Name: Hostel & Bar CUORE KURASHIKI
Address: 1-9-4 Chuo, Kurashiki, Kurashiki, Kurashiki, 710-0046, Japan
Rating: 8

Air conditioning

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Heating

Security guard

Terrace

No elevators

Reception desk

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Locker

Linens

Rooms

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Common kitchen

Restaurant

Snack bar

Vending machine

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

English

Languages Spoken

Library

Bike rental

Billiards

Sun Deck

Recreation

Parking nearby

Parking

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Meeting and presentation facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Doctor

First Aid Kit

Beauty and wellness

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hostel

Okayama Airport

Takamatsu Airport

Hostel & Bar CUORE KURASHIKI

Kurashiki

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

For a western traveller, this place is so great. Washing machine in room really helps travellers. The bath is big and beds are comfortable and the bar downstairs is great place for a drink. So quiet too. No cars in this part of town!

Spent 2 nights and got 3 separate rooms in the main building and the Annex.

What I liked:
* Proximity to Bikan historical quarter.
* Super-nice staff - the guy who checked us in was awesome...he graciously towed my heavy luggage up the stairs to my room (as there is no elevator).
* On-premises restaurant that is open longer than the other restaurants in the area
* Shower - great water pressure/hot water (seems to be true across Japan), nice toiletries in bathroom, high-tech toilet (another common occurrence across Japan).

What I hated (the list is too long!) - I stayed in Annex room 501:
* Cleanliness - it was the least sanitary place we stayed (one rooms had hair and stuff in the corner of the room), floor mat in one bathroom was stained, etc.
* Lack of proper curtains - one room lacked curtains and couldn't open the room windows to air the musty smell, another room had skinny vinyl shades that was warped in places, etc. A lot of little things that showed neglect over the years.
* Noisy - Annex room (which was supposedly an upgrade with nicer rooms) - had a room that overlooked a preschool/daycare - early morning wakeup call from the kids who were enjoying playtime outdoors in the playground directly in front of the Annex building.
* Psychedelic Decor - funky decorated rooms.  My room had stripes that were going in opposite directions with multi-colored walls that didn't match...not much different that the sitting room in the reception where someone threw a whole bunch of different paint of the wall for decoration.  The wacky decor was plainly excessive and not calm and soothing for weary travelers who needed a place to rest.
* Worn mattresses - mattresses were well worn and lumpy so I woke up with a back-ache daily.
* Unable to use kitchen - paid extra for kitchen and washing machine.  Kitchen is purely for show and to charge more as there is no ability to cook or use the kitchen as there are no utensil to eat or cook with, no sponge to wash dishes etc.  Washing machine - detergent provided and everything in Japanese so bring out Microsoft/Google Translator to figure out how to use it! Again, one is not meant to use the washing machine as there is no dryer nor is there any place to dry clothes - only 2 hangers provided (there were not even any shower hooks to hang wet towels) on a flimsy corner bracket that barely stayed on the wall.  Ended drying clothes by draping it off pot handles, luggage bag, washing machine, etc.  
* No hooks in room - something sorely lacking in the room and bathroom!
* No chairs provided.  Again, this is the least hospitable place that I stayed in Japan for all the reasons above.
* Air-conditioning - worked but not cold.  Certainly didn't cool to the lowest temperature setting set.  Provided a sheet with a very heavy blanket so it was hot sleeping through the night, even with the air conditioning blowing directly on the beds.
* Lack of attention to details - was only provided 1 bath towel and 1 pair of slippers for a room for two people.  Had to request extra bath towels.
* No elevators - not good for people with mobility issues or carrying a lot of heavy luggage.
* Outdated - still uses old fashion key lock to get in and out of room.  Only 1 key provided so it is inconvenient for a party of 2 if you don't stick together.

Best Practice:
* Skip staying overnight at Kurashiki - minimal things to do for western touring family.  
* Best for a day trip - most of the locals seem to descent around 10am by local train and clean out by 2-3pm.  The Bikan historical quarter is pretty but nothing stellar (if you have traveled extensively in other parts of Asia) as it has been so gentrified, mixing old with new that some of the charm is lost.  * More importantly, the Bikan historical quarter is not very lively as a lot of the buildings seem to be devoid of any activity
 

AVOID STAYING - find a nicer, cleaner and not so rundown place to stay!  Worst place stayed in Japan.

A very cool and enjoyable place with friendly staff right in the heart of old Kurashikishi.

Fantastically cool


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).
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. 
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 the 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, nice 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.

Great location, comfortable dorm and nice bar

Great location and easy check in, the bunk beds are comfortable and secluded, it almost feels as if you had your own room. There is a nice lounge/common room with the possibility to make some tea. Sadly, this is also the only place where the WiFi seems to work.

The common area which is also a cafe is quite unique and interesting, the staff very helpful and we had a washing machine in our room!

The serving staff is very helpful

Great location very close to the old town area. Chic and good taste breakfast is impressive. The only one concern is that it may be inconvenient if you travel with a large size luggage as there is no elevator  at the hostel.

I really tried to enjoy my stay at this place, but a few negatives has left a bitter taste to my mouth during our stay.The staff at the check-in were too "cool" to be true, as they just did the procedure like robots without any kind of warm greetings, which to me is a big no no as Japanese are renowned for their hospitality excellence (omotenashi). The girl who showed us to our room was also the "cool" type of person who did not speak a word to us and just like a robot. Having said that the staff at the breakfast bar and checking-out the next morning were much better as they greet us with smile and provided much better service.The cleanness of the room we stayed in were a big negative as I can see dust all over the furniture throughout the room. Dusts were covering the air conditioner, door frames, lamps, and window sills. This again was shocking to us as we've stayed in many Japanese hotels/hostels the cleanness is always a number one priority and we never could find any room that was dirty. But this room changes everything and we were truly disappointed and dumbfumded that why the room was not kept clean to a certain standard.All in all I think this place is nice and trendy, with some good designs throughout the interior. However based on my experience I would not recommend this place to my friends and family as I would always rate cleanness and service over the look and feel of a place. Please improve as I think this place has a lot of potential to be great.

Hostel & Bar CUORE KURASHIKI

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