The Minshuku Kamoi certainly looked lovely on the outside. It's up a tiny old alleyway in Kurashiki's historic old town, separated from the road by a tall wall and lovely garden. I was disappointed to learn that the Kamoi is not actually as old as it appears--it's simply designed to look that way. But it does have a lovely lobby full of old oak furniture, wooden hand-carved statues, and even a rack of antique weaponry.

After arriving, we paid with cash--the hotel does not take credit cards. The hostess was polite but businesslike, and she only spoke Japanese. That did not stop her from making it very clear to us Americans that house rules regarding shoes and slippers were to be taken very seriously. Even though there didn't seem to be any other guests there, we were given a room on the 4th floor. Without an elevator, that's a lot of steps for a hot afternoon! Our room had beautiful views of the city, but was very sparse and a little shabby inside. The room had... more