Ryokan Kurashiki

This was a traditional Ryokan! Our room was massive with a cedar bath! There was an Onsen downstairs. To me the highlight of this small hotel was its dinner! We had a great Kaiseki and the breakfast next day was delicious. I enjoyed the Japanese garden and the traditional building, Service was great! I did not realise that we were on the main touristy street! Our room was not noisy at all and in some ways the hotel made it an oasis on tranquility vs all the tourists outside. The town was too busy for me! I was surprised at the number of people shopping etc. But I guess it is a very traditional old Japanese town so a major tourist attraction.

My wife and I had an excellent 2 night stay at Ryokan Kurashiki in October, 2024. This ryokan is exceptionally well appointed with beautiful gardens, an attentive staff and outstanding meals. We had a recently renovated room which had a large sitting are; a nice, small kitchen; a very modern and updated bath; and comfortable western style beds. The only negative for the two of us, as older travelers, was that our room, Kura, had the bedroom area upstairs and the bath downstairs on the lower level. This was a bit of a challenge in the middle of the night. However, we would definitely return to this ryokan if in the area again, but would request a room all on one level. The food and service were truly outstanding. We had a wonderful but different 9 course dinner both nights, worthy of at least one Michelin star in our opinion. We have eaten at three star Michelin restaurants in the past, and Ryokan Kurashiki's menu would certainly rank high among them. The attention to detail, the dishes used, and the food itself was all first class; The service was flawless. Breakfast was also excellent; we had western style breakfasts overlooking the beautiful garden. There are only 8 rooms and 2 residences, so book early and enjoy the experience! We also met some lovely people who were staying here.

We were traveling through Japan for 14 days and stayed in various hotels and ryokans. This was the most expensive ryokan and by far the worst. 1) Room: We were very disappointed with our stay and in particular with our room. It was cold at night (even with heaters on), loud because of the kitchen next door, the heaters and the neighbors above. No windows that one could open; only the window at the roof, which does not work in case it rains. 2) Location: This is the only good thing about the restaurant, if you want to visit Kurashiki. Irrespectively of the Hotel, Kurashiki is not really worth a trip. 3) Restaurant / Food: Below average e.g. quality of the sashimi wasn’t great; we were the only people in the restaurant. I believe that c. ¥100,000 for one night in this Kura room (I don’t know about the other rooms) is not a fair price. We have asked the owners for a refund given our experience but they were not helpful. To sum it up, please do not stay in this ryokan if you want to visit Kurashiki. It is not worth the money.

Kurashiki is a touristy place(when we were there all Japanese tourists..) but it is truly beautiful and we really enjoyed it. In addition to being incredibly picturesque, it is home to a good art museum(Ohara Museum) which is well worth a visit. Kurashiki Ryokan is very traditional but has all amenities for a comfortable stay. General Manager Ritsuko Nakamura took the time to come to our table at dinner and recommend activities and lunch dining options in town. She called a very good okonomiyaki restaurant and made sure we were seated in front of the chef so we could see him make our lunch.. It was a fun experience. Thank you ! The food at our two dinners was good, but the ryokan has problem with personnel. They don't appear to have enough servers in the restaurant(where they encourage you to take your meals) and the service is extraordinarily uneven. Food was brought in rapid succession with very little explanation The second night we felt like they were trying to get us fed and out in record time even after we asked them to slow down.. This could be a post pandemic issue and I would not let it stop me from coming back. All in all we would highly recommend a stay here..