A renovated guesthouse, all to yourselves

Rooms

Living & dining

High ceilings with exposed wooden beams, a large sofa and a dining table looking out over the garden.

Window seat

A cushioned window ledge behind the sofa, for a book or a look at tomorrow's drive.

Kitchen

Fridge-freezer, microwave, IH stove, rice cooker, pots and pans, basic seasonings, dishes and cutlery.

Coffee corner

A Nespresso machine with coffee, ready for the first cup of the morning.

Upstairs bedroom

Two semi-double beds, blackout curtains and floor cushions.

Japanese tatami room

Three futons on tatami downstairs. Just leave them laid out when you check out.

Photos

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Video

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Who sleeps where

The living room, kitchen, tatami room, bath and washroom are all on the ground floor. The bedroom is upstairs.

• Two of you: the upstairs bedroom, with two semi-double beds and blackout curtains
• A family with small children: futons in the tatami room, right next to the living room. A roll-down screen closes it off for naps and early nights
• Up to 5 adults: two in the beds upstairs, three on futons downstairs
• Two cars: free parking for 2 cars right by the house, so a group can arrive separately
• No other guests: the whole guesthouse is yours, with a large sofa and dining table for everyone
• One bathroom: a bathtub and a separate toilet, so take turns in the evening

Cooking and eating in

There are no meals here, but the kitchen is ready for a real breakfast or a simple dinner: an IH stove, rice cooker, microwave, fridge-freezer, pots and pans, oil, salt and pepper, dishes and cutlery.

• Groceries: Aeon Town Kariya is about 5 minutes by car (its supermarket is open 7:00–24:00), and U-Store Igaya about 6 minutes (9:00–21:00)
• Gentle cooking: the IH stove is fine; please skip tabletop grills and anything that fills the house with smoke or strong smells, and keep the extractor fan on
• Or eat out: local restaurants are 5–10 minutes away by car, and many close around 9 PM. For breakfast, try a café "morning" — see our local food guide

Bath, laundry and hot water

• Bath: a compact bathtub (about 170 liters is the right fill), towels, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, soap and a hair dryer. The toilet is separate, with a bidet seat
• Hot water: the water heater runs on kerosene. Switch it on at the kitchen panel before you need hot water, and off when you go out
• A bigger soak: the Kakitsubata natural hot spring is about 7 minutes away by car
• Laundry: a free washer-dryer in the laundry room just outside the front door, to the right. It washes in cold water only. Hang clothes on the upstairs balcony rather than indoors

Everything else you'll find

• Air conditioning and ceiling fan
• Wi-Fi and a workspace
• TV
• Bed linen, hangers, iron, closet
• Baby chair with belt and tray, corner guards, books and toys
• Insect repellent
• Free parking for 2 cars on the grounds
• Smoke alarm

The garden, day and night

The Japanese garden between the guesthouse and the main house is lit after dark, and beyond the walls the neighborhood opens onto rice fields. It is quiet here: the loudest thing at night is usually the fields.

Staying on a family's grounds

The host family lives in the main house across the garden. Check-in is self-service, so you set the pace from the moment you arrive.

When the hosts are at home, ring the intercom: on request they'll show you the main house's tatami room, hina dolls and armor in a mini tour of about 10 minutes, no booking needed. Read more about what a stay here is like.

The family's cats live on the grounds and never come into the guesthouse.

Arriving and leaving

• Check-in 15:00–22:00: if you'll arrive later, send an Airbnb message
• Parking: enter through the gate on the parking side. Searching the street address in a car navigation system can lead you to a very narrow lane on the far side, so follow the access map in your guest guide instead
• The key: it's in a key box; we send the code by Airbnb message
• Check-out by 11:00: wash the dishes (no need to dry them), switch off the water heater and air conditioning, close the windows and screens, and let the hosts know by intercom or message. Futons can stay laid out, and sorted rubbish can stay where it is

House rules in short

• No smoking, no pets
• Shoes off indoors
• Please keep it quiet after 9 PM — it's a residential area
• Close the insect screen whenever you open a window