Shijo-Kawaramachi shopping district and five minutes from the Kamo River. Kiyomizu-dera, the Kyoto National Museum, Toyokuni Shrine and Sanjusangendo are all within walking distance, so most of a day's sightseeing can be done on foot.