Guest House Kamejikan — Hotel in Kamakura

I made Kamejikan my base camp during a 3-day pilgrimage in Kamakura to the "33 Temples of Kannon", which a great way to get a real sense of the history and geography of the famous city. Kamejikan is very conveniently located near the center of gravity of the all the pilgriamge temples, but even for those not on the pilgrimage trail Kamejikan's location relative to the beach (and its distance away from the noise and exhaust of central Kamakura) is still a huge plus.

Sakurai-san, who manages Kamejikan, has done a magnificent job with the renovation and management of his "guest house", which feels like a minshuku crossed with a trendy youth hostel. In its detail, the guest house is most satisfactory: Fresh flowers adorn the dining tables and wash basins, the music in common areas is low key and sophisticated, and the eclectic décor overall is both tasteful and speaks to the passions and interests of the staff.

The really important details will not disappoint: the western toilet is brand new and very clean (the Japanese style toilet is too, for that matter), and the shower water pressure is not at all wanting. There is a place to smoke just outside the front door under the eaves of the house, with a long wooden bench provided. Car parking space is available nearby (but sadly it's not free). There is a washer available for use (~100 yen per load, soap is included) but as there's no dryer, you'll need to hang your wash to dry naturally.

As for the rooms, I stayed in the shared "dormitory" (~3500 yen per night) portion of the inn, rather than in one of the larger guest rooms, and found it to be perfectly fine -- although I'm used to sleeping on hard flat surfaces. If you're not, you might want to consider a tatami room instead.

As good as the inn was, though, the real standout feature for me was the food...the western-style breakfasts are simply superb. It's true that portions are not enormous and the fare tends toward the vegetarian (although I was served a delicious slice of veggie quiche one morning, pictured) but the diversity and quality were top notch and made breakfast pleasure each morning. Every dish I had was bursting with organic greens, macronutrients, homemade sauces, and interesting breads. That practically guarantees you won't be hungry until the afternoon. Coffee, tea, and ice water are self-serve, and a toaster oven and honey are available for your bread. If you're very fortunate, you might even be able to persuade Sakurai-san to cook you up some dinner as well, although that's not a regular thing.

A nice selection of local microbrews and other beers are also available to help ease you into your evening.

The only thing to watch out for at Kamejikan is the height of the main structural beans in the common areas. Sakurai-san has very kindly padded the lower ones, and they had so much authentic character to the buildings that to change them would have been criminal -- but they are there. If you're tall, heads up!

I can't recommend an inn like this more highly, as I'll definitely be...

We came here for a few nights and stayed both in the small room and the dorms. It's a smaller place so room bookings fill up quickly, and I can see why. This is about as traditional Japanese as you can get. The hotel dates from the Taisho era and was once the house of a wealthy family. ||||The place is extremely peaceful and relaxing, the name even means "Turtle Time", which is a good motto for it. The sort of place you can sit around for an hour enjoying a glass of their free specialty teas. Our first night, I had an amazingly enjoyable discussion with some Japanese staff and guests about Kamakura's history and other random things. The owner, Massa-San, is an artistic surfer dude who is well traveled. He's extremely friendly and fun to talk to (ask him to play some African music!). Sho-Chan who works there was also extremely friendly and fun to chat with (She likes chocolate ice cream!).||||The location is a good 20 minute hike from JR Kamakura station, but if you're comfortable using the bus system you can save some trouble. The best part of the location is the 3 minute walk to the BEACH!!! And if you're not familiar with the beach, it's a beautiful one. ||||Other great things here include just walking around the small side streets and seeing everyday life in a smaller Japanese town. Kamakura gets really quiet after the day tourists go home, and this definitely isn't a "party" hotel, so you can relax and experience some genuine quietness.||||We can't wait to return, this place...

We came here for a few nights and stayed both in the small room and the dorms. It's a smaller place so room bookings fill up quickly, and I can see why. This is about as traditional Japanese as you can get. The hotel dates from the Taisho era and was once the house of a wealthy family. ||||The place is extremely peaceful and relaxing, the name even means "Turtle Time", which is a good motto for it. The sort of place you can sit around for an hour enjoying a glass of their free specialty teas. Our first night, I had an amazingly enjoyable discussion with some Japanese staff and guests about Kamakura's history and other random things. The owner, Massa-San, is an artistic surfer dude who is well traveled. He's extremely friendly and fun to talk to (ask him to play some African music!). Sho-Chan who works there was also extremely friendly and fun to chat with (She likes chocolate ice cream!).||||The location is a good 20 minute hike from JR Kamakura station, but if you're comfortable using the bus system you can save some trouble. The best part of the location is the 3 minute walk to the BEACH!!! And if you're not familiar with the beach, it's a beautiful one. ||||Other great things here include just walking around the small side streets and seeing everyday life in a smaller Japanese town. Kamakura gets really quiet after the day tourists go home, and this definitely isn't a "party" hotel, so you can relax and experience some genuine quietness.||||We can't wait to return, this place...