Hotel & Residence Nanshukan — Attraction in Kagoshima

What this hotel lacks in traditional Japanese aesthetic, it more than makes up with outstanding hospitality, staff friendliness, kindness of the owners and the most comprehensive Japanese breakfast ever. ||||Our first impression, when we checked in, was that the front desk area and hotel in general was a bit rough and ready. Not excessively neat and tidy. The ladies at the Front Desk were exceedingly friendly and helpful. We arrived at 10 am, not expecting to go into rooms but within 20 minutes we had dropped off our bags and off we went.||||Tried our hand at hitchhiking on Sakurajima and the 5 of us were picked up by two cars in minutes. One of our lovely drivers ended up riding the ferry back with us and pointed us in the direction of a collection of restaurants all clustered together (forgotten the name but it included the word Murai, meaning village). Had a great night out at two of the restaurants. ||||When we arrived back we were warmly greeted by the owner offering us tastes of 4 different types of shochu. When we told him that we wanted to visit the Kagoshima Fish Market in the morning and that we were involved in the hospitality industry, he immediately offered to chauffeur us and guide us around the market the next day. We went back to our rooms and had a good night's sleep. The room wasn't fancy, nor updated, but the beds were comfortable, in a Japanese kind of way, and the unit bath was completely adequate for us.||||We met at 6 am and toured the market. What an absolutely fantastic experience. Exotic fish you'd never see in your life. We watched a couple of guys cut up tuna and one of the vendors offered us some samples. The most delicious piece of fish I have ever eaten in my life. Thanks guys!||||Came back to the hotel to an amazing breakfast. All the regular dishes plus natto and sukiyaki. It was delicious and plentiful. Fantastic meal!||||On our departure we were given some genki drinks and the yuzu paste that goes with the sukiyaki as gifts. ||||We arrived with premonitions and left fully and completely satisfied. The hotel isn't fancy but it is awesome value, with some of the friendliest, most genuine folks running it and they are truly what make this hotel a great experience.||||Thank you very much! ||||Dave, Marlene...

What this hotel lacks in traditional Japanese aesthetic, it more than makes up with outstanding hospitality, staff friendliness, kindness of the owners and the most comprehensive Japanese breakfast ever. ||||Our first impression, when we checked in, was that the front desk area and hotel in general was a bit rough and ready. Not excessively neat and tidy. The ladies at the Front Desk were exceedingly friendly and helpful. We arrived at 10 am, not expecting to go into rooms but within 20 minutes we had dropped off our bags and off we went.||||Tried our hand at hitchhiking on Sakurajima and the 5 of us were picked up by two cars in minutes. One of our lovely drivers ended up riding the ferry back with us and pointed us in the direction of a collection of restaurants all clustered together (forgotten the name but it included the word Murai, meaning village). Had a great night out at two of the restaurants. ||||When we arrived back we were warmly greeted by the owner offering us tastes of 4 different types of shochu. When we told him that we wanted to visit the Kagoshima Fish Market in the morning and that we were involved in the hospitality industry, he immediately offered to chauffeur us and guide us around the market the next day. We went back to our rooms and had a good night's sleep. The room wasn't fancy, nor updated, but the beds were comfortable, in a Japanese kind of way, and the unit bath was completely adequate for us.||||We met at 6 am and toured the market. What an absolutely fantastic experience. Exotic fish you'd never see in your life. We watched a couple of guys cut up tuna and one of the vendors offered us some samples. The most delicious piece of fish I have ever eaten in my life. Thanks guys!||||Came back to the hotel to an amazing breakfast. All the regular dishes plus natto and sukiyaki. It was delicious and plentiful. Fantastic meal!||||On our departure we were given some genki drinks and the yuzu paste that goes with the sukiyaki as gifts. ||||We arrived with premonitions and left fully and completely satisfied. The hotel isn't fancy but it is awesome value, with some of the friendliest, most genuine folks running it and they are truly what make this hotel a great experience.||||Thank you very much! ||||Dave, Marlene...

Let me begin by noting that it takes a lot for me to write a negative review and never in all of my travels have I ever requested an alternative room - I had to do so twice at Nanshukan. I chose this hotel for the location and based on the reviews on trip adviser but have to say we were extremely disappointed. The location is good, central to shopping and restaurants and easy to access via public transport however the quality of your room I suspect depends on which floor it is on. Do not be fooled by the photos on the internet or the assumed quality of the hotel based on the lobby. I had a reservation for a non-smoking twin room with a roll away bed. The first room I was given smelt heavily of smoke and was truly dreadful with mold on the walls and heavily outdated furnishings so I asked for a different room - a 'non-smoking' one as per my reservation. The second room still had a faint smell of smoke however was much better than the first and seemed to be ok despite to obvious mold on the walls (less than the first room). It was when I pulled the roll away bed away from the wall however that I noticed further mold over the walls, damp carpet and damp bedding - I truly believe that sleeping here would have been detrimental to our health so requested another change of room. We were then moved to the 3rd floor which was noticeably better with regards to the smell of smoke and the walls which were wall papered and mold free. It was here that we stayed for our 3 nights. Note the sleep quality was still not good with the roll away bed a folded over mattress joining in the middle which created a dip in the center of the bed. Breakfast was ok, service was ok - they did change the rooms when requested. The two gentlemen and lady who ran the breakfast were lovely and a big thank you to them for making us feel welcome. Would I stay here again,...