Homestays in Kurashiki

This was in a great location right between Okayama city and Kurashiki. We were pleasantly surprised by the huge garden we were greeted by, and continued to be pleased by the warm welcome from our host. The Igusa Guest House is an older, traditional structure, giving it lots of character and a few quirks, making this experience very authentic. We stayed in one of the larger rooms, which had a charming raised tatami platform for our futons, lots of windows to let in natural light and allow a view of the garden, and a wonderful attached patio. The majority of the facilities you would need were available (we paid an additional, tiny fee to rent towels) and very clean. The only thing it did not have were laundry facilities, but there are two different coin laundries within walking distance to use instead. The guest house is about a five-minute walk from the train station, and about a fifteen-minute walk to two different konbinis. There is also a wonderfully, peaceful park, with multiple shrines nearby, that is about a fifteen-minute walk from the guest house as well; the walk is pretty uphill, with stairs to the park and the shrines, but you can get a gorgeous view of the surrounding area and landscape from the park. If we ever make it back to Japan, we would definitely stay here again.