Guesthouse Naramachi — Hotel in Nara

The Guesthouse Naramachi was so bad that even after an exhausting day of travelling, I immediately set out to find another place to stay.||||The male owner was very unwelcoming when I arrived, and seemed only interested in getting my payment. When I asked if I could get settled in first, he reluctantly led me up a steep flight of stairs to a dark, cramped upper bunk accessible by ladder, where he said “We will be waiting for you downstairs” – nothing along the lines of “Relax, take your time, get settled in…” – so I found my cash and took it to him downstairs immediately.||||Then I set out to find another place, even though it meant sacrificing my first/only night in Nara. The place I did find (luckily, as it was so last-minute) was exactly the same price, but bright, spacious, clean, warm and welcoming – and included things that the Guesthouse charged extra for (towels, lockers, etc). Ditto for the equally fantastic hostel I found the following night in Kyoto – both dormitory-style accommodations.||||When I went back to the Guesthouse, I explained to the female owner that I didn’t feel comfortable negotiating the ladder/stairs to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. She was very nice, but explained that they couldn’t refund any portion of my payment. She told me to wait for her husband to return, but then he just gave me a less friendly version of the cancellation policy.||||I understand cancellation policies, except in cases where the traveller isn’t comfortable with the accommodations. Had I known in advance about the steep flight of stairs, the dark, cramped upper bunk, the toilet being on a different floor, all the extra charges (really? for a towel??), and the unfriendly reception I would get on my arrival, I obviously wouldn’t have booked in the first place.||||The owner then contacted booking.com to say I had been a no-show, so that I'm able to leave a review on their site. How sneaky is that??||||I’m a somewhat intrepid traveller, but this place gave me the willies. Honestly, $25 was money well spent to not have...

We stayed for one night during our trip to Nara. ||||If you read nothing else in my review, please just BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU NAVIGATE TO THIS PLACE. There are a lot of places called "Naramachi". This one is "Guesthouse Naramachi" but there is also a "Naramachi Hostel", which is a completely different place in a different section of town. The correct place is a 5-minute walk from Kyobate train station (just continue past Nara Station, but check your train schedule to be sure) and very close to Shonen-Ji Temple. Unfortunately, we ended up going to the wrong place at first, and wasted a lot of time and effort.||||The good parts: Cheap rate (the cheapest place we stayed in Japan), comfortable room, big size, friendly and helpful innkeeper, nice shower. You ARE expected to chip in with the "housekeeping" like taking sheets off your own bed and cleaning your dishes, but this is par for the course for a budget stay.||||The bad parts: They charge JPY 100 for bath towels which feels very petty. Listen, I get that this place is for backpackers, and my wife and I have both been there and done that, but who travels with their own bath towel? Just put it in the room rate instead of nickel and diming us for more. There was lots of noise and (literally) paper thin walls, so we could hear every word our neighbors were saying next to us. Thankfully they went to bed early or we wouldn't have been able to sleep. We didn't have this issue at any of the other tatami mat rooms we stayed in, although those stays were substantially more expensive so perhaps the soundproofing was better.||||This is good for backpackers and people on a budget, and if this fits your budget and style, I can't recommend it enough- it's charming, friendly, and cheap. As for me, I'd probably skip staying in Nara altogether next time and just make the day trip from Osaka, but if I did stay in Nara, I'd look for something without...

I had a terrible stay. The owner had too much rules about everything. The place is old and so are their facilities. You will not feel welcomed at all. Don't do this, don't do that, is all the feeling you will get, as if you're a monkey without any manner if they don't tell you all the rules one by one. I work a lot with Japanese people, these are very typical Japanese trait that I often get from my clients. However I accept them because those are work-related. Staying in a guesthouse is a pleasure-related activities, and I will not accept such behavior without a complaint. I feel that the owner should not open this house for overseas people as their way of running things is most certainly does not fit to receive overseas customer.

Some of the things that I have trouble with: (1) They turn off the light on 10 pm (!!!). (2) You have no space to work or talk to your friends anymore after they turn off the lights. You practically have to FOLLOW their PRIVATE lifestyle. (3) You cannot use shower in the afternoon. (4) You practically have to "reserve" your shower. If you're not good with schedules, then this is going to be a trouble for you. (5) You can only use shower in 15 minutes time frame. (6) They ask us to be "silent" all the time yet they have the noisiest wooden house ever...