Hostel Cuore Kurashiki

I spent one night in Kurashiki on my way to Takamatsu. I arrived rather late but still went for a walk around the canal in the old town - definitely worth it as it’s much quieter than during the day. Same thing for an early morning walk, great for pictures. Hostel Cuore has a nice bar downstairs, where you also check in and check out. The female dorm was very comfortable, it’s more as if you have your own mini-room: the upper ‘pods’ have real stairs to climb up to them instead of a ladder. There is a curtain in front of every pod-entrance, so lots of privacy (apart from the curtain for the external window that was lacking right in front of my bed). Kurashiki: I went for lunch at the Mamakari-tei, they only serve the famous ‘sardines’ with their most expensive menu set, but it was definitely worth it. I visited several of the sites: - Ohara museum of art: I skipped the part with western painting#but enjoyed th3 Asian section. In the morning there was also a hall open with views of the garden, worth a look. - Ohashi house: lovely place with a really enchanting tea house at the end of the tour. You can order the tea in the previous stop ( the library if I remember well) but have it served in the teahouse with a view of the garden. Lovely and quiet experience, nic3 chat with the lady working there. - I skipped the toy and Momotaro museums as I had no specific interest in them and didn’t want to overload the day - Kurabo memorial hall: not a lot of English captions, but if you like old pictures of the industrial heritage of the area, this is a nice stop - Achi-jinja: lovely shrine just a short climb up from the old quarter. Very atmospheric and quiet. - Craft museum: well presented, nice souvenir shop I ended up buying quite some souvenirs here: some cute toys and products made from the fabric that is used in tatami mats.

I did miss a fridge in the tiny common room though, where kitchen facilities seemed very limited. It’s very close to the old quarter, in a perfect location.