馬籠ふるさと学校 Magome Furusato Gakkou

If I could rate this place 11, I would. 20 even. Wow. I booked this because it was the only thing available on the date I hiked the Nakasendo Trail, ending in Magome. I had pretty low expectations having booked a dorm bed, but I was absolutely blown away. If you are afraid of staying in a hostel, don't be - it's incredibly spacious, immaculately clean, newly renovated and extremely comfortable. The hostel is inside what was formerly a school building, and much of the building has been preserved - you can chill in one of the classrooms where there's free tea and coffee, or shoot hoops in the school gym (which I did whilst waiting for my laundry). I very much enjoyed sipping tea on the balcony overlooking the schoolyard, with a view of the mountains, watching the sun set. They booked me a table at a local restaurant (which was delicious and I practically had the whole place to myself). If you forget, they even sell food at the reception - which is a life saver given how busy Magome can be in the day and how quiet it is at night. The dormitory beds are so wide they could almost fit two people. Each bed has storage inside. If you need extra comfort there are thicker pillows and futons available. The whole place is so clean, the showers are amazing, the location is brilliant (only a 10 minute walk from the foot of the village / bus to Nakatsugawa). This may be the best place I stay throughout my whole Japan trip. An unforgettable experience. Do not hesitate to book this!!

The only issue I had is that the dryers were very weak, so it took 3 hours to do a light load of laundry. However, I played basketball, went for dinner, and had tea on the balcony and my laundry was not disturbed so overall it was not really an issue. My only regret is that the full rooms were not available as I imagine those are amazing.

I really loved the atmosphere of the hotel. The staff were very friendly and welcoming, and the decor was unique and special.

The location is quite inconvenient. You need to walk or cycle to get around, as there isn’t much public transportation nearby.

Great hostel with super friendly and helpful staff. They booked a great restaurant for us. The staff organised a mini festival while we were there and cooked festival foods for all guests and taught us how to make Octopus balls. The kids loved the gym as well.

Really unique accommodation. A place you’ll always remember. Very clean, safe, delightful.

I can’t think of anything I did not like.