Relaxing at the Hidamari Inn.

So today is the big day!! My parents are coming to Japan to stay for the week - in a bit I'll be heading out to Narita to pick them up.

We'll be staying in Kamogawa for 3 days, 2 nights, but I actually came down to Kamogawa a day earlier because I joined another matsuri yesterday (no pictures this time though, sorry!). Normally I stay at a friend's place, but since I had already made reservations for my parents' accommodations, I decided to just add an extra night at our first hotel (we'll be staying at two different places).

Hidamari Inn!!! I've wanted to stay here for ages, but never had a chance. It's a family-owned place - a mother and son pair first started off with a ryokan called Tomioka Ryokan, which is actually behind this building. Through lots of hard work, they expanded their business and opened this building, the Hidamari Inn, two years ago. So now they have to Tomioka Ryokan, which offers Japanese-style accomodations, and the Hidamari Inn, which is Western-style.

In the same complex is the Sumibiya, a restaurant-bar that I frequented a lot when I still lived in Kamogawa. Just as the name implies, the tables are equipped with shichirin grills where food is cooked right in front of you!

This place was also built together with the Hidamari Inn, so it's only 2 years old, but it's already really popular with both locals and visitors! The chef is a very pretty lady who studied/trained in Spain, and everything she makes is absolutely genius! They serve everything from paella to sashimi to deer jerky (yes deer jerky - and it's reaaaaally really good!).

Anyway, into the Hidamari Inn itself:

Room C!

The Hidamari Inn only has 5 rooms, and it's reaaaaaally popular so it books up really fast! This is the third time I've tried to book here, and the first time I ever managed to get it.

So spacious!!! So pretty!!

Okay, I'll be honest that I was expected a very small, closet room - that's what it's like for many hotels in Japan. And the price is so cheap - I only paid 5250 yen for Sunday night, which is an absolute steal for Kamogawa, a resort city. (I believe the rates for Saturday night are around 8000 yen, which is still super cheap for Kamogawa.) I was VERY pleasantly surprised when the owner opened the room and showed me inside.

This is the view from the room! All of the rooms overlook Futama Beach (a popular surfing spot) in Kamogawa's Amatsu District. This is the same place we did jibiki-ami fishing last month~. The area around here is really nice, really quiet - perfect for strolls along the shore!

Taken from the other side of the room.

And yet another perk of staying here - all of the rooms are equipped with free internet access (via LAN). Here in Kamogawa, hotels equipped with free internet access are pretty much nonexistant, so this alone gets huge points in my book.

Anyway, if you are looking for a nice place to stay in Kamogawa, but don't want to put too much stress on your wallet, I definitely definitely recommend the Hidamari Inn!


http://www.hidamari-inn.com/