Biwa Holiday Homes

GUESTHOUSE CHAYAMA
"Chayama; it sounds like a charm to me..."

As a mother of three children I am particular choosing a place to stay. It has to be cozy, it has to be like home. Chayama house turned out to be a magical place. Of course, it’s the beautiful teapot and tea cups that stole my heart. But for my family there was more. It was the atmosphere of the house and the neighborhood. While my kids enjoyed playing at a nearby park my husband prepared a lovely dinner for friends as he often does even though we had just arrived on that day.

I rode a bike to Kamogawa as I used to and I felt young again.

It was nice to sleep on the futons upstairs and we all could relax. The house itself is like a little gift box wrapped in lots of paper. All the interior details from the mattress wrappers to the bell above the sink make Chayama a beautiful and wondrous place to be.

We could feel Kyoto: the rain singing its song, neighbors hanging laundry, the smell of fried meat from the restaurant nearby.

All such things are indescribable and we are grateful for having this experience. Charming.

Zhanna, Igor & Family ~ Russia (Long-Term Japanese Residents - July 2020)

GUESTHOUSE CHAYAMA
"A great house, great neighborhood, very convenient amenities and access to transportation..."

"The Guesthouse feels new, clean, and smells of cut wood. The craftsmanship in the house is exceptional. Blond hard wood floors, shoji screens mark off a cozy family space with comfortable couch, TV and coffee table. The kitchen is well equipped with tabletop stove, large sink and counter, refrigerator, espresso machine, and drawers and cabinets filled with cooking and dining ware, spices and other stables. The two bedrooms are finished with tatami mat floors and shoji screens and slept on futon beds. Laundry washing facilities and outdoor drying lines are also provided. Bicycles are available which encouraged us to explore and travel the neighborhood surrounds, like the Ginkakuji and Honen Temples and part of the Philosophers Path.

We loved this comfortable, safe neighborhood of friendly reserved folks. They helped us locate the train station and post office, and taught us how to operate the automated train ticket machine. Just around the block from the Guest House is a 7/11 where we mostly go for food. The train station is in the next block and it took us about 15 minutes to get to the Sanjo station in downtown Kyoto.

Our hosts were incredible, almost like long lost friends. Fiona, picked us up at the JR station on arrival, Jim dropped off some fantastic Mochi during the week and the whole family saw us off as we were leaving, Jim and daughter Miya to clean and prep the house for their next guest, and Fiona who graciously drove us to the JR Station. They were respectful and accommodating of our travel objectives, our schedule and our in-between needs. They provided city map with some suggestions, a ton of local travel material, pocket wifi and made it clear that they were available any time we needed (and they were). They were extremely astute in understanding how much guidance and how much “space” we needed, and we thank them for enabling us to have an incredible living/vacation experience in Kyoto."

Joey and Dave ~ USA (October 2018)

WHAT OUR GUESTS ARE SAYING....