"Great Accommodation" Okayama-ken by pgdf

The Okayama Prefecture has a great idea to encourage international visitors. Across the Prefecture they provide villas where you can stay for 2,500 yen per night per head. You also have to join their association which costs 500 yen and lasts 2 years. Even for 1 night this can be cheaper than a hostel.

We stayed at Hattoji - a small village in the hills, consisting almost entirely of thatched farm houses, two temples, some ryokan and two restaurants. Although the thatched house we stayed in had four guest rooms, we had the entire place to ourself. The villa was well provided - apart from teh traditional accommodation there was a modern kitchen, laundry and toilet, and a traditional gomenburo bath.

In front of the imori

We were in Hattoji when it was quite cold and we were grateful for the traditional imori - a fire in the middle of the sitting room that used also to be used for cooking. After a long day walking on the mountains behind Hattoji, following the 88 Buddha Trail it was good after a bath in the gomeburo to relax in front of the imori with a home-made Japanese meal before retiring to our futons

The Cowboy's Place

Not until you get to Hattoji do you realise that there is nowhere to buy food (the villa is self-catering). Generally if you want to buy food you must do this at the bus depot. You can eat at 2 restaurants serving traditional Japanese Food and the restaurant we preferred was the Cowboy's. The owner had been a rodeo rider in his youth in Idaho and still remembered his visit. Good food at good prices, and you could ride there on your bike (provided by the villa)