Stayed here for 5 days while we visited Kyoto and Nara. Rooms are small by American standards but were adequate for 3 adult family members in 1 room for sleeping arrangements. Hotel was very CLEAN AND SAFE, front desk personnel were very helpful with directions and needs, English was spoken here, and location was only 1/2 block from subway and bus stops were in front of hotel along with "7-11" store for quick snacks! Entance is off a side street but I found it easily looking at the picture from their website!
Shopping district was only 1 block away and tons of food places to eat nearby.
If you are looking for a clean place to sleep with a great location, than this hotel will fit the bill, but if you intend to stay in your room, you may get cramped, but then why are you traveling? I would NOT HESITATE to stay here again!
PS, I found it much easier to use the bus to and from Kyoto station than the subway, no change in buses, but you have to make 1 change in subway lines.

The Hotel Alpha Kyoto is perfectly located for a visit to Kyoto: It is only half a block to a major subway line and only 5 minutes by foot to two different train stations. Moreover, its just minutes by foot from Pontocho and from some popular shopping areas. My single room was small, but quite comfortable, and the hotel's English-speaking staff were very helpful to me. Breakfasts were nicely served and very satisfying. I highly recommend this hotel!

My husband and I traveled to Kyoto in May of 2005 and were booked in the Hotel Alpha by the Japan Tourist Office. The location was superb - in the middle of the downtown area and a 5 minute walk to the metro station. The staff was very helpful and we also enjoyed the free internet access. I would definitely stay here again.

My husband and I enjoyed very much our stay at Alpha Hotel in Kyoto.
The strongest reason for recommending this hotel is its location, at Sanjo Kawaramachi, in the heart of town. It's only a minute's walk to the subway City Hall station and five minutes walk crossing the bridge of Kamo River to Keihan Sanjo Station. With the English language map of subway systems, you can go to major sightseeing attractions by using the subway. Just a few minutes walk from the hotel leads you to Teramachi shopping and restaurant arcade, where we had excellent dinner at a tiny sushi shop. A tea shop called Lipton in the arcade had sophisticated European style pastry. Another Japanese style tea shop, Iori, had Japanese sweets like shaved ice with green tea syrup and sweet beans. It had an Enliglish menu and accepted all major credit cards.

After our taxi driver from Kyoto station dropped us off at a corner of the street saying the hotel was right there, we couldn't find the entrance at first. A lady came out of the corner 7 & Eleven store and pointed to the side street, where the entrance of the hotel was. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The lobby was crowded with western and Asian tourists and the instruction was in four languages, Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese.

The room with twin beds was spacious by Japanese standard but adequate by American standard. The Internet access, free of charge, was easy for our laptop, which was important for us. The bathroom was small but modern and clean.

The breakfast at a restaurant on the second floor had both western and Japanese ones. The western breakfast included usual stuff like bread and coffee but also cold spaghetti which we couldn't figure out why. The Japanese breakfast was substantial, including boild vegetables, broiled salmon, rice, and miso soup.

Our e-mail coorespondence with the hotel staff in English before our arrival was swift, efficient, and accomodating. After our departure, they e-mailed us asking for our comments, which was professional.

All in all, we enjoyed the experience very much.