Avis Shiomachi Hotel

This is an old merchant house that has been nicely remodeled as a hotel. It's smack in the middle of Tomonoura's historic renewal district. The room I had was spacious, comfortable, and nicely designed. This hotel requires some pre-planning: getting the shuttle bus from Fukuyama, making sure basic needs are met (no onsite staff, except at breakfast time). In my case, I was driven over to the hotel from the shuttle stop and given a thorough and friendly introduction to everything about the room, bath, etc. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the small restaurants in Tomonoura close early. The town itself is great--still a working fishing village--with many old vestiges of its port history.