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HARUYA Hostel Naramachi is a special hostel in a beautiful and big, renovated, one-hundred-year old traditional Japanese mansion. There are privates and dorms. The reception is very polite and Japanese, which is really great, but may be awkward for those not familiar with it. But it totally fits the style of the hostel.
The Location
The hostel is about a ten-minute walk from train station. The location is quiet and tranquil, appropriate for the style of the hostel. The center of Nara is nearby, and some simple good and cheap restaurants are also nearby -- the hostel can point you in the right direction. It is just a few minutes' walking to the main walking street Sanjo Dori, where there are plenty of (more touristy) restaurants. This street will take you to the main attractions in Nara and Nara Park, namely Todaji and Kasuga Taisha.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The private rooms are in the main building surrounding the common area. The dorm room are in an annex building next to the main entrance. The few meters to it are covered by the roof, so it is accessible while staying dry when it's raining. The two floors of the annex building have sixteen or so small cubicles with a lock box (you need your own padlock) for valuables, light power plugs, and clothing hangers. Additionally, a room robe (haori) is provided to keep you warm. The blankets are bit too small for those over six feet tall. Extra pillows and blankets are available on request in the common room. The cubicles, however, are of sufficient size for sleeping, but there is not a real place for your luggage, which is especially annoying if your cubicle is next to the door. And the small room can get quite full. The door to the annex building is, in the style of old Japanese houses, a sliding door. This door is not locked, so theoretically anyone can easily take your bags, though the front gate is locked at night and Japan is generally safe.
There is a toilet and shower in the annex building. More toilets (without lid), bathrooms with shower, and a full bathroom with bath and showers are available in the main building, with soap present. The shower room seems to have a motion detector outside of the shower cabin, so consequently the lights keep turning off.
Common Spaces
Everything seems very well kept and cleaned. The common room is also quite rustic. It is very spacious, but doesn’t have much to it. There are two or so chairs and some pillow seats next to the small bookshelf. There is a fridge here, a microwave and roaster for heating food, and also (powdered) coffee and tea.
During reception hours in the common room, some nice classic music is played from an LP, really adding to the atmosphere. This is still mainly a quiet place, as there are also private rooms around it, which makes the common area mostly a place for relaxing and not much for socializing. To us, the common area is a nice place to relax for a bit, but not to hang out much longer (mostly due to the cold weather and that this room is not heated much).
Since the building is entirely kept in the old style, that also means it can be somewhat noisier. In addition, since the private rooms are surrounding the common area, this is a relatively quiet area and there's not very loud socializing. Though, the noise didn’t seem significant at all to us and free earplugs are available in case they are needed.
Adjacent to the common room and some of the private room is a small inner garden. This beautiful, traditional, old-style garden is definitely worth a look.
Summary
This is a special and well-located hostel giving you a quiet place to explore Nara well rested, rain or shine (free umbrellas are up for grabs in case of rain). HARUYA Hostel brings you the living experience in an old Japanese mansion made fit for modern living, which is great experience. The hostel is very tranquil and the music played in the common area really adds to this quiet and tranquil atmosphere. In short, HARUYA Hostel offers a great, clean, traditional experience with basic facilities and a tranquil atmosphere.
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legends of monkeys
Hostelz.com Staff Reviewer
Published on Feb 20, 2019
Location and Contact
Location
Please be careful not to be wrong with sisters Hostel.We have several branches in Kyoto and Nara city. Take The Nara city Loop Line Anti-clockwise bus#1(at JR Nara Sta. East Bus terminal #5 platform) and get off at Hachikenmachi(Bus stop #N-16), Walk towards the next traffic light intersection,called Hachikenmachi. Turn left and walk about 150 meters then turn right at the traffic light corner. Walk about another 50 meters and turn left at the next corner. Then walk about 200 meters to where you will find the hostel on the right with lighting Hostels logo.