Magome Furusato Gakkou — Hotel in Nakatsugawa

We stayed for 3 nights in Hotel Gaku Magome in late February 2019. It is housed in an old school so has quirky touches like blackboards in the rooms. Great views out to the mountains. Very warm in the room. Shared bathroom and toilet. Fabulous hot shower. Generous sized room with tatami mats although we could have used single bed mattresses. Unlike what Booking.com said, they do provide free breakfast of toast, boiled eggs and coffee/tea. There is a very well set up kitchen for those who wish to cook although it feels like it's in a children's chemistry classroom so be prepared for low benches and sinks! A fabulous service they offer is a free shuttle at 7pm to a spa/ pool resort returning at 9pm. For 600Y low season price we had a brilliant spa (indoor and outdoor!), and you could also have food, a massage, and there were huge play areas for kids. There is a supermarket in the town which is very well stocked and quite cheap but only open 9-5. Hotel Gaku has a few basic instant noodles for sale. There are restaurants in town and the reception booked one for us - a truly fabulous multi course local meal for 2000Y each at 'Hanaya' I think it was. We were able to get to Magome very easily via train and bus even in low season and enjoyed a tremendous walk from Magome - Tsumago - Nagisa and return. That was about 25km but you can get a bus back from either of those other towns several times a day. Timetable at tourist info centre. In Tsumago we lunched on the local soba noodles with forest mushrooms in the tiny back room restaurant of two ladies who serve the local rice balls delicacy and chestnut ice creams out front. Really delicious. And all in a perfectly restored Edo period town. On our second day we walked 8km mostly downhill to Nakatsugawa Station va the signed Nakasendo Way. Not such beautiful forest but still such an interesting walk through this farming landscape and town edges. Caught the bus back up the hill though! A great 2 day 3 night odyssey in the Japanese hills. Was hard to get much information hence this tome...

We stayed for 3 nights in Hotel Gaku Magome in late February 2019. It is housed in an old school so has quirky touches like blackboards in the rooms. Great views out to the mountains. Very warm in the room. Shared bathroom and toilet. Fabulous hot shower. Generous sized room with tatami mats although we could have used single bed mattresses. Unlike what Booking.com said, they do provide free breakfast of toast, boiled eggs and coffee/tea. There is a very well set up kitchen for those who wish to cook although it feels like it's in a children's chemistry classroom so be prepared for low benches and sinks! A fabulous service they offer is a free shuttle at 7pm to a spa/ pool resort returning at 9pm. For 600Y low season price we had a brilliant spa (indoor and outdoor!), and you could also have food, a massage, and there were huge play areas for kids. There is a supermarket in the town which is very well stocked and quite cheap but only open 9-5. Hotel Gaku has a few basic instant noodles for sale. There are restaurants in town and the reception booked one for us - a truly fabulous multi course local meal for 2000Y each at 'Hanaya' I think it was. We were able to get to Magome very easily via train and bus even in low season and enjoyed a tremendous walk from Magome - Tsumago - Nagisa and return. That was about 25km but you can get a bus back from either of those other towns several times a day. Timetable at tourist info centre. In Tsumago we lunched on the local soba noodles with forest mushrooms in the tiny back room restaurant of two ladies who serve the local rice balls delicacy and chestnut ice creams out front. Really delicious. And all in a perfectly restored Edo period town. On our second day we walked 8km mostly downhill to Nakatsugawa Station va the signed Nakasendo Way. Not such beautiful forest but still such an interesting walk through this farming landscape and town edges. Caught the bus back up the hill though! A great 2 day 3 night odyssey in the Japanese hills. Was hard to get much information hence this tome...

Although this hostel is housed in an old school, it is very modern, with pine woos panelling throughout. Very comfortable, clean and well designed. The hostel takes up only part of the huge school building and has a lounge/reception, large kitchen and nice showers and toilet facilities.

There are two dormitories, each with several bunk bed capsules and a couple of beds for couples/families behind a curtain. The capsules are large wooden boxes, each with a personal security box, lamp and electrical socket. I found the bed a little warm but very comfortable and had one of the best nights sleep in my whole trip here.

The staff are very friendly and helpful, there are lots of flyers and info on attractions and busses in the lounge. The hostel offers a free bus service to a nearby onsen each evening departing at 6:30 or 7:00 with a return bus at 8:30pm. The onsen costs only 500¥ per person and is very nice.

The hostel also offers free breakfast in the morning, toast (individually wrapped slices like everything in Japan!), egg and jam, with complimentary coffee and tea available whenever the lounge is open (closes at 10:30pm).

One of the more expensive properties we stayed in (we paid about 7,500¥ per person), but maybe due to Golden week. The location is great, beautiful views over the Kiso Valley, 5 minutes from Magome center and the start of the Magome-Tsumago path, and 25 minutes by bus from Nakatsugawa (560¥...