About bnbplus Sarasa Nara

bnbplus Sarasa Nara (yes the first b is lower case) is a one-star hostel located in central Nara, Japan. It is located on the third floor of a multi-storey building. The lifts will take you directly there.

I normally would not have stayed in a hostel. However I went during the projected (and fortunately for me, actual) full bloom for cherry blossoms and the only thing left (and not priced at over $1,000 USD per night) was this hostel.

I found this place using booking.com. Here is the direct link to bnbplus Sarasa Nara.

Location

bnbplus Sarasa Nara sits just off one of the pedestrian streets in the historic area of Nara. The Kintetsu Nara station is just at the end of the street, making it easy to get to when coming from either Kyoto or Osaka (trains regularly go to both).

bnbplus Sarasa Nara also sits very close to Nara Park, which is where the main attractions are located in Nara. Walking there takes less than five minutes. In fact it is only two streets away and one of those streets is the higashimuki Shopping Street, which is where you will likely be spending some time anyway!

Gallery

About the space

bnbplus Sarasa Nara provides rooms with air conditioning and free WiFi. The property is also completely non-smoking. The units at the hostel are equipped with a seating area. Guest rooms include a shared bathroom, a hairdryer and bed linen.

The good

The hostel was well located in Nara. It is easy to get to all of Nara’s historical sites. The hostel is also very close to the Nara-Kintetsu station, meaning it is easy to get to Kyoto and Osaka.

For a hostel, the bed that was provided was comfortable and the curtain that separated you from the main part of the room blocked out a lot of light and some sound.

The bad

bnbplus Sarasa Nara can be a bit difficult to find. Also, some other guests don’t respect the rules, such as always being quiet in the dormitory’s sleeping area. This includes conversations at 5 a.m. I was woken up more than once by people speaking at a normal volume. I recommend wearing earplugs.

Response to my review

Here is what the owners had to say:

Thank you for your nice ratings and comments! We hope that you will continue to favor us in the future. Also, if you are staying nearby, we would appreciate it if you could use it. In the future, we will strive to improve based on the opinions we receive. All the staff are looking forward to seeing you.

What I did while there

I was in Nara for a long weekend and I was able to use this time to its fullest extent! I have already mentioned above that I went during the full blooming weekend of cherry blossoms, so everywhere that I went, there were cherry blossoms everywhere.

Nara is known for being the one of Japan’s ancient capitals. It was the last during a time that each successive emperor chose a different city as their capital. After Nara, the capital moved to and stayed in Kyoto for nearly 1,000 years.

As a result, Nara should be at the top of anyone’s list if you are into Japanese history and historic culture. Some of the things I did were:

If you would like more details and the itinerary that I followed, you can see that here: A Weekend in Nara: From Nature’s Bliss to Architectural Mastery

Verdict

I have to admit that I am not a fan of hostels, so I will probably not stay here again unless there are no other options (as was the case this time). I certainly did not have a bad time and usually this is a cheap option for staying in Nara except at certain times, such as when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

Thanks for reading! Want to do some more exploring? Have a look at the travel map:

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