Saeki Home was the second accommodation booked via Airbnb in Kyoto. One reason people use Airbnb for a homestay style of accommodation as that it should be cheaper than staying in a real hotel or at least more reasonable for a budget traveler. There is a challenge however, which is to find the exact location of the house, even you have a map on your smartphone. If I travel solo, I would rather get a room in a hotel in a city centre rather than finding my way in a housing estate at night in an unfamiliar place.
One interesting thing about our stay was that we did not even have the chance to see the landlord to say "hi" or "bye". We received a message from the host saying he was not around that evening, and we could simply enter the house as the door was not locked, and was informed our room was right beside the entrance. We had to leave early the next morning so we did not get to see each other face to face. Everything was done based on trust and honesty - and luckily payment was already made online, so that should not pose any problem.
The room was comfortable and clean, and most importantly it was spacious enough for us to perform our prayers. You could cook your meals if you plan to do that, but we had our meals on the road. We only stayed there for one night.
I at least had the opportunity to live in a real Japanese home for once. I might get this kind of accommodation again in the future.
