In less than one month I will be going to Japan for a conference for my job. I'm taking my 12 year old daughter with me, who is crazy about anime and has learned to speak a lot of Japanese just from watching the anime. I cannot speak much Japanese (yet) but I hope to be up to 800 Kanji by the time we get there. Besides attending the conference, we will travel around a bit, and I am wondering if anyone there can recommend an interesting, not too expensive (less than 12,000 yen per night) ryokan, bed and breakfast, or hotel for us in Kyoto?
We will be there during obon week and lots of things seemed to be booked.

Next question: has anyone ever stayed in a capsule hotel? I know these are mostly for men, but some have separate floors for women. However, my Japanese friend told me these were not nice places, more like for homeless people and alcoholics. Is this true?

Any information will be welcome!
Thanks, texie and her daughter

I have stayed at Hanakiya Inn twice and highly recommend it.
http://www.hanakiya.jp/

A room for two people is Y3900 each. It's a lovely small Japanese style minshuku in a wonderful location near Kiyomizudera.

Capsule hotels are wonderful, but I doubt that they'd let a child in.

If you're looking for something for yourself, I'd say it's a good choice. They're not the most beautiful places in the world (and if you sleep next to a person that snores you're in for a long night), but they're quite economical.

Comfort Inn Kyoto was 6300 yen a night for a single with my AAA discount. It's on Gojo-dori (5th avenue). Not the world's greatest location, simply because it's a 10-minute walk to the nearest station, but the walk will do you good. It's pretty much centrally located, tho. It's about a mile or so north of the JR station.

I stayed there for 4-5 days, and loved it. Tiny rooms, but you get a small fridge in the room. Also, you can book the hotel online in the states with ease.

I skipped the ryokan thing because sleeping on the floor kills my back. (And I had spent the previous two weeks sleeping on a futon on a platform at Yamasa. -_-)

Capsule hotels are mostly for people who miss the last train, and yeah, not appropriate for kids.

I usually stay at the Toyoko Inn on Gojo or Shijo @ Karasuma. 8200~8400/night for a twin, but eeeehh, it looks like all the twins are already taken for the first half of August. Anyway, I'll put it up here in case anyone else finds it useful:

http://www.toyoko-inn.com/hotel/00040/
http://www.toyoko-inn.com/hotel/00053/

http://www.kyotojp.com/

Kyoto Tour Club. EXTREMELY cheap, but still nice with decent sized rooms, in both western and japanese style. The last time I was in Kyoto I stayed here and it was fantastic. Since you will be only hanging around the hotel to sleep (right??? there is too much in Kyoto to spend any more time than absolutely necessary in your hotel!!!), this inn was close to the train and subway stations, lots of local places to eat, friendly staff, and a great cheap (western style) breakfast down on the corner that you get coupons for. Just be prepared for frugal hotel accomodations though. Personally, futon on tatami is very comfortable for me, and having a sink, shower stall, A/C, and a 13" TV is fine. I don't go to Japan to sit around the hotel.

Kyoto is, so far (three trips) my favorite place in Japan.

ALSO! say ookini instead of arigatou. The local shopkeepers seemed to get a kick out of my rudimentary kansai-ben. It led to some nice conversations when they realized that not only did I speak some japanese, but that I took the time to pick up some kansai-ben as well.

ALSO ALSO! beware of taxis in kyoto. if you are in one, hold on. if you are walking, watch out. haha. also, honking seems to be among the local pastimes in Kyoto.

ALSO ALSO ALSO! if you like sake, or even if you've never had it, go to よらむ (yoramu). The expat that runs the place is named Yoram, and "yoramu" means something close to "come on by!" so it's the perfect name for a small sake bar/eatery. This guy taught me more about sake in one night than I had managed to learn in my entire life before then. He has a HUGE selection, and makes lots of great foods to compliment the sake.

Haha... I miss Kyoto. T_T

Have fun! ^__________^

And if all else fails, and you can't find a room, get in touch with the tourism office on the 9th floor of Kyoto station. They can hook you up with something through the Welcome Inn system. (It's not a hotel chain, so much as a large group of all kinds of hotels.) Tell them what you want, what your budget is, and they can usually call around and find something for you. And not just in Kyoto-- they hooked me up in Oosaka and Hiroshima, too.

And yeah, at that tourism office, you can arrange all sorts of Cultural Activites. You can attend 書道 classes, or arrange to attend tea ceremonies, etc. Totally worth the trip.