Sanjo Area convenient to stay?

Hi,

I'm currently having a look at the Hotel Ethnography in Kyoto and Sanjo station is the closest to it.

I will only be there for two nights and will be focusing on nearby areas such as Nishiki market, Higashiyama area, Gion, Pontocho. We will also go to Nara/Osaka the other day. If time permits we may go to the Fushimi inari Shrine. (I know this is very brief to visit these places but it is all we can do) We will be flying out of Osaka Kansai Airport.

Is the Sanjo Station area a safe and convenient location, good walking distance to Gion area etc.? I am not sure whether it would be better to stay near the Kyoto station area purely for travel or better to stay in an area that has a more charming feel?

Hi!

I've not stayed at the Hotel Ethnography but I have looked at it a few times on Booking, so I can't comment on it specifically, but I did stay in the Sanjo area in 2016 at the Royal Park Sanjo. I found it perfectly safe and a convenient area for sightseeing. The easiest way to switch to the Keihan line from Kyoto Station is to take the train one stop to Tofukuji and transfer to the Keihan line. You can also take the subway to Karasuma Oike and transfer to the subway for Shiyakusho-mae and walk. I used Shiyakusho-Mae mostly when I stayed at the Royal Park and Gion Shijo when I stayed at the Hana Touro. I'm not sure if you're staying at the Hotel Ethnography Shinmonzen or Furumonzen, but both are near one another. You can also walk from Keihan Gion-Shijo.

I hope this helps!

Sanjo station area is pretty convenient with two lines of train. It is walk-able distance to Gion district, Yasaka shrine, Nishiki Market, etc. Look at the Google Map, and Shijo street is considered the "center of town", and Sanjo is not too far from it.

Oh and when going to/from Osaka, you can skip Kyoto Station completely and take the Keihan line directly to Osaka to Yodoyobashi Station or Kyobashi Station depending on where in Osaka you are trying to reach. Even with a JR Pass, in 2017 I frequently just took the Keihan line from Yodoyobashi because it was easier and not terribly expensive. For Nara you can take the Keihan line to Tambabashi and transfer to the Kintetsu line. I hope this helps!

Hi! It is very convenient but seedy at night back toward Gion. We stayed for about 5 nights in a townhouse in Shinmonzen dori and while it looks nice during the day it the area between there and Gion corner is full of hostess clubs and quite a few street walkers at night, and then there are the touts for the hostess clubs essentially running out to "encourage" drunk guys to come in although they seem to leave tourists alone (or at least they left us alone).

Ultimately after a few nights of uncomfortable walks to try to get across the river to the main restaurant street we ended up heading the opposite direction (away from Kyoto station), crossing the river at Sanjo dori and coming back which was a much nicer way to do it.

Thanks for all the helpful tips everyone!