Ryokan Sawai Website

Features of Ryokan Sawai

The building of Ryokan Sawai is a traditional Kyoto architecture with a history of over 120 years.
This building is presumed to have already existed in the late Edo period (19th century).
It has long been operated as a teahouse in Miyagawa-cho, a Hanamachi (street of maiko), and has traditional structures and characteristics unique to teahouses.
Ryokan Sasai was inherited from the previous landlady who had been running it since the 1970s.
In 2018, we renovated mainly the water area so as not to spoil the charm and taste of the old building, so the function is the latest.
We hope that our guests will fully enjoy the culture of Hanamachi and spend a relaxing and enjoyable time in the traditional teahouse architecture.
Please come over to Ryokan Sawai. We'll be expecting you.

» Contact Us

Architecture of Ryokan Sawai

Three-story wooden building

"Cool wind on a Shijo riverbank of the Gion Festival" (written by Gountei Sadahide, 1859)
The closed transcript shows that it was reconstructed in 1897.

Ryokan Sawai was built as a tea house architecture.
The shop name is "Ichiraku".

When you go down the "hidden staircase", you will reach the sandy area of the riverbed of the Miyagawa River.
There was a big lantern there, and it seems that a ship was docked.

"Hidden atrium"
When you open a small shoji door, it becomes an atrium.

"Rotating glass window"
When it was first built, it was covered with wooden floors and was used as a dance hall.

"Tori Niwa(Alleyway)"
There is a tori niwa, alleyway that goes straight from the entrance.

Well and Snake Legend
It is said that a white snake lived in a well. There is a Shinto altar where a white snake is enshrined.

The entrance
The ceiling is called a "boat bottom ceiling". The floor is red bengara, red iron oxide. There are traces of a reception place under the stairs.

"Miyagawa-suji"
It faces Hanamachi or Miyagawa-suji.
You can see geisha and maiko from the window on the second floor.

Machiya Utilization (1)
Rent the whole building (up to 10 people)
You can enjoy the quiet atmosphere by taking advantage of the long building in the back.