Kurashiki

Rooms contain two sets of bunk beds and a small TV area. There is also a nice commons area with a fireplace and musical instruments, and meals are served. Pick-up may be available if you phone ahead. Otherwise, take bus #6 to Shimin-kaikan-mae last departure 8:50PM and walk uphill for ten minutes.

This hostel is well-situated for exploring the Kojima area, with an excellent view of the Seto Ohashi Bridge — particularly beautiful when lit up at night. There is a 10PM curfew, after which the entrance and shower room is locked. Bathrooms are always open. Reservations can be made online but if you will be arriving sooner than one week, it is better to call. The owner is extremely friendly, but he only speaks Japanese. From JR Kojima Station, take the bus to Yuusuhosteru-mae.

Five floors and 111 small rooms slightly more pleasant than the average business hotel. They offer steep discounts for online booking; buffet Japanese breakfasts are available for ¥1000.

Lodgings are basic at this three-floor minshuku, but it's an excellent value.

Nice, well-appointed Western-style rooms, with notably spacious bathrooms. Western and Japanese buffet breakfasts are available to mix and match as you please.

A traditional inn, occupying an atmospheric complex of old buildings, facing the canal in the Bikan section. There are various styles of suites — Western, traditional, mixed — scattered along a maze of corridors. Little English is spoken, but the staff welcomes foreigners, and breakfast is available. Guests should arrive early enough to sip tea by the garden and soak themselves before dinner. It's on the left side of the canal as you walk from the train station, at a bend in the canal.

Another beautiful ryokan, in business for more than 250 years with eleven Japanese-style rooms. The garden, in particular, is pure Kurashiki atmosphere. Stellar meals of seafood and nothing but seafood, mind you are included in the rate, and a little English is spoken.

Small, decent rooms in a splendid location. All of the amenities of Ivy Square shopping, a restaurant, a beer garden are right on hand. Some rooms face a parking lot and some face a grove of palm trees, so you may wish to state your preference between those two alternatives.