GUESTHOUSE 66 - Hostel

Panch, the sister restaurant just behind the hotel, serves great food. The hotel is very close to the station, and the staff were friendly, helpful, and really accommodating.

The room was clean, and for the price the whole stay was much better than I expected. I almost felt bad about how good a deal it was. They kindly let me park my motorcycle indoors even though, apparently, none of the owners or staff ride motorcycles. I'm incredibly grateful. 🙇 One warning for riders: the 5-56 cleaner at the front desk is for bicycles, not motorcycles, so be careful not to use it on one by mistake.

For a solo traveler, this is a rare, affordable guesthouse with a clean, simple, stylish feel. It's easy to find and about a 5-minute walk from the station. The owner is nice, and the free light breakfast is a welcome extra. The downside is the dormitory: even with a curfew, they accept check-ins in the middle of the night, so getting a good night's sleep can be difficult. A private room may be the safer choice for women. There are a large supermarket, a bento shop, and a liquor store about a 15-minute walk away, which is probably reasonable for a rural area. You can also get prepared food from the nearby butcher, and the cake shop looks delicious.

I chose this place because it has single rooms as well as dorms, and it's right in front of Kakuda Station, which made getting a taxi convenient. I was going out drinking in Kakuda City with a work colleague whose plan was to head home from the station afterward. I already knew about the accommodation and had assumed it only had dormitories. I used to think Green Hotel Kakuda was the only place to stay in Kakuda, but when I looked up bars, I found there weren't many near the station and that a few popular places were quite a distance away. The room was quiet and very basic, really just somewhere to sleep. Our twin room had a bed, sofa, and desk, but no TV or toilet. The toilet was shared, and towels and toothbrushes were supplied in the room. The only running water and other amenities were in the kitchen in the shared space, which also had a stove and refrigerator. There wasn't a TV in the shared space either. That was fine for this visit since I was just going out for drinks and then sleeping. Reception is on the first floor, with the bathroom behind it. You take off your shoes on the second floor to enter the shared space. From the room, you have to cross that space to reach the toilet, and go through it and down the stairs to the first-floor bath. I've stayed at hot spring inns without in-room toilets before, but having to pass through a shared area here reminded me how inconvenient it is. The entrance apparently locks at 11pm. Most izakayas in Kakuda City close at 10pm, but there are also snack bars and bars, so you could end up staying out past 11 depending on your plans. Staff said it may be possible to change the lock time by calling. This wasn't mentioned on Rakuten Travel. The soundproofing isn't very good for such a cheap place. I could hear people coughing in other rooms, though my room itself was quiet. I think there were 4 or 5 other guests on the Friday I stayed. When I came back in the evening, a motorcycle was parked in a room on the first floor. Just after 7am I heard cooking noises from the kitchen, and when I went out to use the toilet I ran into another guest. It feels suited to young people on a budget. Staff said they'd had many guests, including foreigners, during the Cherry Blossom Festival (Hitome Senbonzakura). Though it's dormitory-style accommodation, you can stay alone in a room too. Chatting with strangers in the shared space might be fun.