News from JNTO

Utano Youth Hostel in Kyoto won Hostel International's "Best Hostel Award: Most Comfortable Hostel 2009"! Located in western Kyoto, the public youth hostel is surrounded by 70 trees filled with cherry blossoms, as well as a lush, green garden and a tennis court. From the hostel you can take a bus to Golden Temple and Ryoanji Temple (10-15 min) or ride a bike to Arashiyama, Sagano and Toei Kyoto Studio Park (10 min).

The hostel is well-known for its casual and friendly atmosphere among tourists, and its natural beauty remains even with the recent refurbishing of all the facilities to make them modern and convenient.

They also have a series of events throughout the year. You can join a tour of Kyoto's popular festivals or just relax at the hostel to enjoy parties such as jazz concerts, a Christmas party or a Mochi-tsuki party (pounding rice to make mochi, a sticky, chewy rice cake). Guests routinely return to the hostel over and over again, which leaves us with nothing more to say about how extremely special it is.

Kyoto Utano Youth Hostel:
http://yh-kyoto.or.jp/utano/index.html

Hostel International (HI)'s News Release:
http://www.hihostels.com/dba/news.en.htm?nid=HI33N