Ryokan Kurashiki

Outstanding hotel in a fun town. We were just at the ryokan for 2 nights and enjoyed it very much. Strict 3 pm check in. Our room was huge, if anything more than we needed with a kitchen and clothes washer and 2 bathrooms. Staff were uniformly welcoming and warm. English/Japanese a bit of a struggle but easily resolved with our phone apps. Dinner and breakfasts were wonderful. First night, see photo, was a fish based multi course meal, beautifully presented. Night 2 we requested a beef shabu shabu with tempura. The town is fun with a wonderful art museum (Ohara) right next door. Highly recommend. There is a private onsen you can book for an hour. First night was super hot and great, second night too cool....but that was a minor issue.

Lovely stay in a beautiful town We had a wonderful stay at the beautiful Ryokan Kurashiki. The food was delicious and building beautiful, and we had a lovely private bath experience. The staff was extremely helpful and nice.

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 spent 2 nights at Ryokan Kurashiki and wow. Yes, it is a beautiful (and recently renovated) Ryokan, and yes, the meals are astonishing, but what really sets it apart is the service. The staff could not have been more helpful, caring and wonderful to us. This was particularly helpful to us as Typhoon Shanshan was impacting our trip, and they went out of their way (unprompted) to check train services and keep us updated (Arti - thank you so much!). We highly recommend.

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.