Shimanami guest house Orangenokaze

The hostel’s new, clean rooms and friendly staff made for a great stay. The rooftop seating area has a really nice view out over the inland sea.

We booked through booking.com months ahead, then messaged an hour before check-in to ask if we could arrive early. We got an email from booking.com saying the property had cancelled because it overbooked. An hour later, the property messaged to say it was fully booked and couldn’t host us, and told us to contact Booking.com. No apology or help at all. We managed to find another hotel in the area, but it cost more. This was absolutely shocking. I suspect they only cancelled because we asked about early check-in. Don’t count on a reservation here, it clearly means nothing.

The host was helpful and nice. There’s no English, but Google Translate worked well. The hostel is clean and well organized, with separate female and male dorms on different floors. Each bed space has plenty of room, a light, and charging, and the bed was comfortable. The bathroom and toilet were modern and very clean. There’s a kettle, small fridge, and microwave in the room, plus a little sofa, but no proper cups, spoons, or chopsticks. They did provide lovely mini snacks, tea and coffee, towels included in the price, and toothbrushes. There’s also outdoor furniture on the rooftop. It’s an easy walk to the Train Station, Ferry Pier, and Imabari Castle.

The beds were the biggest I’ve had, and the room has its own kettle and shower so there’s no need to trek out. Unbelievable value, with cute, cozy, comfy, massive beds.