Kumo Machiya Stay Shijo: A great house with long history to be rented as a whole

Kumo Machiya Shijo is considered as the flagship Machiya under the series of Machiya style Japanese houses that Kumo Machiya owns and operates. KumoShijo has a long and fascinating historical background. It used to be served as a Kimono shop before it has turned into a Japanese styled guesthouse. KumoShijo is even certified by the Kyoto Prefecture as one of the rare traditional Machiya in Kyoto. As a valuable historical architecture, it has witnessed Kyoto with its rich historical traditions.

KumoShijo is a two-floor classic wooden structure. The Japanese style structure is kept profoundly in the house, Japanese style porch, the beddings, guest room, break room, bedroom are all distinguished clearly without any disorientation. Signature characteristics of a Machiya are exclusively preserved in KumoShijo such that the walls are kept as the original status. The wooden frames and girders around the rooms are all renovated with high-quality pine wood. The natural patterns in the pinewood reveal the elegance and delicacy of traditional Kyoto Machiya throughout the house.

The interior decoration of KumoShijo is styled with the theme of The Tale of Genji, which is a classic Japanese palace style layout. The house is granted with elegance and peaceful essence, the soft lighting and the exquisite furniture design presents a warm and harmonious space. There are archival items that are still used till today displayed on the wooden shelve that is traditionally designed. A folding screen that has the story of The Tale of Genji painted, seasonal flower arrangement decorated with a hanging scroll exhibits the characteristic of the Machiya that carry history over a century.

The layouts of the rooms are spacious; there are three Japanese style Tatami rooms and each of them has the view of the elegant garden.

The beddings and the bathrobe would already be prepared you when you enter the Tatami rooms. With the delicate fragrance of the Tatami, it will be soothing your fatigue from all the traveling.

Opening the wooden window, the beautifully arranged Japanese styled garden that is organized by a professional landscape gardener comes in to sight. The garden is divided into Zen garden and seasonal garden with a stream of water, with botanical plants at the left and sand and stones at the left. The stream of water flows through a petit stone bridge, the path made with stones are surrounded with some green moss overall carries out the beauty of the garden.

Despite one spacious Tatami room on the first floor, there is a living room, modern kitchen, modern bathroom and toilet. Moreover, outside the living room, there is a separate modern toilet room and shower room convenient when multiple people are living. Refrigerator, electric kettle, drying/washing machine, wine fridge are all equipped in the house, brings you a pleasant experience in a traditional Machiya with modern facilities and convenience.

What is worth to mention is, the bathroom that KumoShijo consist provides a 180-degree of panorama for customers to rejoice in the Japanese-style garden that implants with fascinating traditional cultivation while they are in the bath. As the season shift, the garden will display a different picture. Feel the breeze from the garden, and see the moonlight make the water gleaming. Looking away, there are some bits of the starlight. At this moment, life becomes even more beautiful with the endless stream of time.

The second floor maintained the original design and structure of Machiya. To preserve more space and retain the beautiful layout, the structure of "火袋“ (passage where households can go to the roof directly from kitchen) was kept after the reconstruction, and it opens a route to the ceiling, where inside there is a bridge connect the path to the roof. Without excess decoration and reformation, the maintenance of the original structure demonstrates the Japanese traditional architecture.


On the second floor, there are two Tatami rooms, one living room, and a modern toilet. In the living room, high-quality tea is prepared for you to enjoy it anytime and relax in the tearoom.

All beddings, mattresses, pillows and cushions in the house are custom made for KumoSijo from Los Takaoka Ya shop in Kyoto with the history of more than 400 years. It is all for your pleasant and high-quality stay at KumoShijo.

With the morning sunlight shining through the checkered window and the delicate fragrance of the Tatami best represents the atmosphere of Kyoto. Here, with your sense of touch, you can enjoy wearing the Geta and Yukata and be pleased by the friendly and intimate services provided by Kumo Machiya. Without going anywhere, you may discover and take your pleasure in the city of Kyoto.

Guest access

KumoSijo is a two stories house. On the first floor, there are spacious Tatami room, a living room equipped with sizable table, a modern kitchen, a modern toilet and a bathroom with a 180-degree view of the traditional Japanese garden. Outside the living room, there is a separate toilet and a shower room. From the chamber on the first floor, you can enjoy the view of the beautifully decorated traditional Japanese garden.

On the second floor, there are two spacious Tatami rooms, a living room, and a modern toilet room. The ceiling on the second floor reveals the traditional structure of a Machiya, with one large girder across the entire roof, demonstrating the most traditional Japanese architecture building techniques.




Amenities
1. Bedroom
Wireless Internet, bedding with adjustable temperature, mattress, heater, air conditioning, floor heating
2. Kitchen
Bottled water, high-quality Japanese tea packet, tea pot, tea cups, mugs, knife, fork, spoon, bowls and chopsticks, electric kettle, toaster, microwave, refrigerator, drying/washing machine
3. Bathroom
Face towel, bath towel, hair dryer, Japanese toiletries (tooth brush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap), wood bucket

PS. Breakfasts will not be provided during your stay at KumoShijo, and cooking is prohibited in the house for protecting the authentic Machiya. However, making simple food with the toaster and the microwave is welcomed. There are also abundant restaurants and convenient stores near the house. There is no TV set in any of the houses that Kumo Mahciya Stay operates. It may be hard to adjust at first hand, but for that, we hope to provide our guests a chance to have pure mental relaxation and taking a break from the overwhelming information from the mass media in our daily life. Most importantly, we wish our guests could have the chance to enjoy the facilities in the house and spend quality time with family and friends. Taking a long bath, reading a book in the Tatami room with a nice cup of Japanese tea and a beautiful view of the garden. It is our duty to have you enjoy your stay.

House location:
The house is located on the north of Shijo Street.
5 minutes walk from the bus stop Shijo Omiya, 5 minutes walk from Hankyu Kyoto line Omiya station, 6 minutes walk from Arashiyama Line Shijo Omiya station.

Getting around

Scenic Spots:
Geon: Take bus (PHONE NUMBER HIDDEN) from Shijo Omiya Station and get off at Geon Station.
Kiyomizu Temple: Take bus 207 from Shijo Omiya Station and get off at Kiyomizu Michi Station.
Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion): Take bus 203 from Shijo Omiya Station and get off at Ginkakuji Michi Station.
Arashiyama: Take Arashiyama Line at Shijo Omiya and get off at Arashiyama Station
Osaka, Umeda: Take Hankyu railway from Shijo Omiya Station and get off at Umeda Station.

Nearby Facilities:
7 minutes walk to 24-hour supermarket Fresco, 6 minutes walk to a drug store (open until 10 PM), 24-hour convenient store 7-11, there is a street filled with Izakaya restaurants nearby.

Other things to note

Customer notice
1. For your stay to be convenient, please inform us your arrival time for at least 7 working days before your arrival. Also, please inform a day before about the schedule of your arrival in Kyoto, for that, our staff can have the chance to give you advice for your transportation to the house, as well as welcome you in the house and help you check-in and introduce you to the house and the usage of the facilities.
2. All the customers are required to register and sign a confirmation letter for check in before the stay. The confirmation letter for check-in is available on Airbnb website for checking in advance. 50000 Yen (3000 RMB) deposit would be required. During check-out, the staff member would inspect the original status of the house and return the deposit, if there is any damage, guest will be required to pay the full price of anything that is damaged.
3. Smoking is strictly prohibited anywhere in the house if the house can't be used due to smoking the guest would need to compensate one night's house rental fee.
4. If you are traveling with children or senior citizens, please pay extra attention during your stay, since the house is very historical and traditional. It is necessary to be careful when climbing and down the stairs as well as opening windows and doors since they are made out of historical wood and Japanese traditional paper.