Hotel MyCUBE Kochi

Kochi sits on the Pacific side of Shikoku, and MyCUBE gives the city a compact, well-run option for travellers who want central and clean over spacious. Accommodation is organised as individual cabins — enclosed, private, with a proper door, a step up from the older open-fronted format.

Each cabin holds a bed, a light, power, storage for a bag and room to sit up. Bathing is communal in the Japanese manner. The shared floors are where the hotel spends its space: lounge seating, a laundry, somewhere to eat something simple late.

This works as a base. Kochi Castle, the Sunday market along Otesuji and the long beach at Katsurahama are all easy to reach, and the design assumes you will be out all day.