About Guest House Friend
Guest House Friend is located in the town of Miyanoura, one of two ferry towns on the island of Yakushima south of Japan’s Kyushu island. Also known as “Minshuku Friendo” (民宿ふれんど) in Japanese, it is located in the middle of the town.
Guest House Friend is a privately-owned guest house which features rooms for 2 to 3 people. Run by an older lady, if she is not at reception (during typical working hours), she lives on the third floor and you can reach her via intercom from reception.
Location
Guest House Friend is located in the middle of Miyanoura, one of two ferry port towns on Yakushima with a direct link to both Tanegashima and Kagoshima. Guest House Friend is about 10 minutes from the ferry terminal on foot in the middle of the town.
Guest House Friend is surrounded by various businesses, including two supermarkets, several restaurants and bars, and izakaya, all within easy walking distance.
It is also possible to get on the very limited public transport that the island has here to go to the airport, Anbo, or even to the south of the island.
Gallery
About the room
As there were 3 of us, we decided to go for 2 rooms of 2 as none of the 3-person rooms were available. However, due to limited availability, we ended up being upgraded to having the entire second floor, which has a private room with a bunk bed, a lower room with 3 beds and then a loft area where 4 futons can be laid out. It was very roomy for only 3 people.
The second floor also has a “shared” kitchen, toilet, and shower rooms as well as and a washing machine, which was very nice.
The good
As I was travelling with two people, one of whom used to be a travel agent, I did not make the booking. However, you can find it here on Booking.com.
Here is what I would have said:
Check in was very simple and the older lady who runs the place was full of information about things to do. We had a free upgrade due to room availability and what we had rented, so that was a nice, unexpected bonus. The area we got also had a shared bath, toilet, laundry machine and kitchen, all of which were in good working order.
The bad
As I was travelling with two people, one of whom used to be a travel agent, I did not make the booking. However, you can find it here on Booking.com.
Here is what I would have said:
I typically find beds in Japan to be uncomfortable, and this place was no exception. I slept on a wooden bed frame that had a futon on it and a towel-like blanket. Fortunately there are more futons in a closet, so I was able to add two more to make it feel less hard.
The shared bathroom is also shared with an office space at the front of the second floor, so between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., there may be times when an office worker will come to use the bathroom. They are kind and respectful and you barely notice them when they come, but it would be better to not have to share.
Finally, the car parking out front was made for much older cars. There are 4 car spaces, but only 3 modern cars can fit in those spaces. As most people rent a car when they are here, it can become very cramped very quickly.
Views from the Guest House
What I did while there
Verdict
I would definitely go back and stay here, as long as I were in a group. I don’t necessarily like sharing a room with people I don’t know (hence why I rarely stay in hostels), but with a group this would be a good, cheap option. It is well located and there is also parking if you rent a car (which I highly recommend).
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