[Okayama] Let's stay here in Kurashiki! 9 hotels and ryokan recommended for girls' trips

source:Posted by Senafoto

Kurashiki is one of the most popular areas in Okayama, which is visited by many tourists. The beauty of the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, where townhouses and storehouses made of plaster and roofing tiles continue from the Edo period, is so beautiful that you can't help but take photos. One of the attractions of this otherworldly, beautiful townscape where history and the present intersect is the opportunity to enjoy an extraordinary experience to the fullest. The Ohara Museum of Art, which houses masterpieces from around the world, is also one of the spots that make up a part of this area.

Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter is dotted with miscellaneous goods stores and cafes that use buildings that have remained since the Edo period. You can browse the cute miscellaneous goods, or take a break at a stylish cafe when you get tired or hungry. Kurashiki is a perfect city for a girls' trip, with so much to enjoy.

Eating fresh, delicious local ingredients is an essential part of a girls' trip, isn't it? However, the time you can spend eating out while traveling is limited. In those cases, it would be nice to be able to eat delicious local cuisine for breakfast at a hotel or ryokan. That's why the quality of the breakfast is also important when choosing a place to stay on a girls' trip.

When you're busy juggling work and your private life, don't you sometimes feel like being free? Kurashiki is the perfect place for that, and you're sure to feel lighter in body and mind as you relax with fellow women who are just as hardworking as you are. Here, we'll introduce you to a lodging that's perfect for women like you, one that will make you forget about your everyday life as soon as you step inside.

Ryokan ryokan is located in the heart of Kurashiki's Bikan Historical Quarter, about a 15-minute walk from Kurashiki Station. It is one of the buildings that make up the streetscape of merchant houses with latticed windows and namako walls. It is often used as meal and has only eight guest rooms. This is ryokan you can receive attentive hospitality.

The "Tatsumi Room," beloved by Shiko Munakata and Ryotaro Shiba, is a guest room that was renovated from a rice storehouse from about 260 years ago. There is a Japanese-style room with an attic-like atmosphere and a bedroom with a Taisho-era romantic feel, and Mount Tsurugata can be viewed from the bathroom on the bedroom side. There are also other unique rooms available, such as a maisonette-type room that uses a tool storehouse from the Edo period and a room with a modern Japanese atmosphere.

meal is so delicious that many guests choose to just meal at the restaurant, so we recommend eating at the inn. You can enjoy colorfully presented kaiseki cuisine full of seasonal flavors, including locally caught seafood and mountain delicacies.

The amenities, stored in a cute basket, are all high quality. The skincare and haircare products are from the "LEAF & BOTANICS" brand, which uses natural essential oils and extracts derived from plants, perfect for women with sensitive skin.

Kurashiki Royal Art Hotel is located about a 10-minute walk from Kurashiki Station and about a 2-minute walk from the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. This hotel will make you feel luxurious in many ways, such as using Italian marble in the Western-style room bathrooms and granite in the Japanese-style room bathrooms.

If you want to wake up in the morning with the soft sunlight, we recommend the Corner Deluxe Twin Room, where sunlight pours in through two windows. With a spacious 42㎡ space, you'll be able to wake up refreshed even the next day after enjoying girl talk until late into the night.

Breakfast is served in the open-space cafe lounge next to the lobby. It's a Japanese-Western style buffet, so you can choose as much as you like from the abundant menu. In addition to the standard dishes such as scrambled eggs, bacon, and salads, there are also local specialties such as "mamakari vinegared fish" and "jako tsukudani."

For women, great bathroom amenities are so exciting that they can even influence the choice of hotel. The bathroom amenities at Kurashiki Royal Art Hotel are from ALGOTHERM, a marine cosmetics brand from Brittany, France. They are natural products based on French marine ingredients. Enjoy an elegant bath time in the spacious bathroom, made entirely from Italian marble.

Located about a 10-minute walk from Kurashiki Station, Yoshii Ryokan is a long-established ryokan founded in the Meiji era. ryokan occupies a traditional building that was built as a private residence in the late Edo period. The fusion of history from the Edo period and the present gives you an extraordinary feeling.

Yoshii ryokan is actually known as ryokan the famous Sakamoto Ryoma stopped by. You can even stay in the "Kaede no Ma" room where Ryoma stayed. Even if you're not a group of history buffs who love Ryoma, this will surely be an unforgettable experience. You can also hear stories about Ryoma from the landlady and waitresses. In addition, the rooms, which feature designs by famous craftsmen everywhere, such as rooms that use the storehouse as they are and special rooms with views of the garden, will make you feel as if you are in another world.

Dinner is served in the guest room, and breakfast is served in meal area. Guests can enjoy seasonal Seto Inland Sea specialties such as sea bream in early spring and conger eel in summer, as well as other delicacies made with local ingredients, such as steaks and sukiyaki made from Chiya beef raised in Niimi City, Okayama. You can also enjoy eel rice and other eel course meals at the attached restaurant, Unagi Rantei.

For a more comfortable stay, there is also a service where you can receive a full-body aroma oil massage in your room upon request. The pleasant scent of essential oils blended with carrier oil and the techniques of a professional esthetician will help you relieve the fatigue of your travels and daily life. (*Image is for illustrative purposes only.)

Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel is located just a 10-minute walk from Kurashiki Station, right at the entrance to the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. It is adjacent to the Ohara Museum of Art, so the rooms on the museum side offer a view of the Bikan Historical Quarter. The main lobby is decorated with a large print by Munakata Shiko, old Bizen jars, and a fireplace, creating a relaxing and tasteful space.

You can choose from double, twin, triple, and other guest rooms depending on the number of people in your group. The interior has a refined atmosphere, unified with warm colors such as beige and brown. For girls' trips, we recommend the deluxe twin room. The spacious room of about 34 m² includes a sofa space where you can spread out your luggage and relax.

There are also restaurants, bars, and cafes in the building. Bar Regina is a bar where you can enjoy international alcohol and soft drinks. They also offer original cocktails and seasonal fruit cocktails, which are easy for women to drink. Why not enjoy a girls' night out in a relaxed atmosphere?

The breakfast buffet offers about 40 types of Japanese and Western dishes that focus on locally produced ingredients. In addition to the standard breakfast menu, there are also specialties such as "pickled horse mackerel" and "Kibi Plateau milk," making it a delicious breakfast that will give you energy for the day.

About a 10-minute walk from Kurashiki Station. Located in the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, "Ryori Restaurant & Ryokan Tsurugata Tsurugata" is housed in a building that was used as a merchant's house more than 270 years ago. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious buildings in Kurashiki, along with the "Ohara Residence" and "Ohashi Residence". Throughout the purely Japanese-style building, the beams and nail covers remain as they were at the time, giving you a sense of the weight of history.

The "Washiu no Ma" is a Japanese-style room with 8 tatami mats in the guest room and 2 tatami mats in the next room, which was renovated from a former storehouse. From the lattice window, you can see the back streets of the Kurashima Bikan Historical Quarter with its "Namako Walls". It makes you feel as if you have traveled back in time, so it is recommended for girls' trips that enjoy history. There is no bath in "Washiu no Ma", so everyone should use the large communal bath ♪

In January 2018, JAL's "New Japan Project" offered meal supervised by the head chef as in-flight meals for first-class passengers on domestic flights. You can enjoy kaiseki cuisine prepared by the head chef, so be sure to choose the dinner-included plan when making a reservation. You can enjoy dishes made with seafood from the Seto Inland Sea and seasonal ingredients.

After enjoying the city of Kurashiki, relax in the large bathhouse made entirely of cypress, stretch your limbs and relieve the fatigue of your journey. The scent of cypress will soothe both your body and mind.

Dormy Inn Kurashiki (Dormy Inn Hotels Group) is located about a 7-minute walk from Kurashiki Station. It is a hotel with a relaxed atmosphere, located just a 1-minute walk from the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. There is a free internet corner in the lobby on the first floor, which is useful for looking up gourmet and tourist information. They also serve midnight noodles as a midnight snack from 9pm to 11pm. This is a great service for when you've had an early dinner and are feeling a bit hungry.

The modern rooms, decorated in brown tones, are equipped with Simmons beds for a comfortable sleep. Also, if you choose a room with an inner door, the noise from the hallway will be reduced, so you won't have to worry about not being able to have a relaxed girl talk or not being able to sleep well because of the noise. It's a space where you can relax and chat.

Achi no Yu is a natural onsen located on the top floor, offering a panoramic view of the city of Kurashiki. You can relax and soothe the fatigue of your long journey in the indoor bath and the open-air bath. There is also a rest area on the same floor where you can cool down while chatting.

In addition to standard dishes such as omelets, breakfast is a Japanese and Western buffet using seafood and mountain produce from the Seto Inland Sea. The menu has a wide variety of dishes, including Seto Inland Sea specialties such as "steamed tempura" made with squid, scallops, edamame, and burdock, and Okayama's "matsuri sushi," a lively dish of conger eel and shrimp.

Located about a 3-minute walk from Kurashiki Station, Centurion Hotel & Spa Kurashiki is a stylish designer hotel with a unique design. It is also about a 10-minute walk from Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter. There is free Wi-Fi in the building, so you can easily search for information.

There are a variety of guest rooms with beds made by Slumberland, the official supplier to the British Royal Family. The Comfort Twin Room, with a queen-size bed in a 40m2 space, can accommodate up to five people with the use of an extra bed, making it ideal for a group of girls! Even with a small number of people, you can spend a relaxing and elegant time here.

The rooms are equipped with baths and showers, but if you want to fully relieve the fatigue of travel or daily life, we recommend the large public bath with sauna. Soaking in the spacious and clean radium onsen bath, washing away the sweat and relieving fatigue, is sure to leave you feeling refreshed! You'll feel refreshed and ready to enjoy your itinerary the next day.

Breakfast is a Japanese and Western buffet where you can start your day with a nutritionally balanced meal. If you eat a delicious and filling breakfast, you will be able to stay healthy and enjoy your trip all day long.

Oitoma is an 18-minute walk from Kurashiki Station, or a 5-minute taxi ride away. You can also walk to Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter in just 3 minutes. This is a rental accommodation that was renovated from an old house, and every angle is photogenic! Since it is exclusively available to only one group per day, you can enjoy your private space without having to worry about other guests. There is also a fully equipped kitchen, so you can cook for yourself and have fun with your friends♪

The first floor is a spacious Japanese-style room. You can relax on the tatami mats, have a tea ceremony with delicious sweets, or enjoy a drink to relax... Renting the whole building allows you to enjoy yourself however you like.

The second floor is a spacious bedroom that can accommodate up to four beds. A high-quality audio set and poetry books are also provided, so you can relax and unwind listening to your favorite music or reading a poetry book that catches your eye.

The stylish, modern Japanese sink is equipped with face wash, makeup remover, lotion, etc. Another benefit of renting an entire building is that the baths and showers can be used 24 hours a day.

Vessel Hotel Kurashiki is a hotel located about a 13-minute walk from Nakasho Station, one stop from Kurashiki Station. There are supermarkets and restaurants nearby, making it a convenient and comfortable location for long-term stays. Check-in is from 12:00 and check-out is until 11:00, so you can stay for a whopping 23 hours. There is also a free welcome drink service, and you can drink as much as you want anytime between 12:00 and 23:00!

If you are traveling as a couple, we recommend the "Twin Room with Extra Bed Non-smoking" with two queen-size beds. For groups of three or more, an extra bed can also be added. All rooms are equipped with an air purifier with humidifier function and a foldable pillow that can be adjusted to your preferred height and hardness, making for a comfortable stay.

The free breakfast buffet offers a wide variety of dishes. For example, you can enjoy eggs on rice with "Hoshi no Sato eggs" from Bisei, Okayama, and "Kurashiki soy sauce" made by the 150-year-old brewery "Tora Shoyu." You can also enjoy breakfast that will make you happy, from standard breakfast dishes such as "pickled horse mackerel in black vinegar," "Hiruzen Jersey milk," and "Hiruzen Jersey yogurt" to specialties from Okayama and the Setouchi region.

source:Contribution of yokomon

This time, we introduced hotels and ryokan in the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter that will make your girls' trip even more wonderful. If you stay at an inn near the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter and walk along the back streets lined with "Namako Walls" in the early morning or at night, you may feel as if you have traveled back in time. Stay at an inn that will enhance the charm of the city of Kurashiki and make your girls' trip even more enjoyable.