Ryokan name: Motonago
Opened for Business: 1972
Location: Higashiyama district in eastern Kyoto
Size: 11 Japanese-style rooms, large baths for women and men
Price Range: 15,000-18,000 yen per guest (dinner and breakfast included)
Web page: http://www.JapaneseGuestHouses.com/db/kyoto/motonago.htm

Could you give us a bit of background on your ryokan?
Although we opened for business about 30 years ago, this building is over 100 years old and full of history. Originally, this was a private residence and as you can see each room is different and the interior design is unique just like a house. We are located in the heart of the Higashiyama district and within walking distance of this area’s world famous temples and shrines. Our ryokan has a distinct Kyoto-like atmosphere and the neighborhood is very peaceful and quiet. We pride ourselves on our top-rate cuisine and all meals are served in the privacy of the guest’s room. We try very hard to provide high quality service and care to all of our guests.

Tell us about your experiences with foreign guests
Travel agents referred our first foreign guests to us, and there were very few of them. Today the situation is completely different. At the Kyoto train station, the JNTO (Japan National Tourist Organization) tells foreign travelers about our ryokan and a lot of them come to us through them. We get a lot of foreign guests, and we also get a lot of guests from previous guests who stayed with us. “Word of mouth” is a very powerful among the foreign travelers it seems. During the off-season, sometimes our ryokan is filled with only foreign guests!

What are the main differences between your Japanese guests and your foreign guests?
We do not see any differences between our Japanese and foreign guests. Our foreign guests are just as knowledgeable about ryokans as our Japanese guests. A long time ago we had a few experiences regarding guests using soap in our bath. Today, however, that kind of thing never happens.

Have you had any difficulties or problems dealing with foreign guests?
Some of our guests are strict vegetarians and we have change the dinner menu to suit their diet. This is not a problem for us if we know in advance. We get a lot of questions from our guests and because our English language ability is limited it is often difficult to explain something to them correctly. For example, we often are asked about our curved bamboo slats against the outside wall and we find it difficult to explain it is used to stop dogs from peeing on our ryokan! Our foreign guests seem to have a very enjoyable time staying with us, and when they check-out they always tell us how much fun they had staying at Motonago.

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Akihabara is also known as Akihabara Electric Town (Akihabara Denki Gai). It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo station, Tokyo, Japan. It is sometimes shortened to Akiba by locals. While there is an official locality named Akihabara nearby, part of Taito-ku, the area known as Akihabara (including the JR railway station of the same name) to most people is actually Soto-Kanda, a part of Chiyoda-ku. (read more)

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