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Hinokiya in Mibu: a Kyoto machiya for nine
Hinokiya is a 1940s Kyoto machiya in Mibu, renovated in 2025, that sleeps 9 with a bathroom on each floor. How the house is laid out, and how long the trains and buses take from Mibu.
By Icy, Founder & CEO of The081
Licensed Real Estate Broker (License No. 15131) | Registered Accommodation Manager (MLIT No. F03122) | Operating in Kyoto since 2019
In short
Hinokiya is a two-storey Kyoto machiya in Mibu, Nakagyō-ku, built in the 1940s and fully renovated in 2025; it sleeps 9.
It has 4 bedrooms: three upstairs, each with its own door, and a tatami room downstairs facing a 40㎡ private Japanese garden.
There is a bath and a toilet on each floor, and a private hot tub that can be used all year.
Hankyu Saiin Station is about 6 minutes' walk; from there Kyoto-Kawaramachi is about 6 minutes and Osaka-Umeda about 40 minutes, with no change.
A taxi from Kyoto Station takes about 15 minutes and costs about ¥2,000.
Hinokiya has a bathroom on each of its two floors, so nine people can get ready in the morning in two places at once.
What follows is how the house works for a group, then how long it takes to get around Kyoto, and to Osaka, from Mibu.
Layout: how nine people fit
The living room, dining area and kitchen run together on the ground floor. Beside them is a tatami room looking onto a 40㎡ private Japanese garden; with two futons laid out, it becomes the fourth bedroom. The ground-floor tub is wide enough for two.
Upstairs, each of the three bedrooms has its own door, so nobody walks through someone else's room. One is a tatami room for up to three futons, one has a double bed, and one has a double-size futon. The same floor has a separate shower room, toilet and washbasin.
The staircase was rebuilt with a gentler slope than most old machiya. Floor heating runs through the house, each main room has its own heating and air conditioning, the windows are double-glazed and the bedrooms have blackout curtains. There is also a private hot tub, available all year.
Kitchen and daily life
The kitchen has a dishwasher, an induction hob, a refrigerator, a microwave, a rice cooker, a kettle and a Nespresso machine, and there is a washer with a dryer. A cot and a high chair can be borrowed on request.
A LIFE supermarket and a drugstore are about a minute away on foot, next to a small playground with swings and a slide.
Getting around from Mibu
Hankyu Saiin Station is about 6 minutes on foot. Hankyu reaches Kyoto-Kawaramachi in about 6 minutes for ¥170, and Osaka-Umeda in about 40 minutes without a change for ¥410 (times and fares as checked in September 2026).
Randen Saiin Station is also about 6 minutes away, and the tram reaches Arashiyama in about 21 minutes for ¥250. For a trip that also takes in Higashiyama or Kitano, the same week brought Shinonome in Rokuhara and Sanko Townhouse in Kitano.
From Kyoto Station, a taxi takes about 15 minutes and costs about ¥2,000. City Buses 26, 28 and 71 run to Shijō Onmae-dōri in 26 to 30 minutes for ¥230, and the house is about 5 minutes' walk from the stop. Bed types and photographs are on the Hinokiya listing.
Questions
Is there a whole machiya in Kyoto that sleeps 9? Hinokiya in Mibu, Nakagyō-ku, sleeps 9 in 4 bedrooms, with a bath and a toilet on each floor.
Which station is closest to Hinokiya? Hankyu Saiin and Randen Saiin, each about 6 minutes on foot.
Is it easy to reach Osaka from Hinokiya? Hankyu runs from Saiin to Osaka-Umeda in about 40 minutes without a change.
Does it suit grandparents and small children? The staircase has a gentler slope; the ground-floor tatami room sleeps two on the same floor as a bathroom, so nobody has to climb; a cot and a high chair can be borrowed.
Hinokiya is taking bookings on Airbnb.