Welcome to CIEE Kyoto Center

Hello! I’m Cicely, current CIEE Kyoto RA. I live in one of the dorms, the Shicata Avenir building, and am here to help with any problems and concerns. I’m from the UK but have been living in Japan for over a year now — first in Kumamoto prefecture, and now in Kyoto.

The CIEE Kyoto center is located on Higashinotoin street, just off of Oike street. It takes around 4 minutes to walk from the center to Karasuma Oike subway station, where you can get both the Karasuma line (green), running north to south, and the Tozai line (orange), running east to west. There are also lots of buses going all over the city, which can also be caught very close to the station. All you need for all Kyoto city transport is an IC card (sometimes also called a SUICA or ICOCA), which can be topped up at any train or subway station. All this to say, the center is very well located! Japanese people will always reply 「便利ね」meaning “isn’t that convenient!”, when I tell them where I live. 

As for the building itself, you can take either the stairs or elevator up to the 2F, where the CIEE offices are located. Step inside and you will be greeted by many friendly, and I’m sure familiar, faces. The 2F is also home to several of the CIEE classrooms, which are used for academic classes in the day, and fun events like games and movie nights in the evenings! These events usually take place on a Wednesday, and you will see signs up throughout the CIEE offices. Located on various other floors of the Shicata Avenir Building are the dorm rooms (although these are much more like a small apartment than a traditional dorm). There are also more dorms located a few minutes walk away from the main CIEE building, so students will never be far from their friends! 

The most exciting thing about the CIEE center is all the things located nearby. A short walk (or even shorter cycle!) takes you to many of Kyoto’s famous covered markets: Nishiki market boasts fresh seafood and lots of other delicious things on skewers; Teramachi street has lots of thrift stores, ceramics, Japanese cooking knives and just about anything else you might want to buy; a little further out and thus less touristy is Sanjo shopping street west of Karasuma, home to many quaint traditional coffee shops. There are many great food spots near the CIEE center.

^{As the name suggests, along Teramachi there are lots of small shrines and temples (as well as great shops, of course)}

For breakfast, Tsutaya—a picturesque Showa-era coffee shop—does affordable sets, including my personal favorite anko on toast (a must-try while you’re in Japan!). 

^{Anko toast at Coffee Tsutaya, a short walk from CIEE Kyoto. My personal recommendation!}

For coffee, Stumptown coffee roasters inside the Ace Hotel is a great option and a great space to study or just chill with friends (there is even a photo booth). A bit further away is School Bus Coffee, and Imaya Coffee close to Nijo castle also does great Italian-style lattes and cappucinos and all the staff are incredibly welcoming. For lunch and dinner, there are lots of great ramen places and local izakayas near CIEE Kyoto. If you’ve got time, check them out! 

^{A short walk up Karasuma street is School Bus Coffee - a great place to study.}

^{Rabbit Bagels has a great selection of bagel flavors to try!}

^{Local festivals are a great place to try new food}